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From: "Steele, William B." <wbsteele@mail.volusia.k12.fl.us>
To: 'Alex Cotol' <axster@iag.net>, 'Bob & Marilyn Wegner'
	 <RDWegner@earthlink.net>, 'Ed McMahon' <eman2112@n-jcenter.com>, 
	'Jim Conklin' <exsergeant@aol.com>, 'Kathy Revoir' <Qathleen@aol.com>, 
	'Stephen Castella' <STEPHEN.CASTELLA@ROCHE.COM>
Cc: "'Japnavymom@aol.com'" <Japnavymom@aol.com>, 'Jim & Ann Steele'
	 <animal399@aol.com>, 'Rob & Kathy Steele' <kattnfla@bellsouth.net>, 
	'Roger Devore' <RogerDevore@worldnet.att.net>, 'Sean Williams'
	 <scanz777@mindspring.com>, 'Tim Sherry' <sherry@kyw.com>
Subject: Freedom is never free - The Aftermath of July 4, 1776
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 12:35:51 -0400 
Return-Receipt-To: "Steele, William B." <wbsteele@mail.volusia.k12.fl.us>
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> Have you ever wondered what happened to the 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.  Two
> lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, 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.  A
> few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
>  
> Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
>  
> Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.
>  
> These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were
> soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they
> valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they
> pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on
> the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each
> other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
>  
> They gave you and me a free and independent America.  The history
> books never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War.
> We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that
> time and we fought our own government!
>  
> Some of us take these liberties so much for granted...We shouldn't.
>  
> So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday
> and silently thank these patriots.  It's not much to ask for the
> price they paid . . .
>  
> LET'S ALL REMEMBER THAT FREEDOM IS "NEVER FREE"!!!!
>  
> Author unknown.
>