.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy 4th of July!



I found the item below searching on the words "Fourth of July Tribute." From Secret of Life:

    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 talk 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 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 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!

    It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

    . . . Author Unknown

Freedom is not free. Never. For it is the Solider who has given us Freedom.

Travel safely over the holiday weekend.


And have a great Fourth of July.

3D flag courtesy 3D Flags.com

Labels: ,


Comments:
Fantastic text.
I never knew those brave men had such ending.

God bless the cause of freedom.

God bless the USA and may you guys survive 4/8 years of destruction of your own culture and values at the hands of the kenyan muslim man in the white house.
 
Yes DD have a Happy Fourth. Good post about the sacrifice made by the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Sadly their sacrifice is forgotten. The shame of it all is it is forgotten the most in many of the original colonies. New Jersey for example is one of the highest tax states in the Union. Once NJ was a headquarters for Washington during the Revolutionary War. Now it is a headquarters for high taxes. So much for freedom from the oppression of excessive taxation, but hey the people of New Jersey voted in Corzine so I guess they are free to give their money to the State. New Jersey is my home state, but never again will be my home.

New Jersey has the Highest Property Taxes in the Nation
 
There used to be a time when medias would serve a job of public service announcement. Those days are over, now it's just about who's going to sell the most copies. This is all completely ridiculous indeed.

While everyone is mourning Michael Jackson in America and talking non-stop about it, in the mean time. North Korea is planning to send missiles Hawaii TOMORROW on the 4th of July and no one gives a damn even if a few million rich people die in Hawaii just as lots of people did not give a damn about 9-11.

Sounds scary doesn't it?
 
Mats, Molson, Tym -

Thanks for checking in and commenting.

Happy 4th back to all of you.

I'm glad I found that piece to run for the 4th, I like it. It was, I think the first or second result on the search terms. I'd never heard or even thought about its subject matter much, but it sure means a lot now.

Mats...what can I say about Pbama? 55-6-7-8? million people did not vote for him, and hopefully this group which includes me can find a presidential candidate that we can rally behind and bring in the Indie's and dissatisfied Dems.

Molon...Joisy is a high tax state, aren't they? They have to "keep up with New York," right? When is the last time you were there for a visit?

Tym...I think NK and Kimmy fired 6 Taepodongs today, if memory counts from the news reports. None came close to Hawaii. And even if they did, Barry would cower and issue a "sternly worded statement" ala the UN.

I'm only cking in for a brief bit to publish/respond to emails. I should be back tomorrow.

Have a safe holiday!
 
Although I don't consider Snopes to be the final arbiter on any matter, they do present an interesting discussion of your text pointing out some distortions and many errors of fact. There is plenty of truth about the hardships and privations suffered by our people during the struggle for independence and there is, therefor, no need of embellishments.
 
Thanks Steady. I will look at the Snopes info on the above info. I usually do check out what Snopes says when I read something like the above, but I admit I did not in this instance. And I agree with you, I don't consier Snopes the final arbiter either, but I place more than decent weight into their take.
 
Well, I just finished reading the Snopes page regarding the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp

Snopes rules the piece a mixture of both true and false information, and their sources are legit. Some of the...what Steadyjohn called "embellishments" are...I'm going to give the benefit of doubt to whoever wrote the piece and call it "poetic license." Not discounting Steady's term of embellishment, at all. Just how I see it.

I'm glad to pushed Snopes and other sites like it to the front of my mind. You keep me (us?) honest and on the straight and narrow.
 
I was last in Jersey early in June. I drove to Phillipsburg from the Philly area with my brother to help sell his wife's car. It was loads of fun.
 
Cool, Molson. Good that you get back there every so often. We all need to get back to our roots every once in a while.
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

eXTReMe Tracker



Web Site Traffic Counters
Alabama Internet

Listed on BlogShares

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

This site uses photographs and material from other sources in strict
accordance and compliance with Fair Use Section 107 U.S. Copyright Code.
All other images and content © 2005-2009 David Drake.
Not responsible for content contained at linked sites.

Policy on commenting:
- Anonymous comments have little chance of being published.
- Comments made on posts 60 days old or older have little chance of being published.
- Published comments do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog author.
- Discretion of publishing or rejecting submitted comments rests solely with the owner and creator of this blog.
- Comments that egregiously "plug" (i.e. advertise or promote) another site or blog will be rejected. This doesn't mean you cannot include a link to your story, blog or to another site, but don't go overboard.
- Profanity is not a disqualifying factor, but profane rants solely for purposes of profanity are unlikely to be published.
- The owner and creator of this blog is not liable or responsible for the opinions of those who comment.