What Happened to the Lives of the Signers of The Declaration of Independence

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By Sid Chadwick

Few can claim credit… for all that’s accomplished in their lifetime and name……”…….Anonymous

 

INTRODUCTION:

Declaration of IndependenceWe are being reminded, daily it seems, that “Freedom isn’t Free.

Most of us are not aware of the personal price most of our “Signers of the Declaration of Independence” paid.

There were 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.

  • Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured ….before they died.
  • Twelve had their homes ransacked, and burned.
  • One had his two sons captured.
  • Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships in the War.
  • Two lost their sons, serving in the Revolutionary Army.
  • Carter Baxton of Virginia, a wealthy trader and planter, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He was forced to sell his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.
  • Francis Lewis had his home and property destroyed. The British jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
  • At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson quietly urged George Washington to open fire on his home, which Cornwallis had taken over. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
  • John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife had died, and his 13 children vanished. He subsequently died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
  • Vandals of British soldiers looted properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walkton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge, and Middelton.

    
Nine were farmers and large plantation owners, eleven were merchants, and twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

These were not ordinary men. “They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.”

SUMMARY:

flagsThe price these men and their families, and many, many other men and women have paid – for you and me to have the choices… and freedoms we are allowed.

Let us remind ourselves, and those whom we love and respect, that this price is carried – to every generation.

Where are there opportunities to educate and inform – our current and next generations….?

“…In our military, lack of time to reflect is the single biggest deficiency in senior decision-makers.”....Secretary Gen. Jim Mattis, Call Sign Chaos, p.200.

Resource: The Constitution Mobile, powered by WordPress.

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