The Price Of Freedom

Sent to me in an email this morning:

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

Have you ever wondered what happened to the fifty-six 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. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six 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 thirteen 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. Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your Fourth of July holiday and silently thank God for these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free! Happy Fourth of July! God bless America!

 

Happy 4th to all Americans
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Happy aniversary for my parents, and happy 4th to all yo Yanks

 

Happy 4th of July to all in the US of A!!!

 

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In reply to muskybob.
All this happened to them and was recorded for history.
I could'nt imagine what happened to them that we do'nt know about.
Remember they were not civilized like we are today.

 

Happy 4th...even if the original post is listed by Snopes as "glurge".

Hope it's not raining at everyone's house, and that someone gets to do something fun today (so I can live vicariously ).

 

Freedom does have a high price.

Enjoy your Freedom.

There are people still paying that price.

 

It's good to remember.

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R.I.P. all the patriots who suffered and died for our freedom.

Happy 4th everyone

 

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

Sorry about those five.

 

Let's not forget we are not the only ones to pay the price of freedom. We are fortunate that we got what we paid for, unlike the people of Hungary in 1956,Czheckoslovakia in 1968, and in Tianemen Square in 1989. So many have died for what so many of us take for granted.