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 McKean 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 grist mill 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 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 about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just 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, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes this year while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they
paid. Remember: freedom is never free!



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[Georgia:]
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

[North Carolina:]
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn


[South Carolina:]
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

[Massachusetts:]
John Hancock


[Maryland:]
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll
of Carrollton


[Virginia:]
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

[Pennsylvania:]
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross


[Delaware:]
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

[New York:]
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris


[New Jersey:]
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

[New Hampshire:]
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple


[Massachusetts:]
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry


[Rhode Island:]
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery


[Connecticut:]
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott


[New Hampshire:]
Matthew Thornton