another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or

hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives,

their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants,

nine were farmers and large plantation owners;

men of means, well educated,

but they signed the Declaration of Independence

knowing full well that the penalty would be

death if they were captured.

 

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and

trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the

British Navy. He sold his home and properties to

pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded

by the British

that he was forced to move his family

almost constantly.

He served in the Congress without pay,

and his family was kept in hiding.

His possessions were taken from him,

and poverty was his reward.

 Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of

 Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett,

Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown ,

Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that

the British General Cornwallis

had taken over the Nelson

home for his headquarters.

He quietly urged General

George Washington to open fire.

The home was destroyed,

and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home

and properties destroyed.

The enemy jailed his wife,

and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from

his wife's bedside

as she was dying.

Their 13 children fled for their lives.

 His fields and his gristmill

were laid to waste.

For more than a year he lived in forests

and caves, returning home to

find his wife dead and his

children vanished.

 

So, take a few minutes while enjoying

your 4th of July holiday and
 remember:

 

Freedom is never free

& the Fourth of July is more

than an excuse to drink beer, have picnics,

and watch baseball games.