> i just recieved this via the internet and connot comment on its accuaracy
> except to say that it sounds believable to me. Did 1960's revolutionaries pay
> as dear a price for their "declaration of independence"? Does that document
> have any relavance in our lives today?
Happy Independence Day! country joe mcdonald
-------------------------------
>
> 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.
>
> But, 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
> and 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.
-- "Ira Furor Brevis Est " - Anger is a brief madness
country joe Home Pg <http://www.countryjoe.com>
country joe's tribute to Florence Nightingale
<http://www.countryjoe.com/nightingale>
Berkeley Vietnam Veterans Memorial <http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Links/Comm/vvm>
Rag Baby Online Magazine <http://www.ragbaby.com/magazine>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 30 2000 - 00:49:01 CUT