I received an e-mail from the CEO of the Masiello Group and it was about how we should remember the sacrifices of the men who founded this Country. I was so moved by the e-mail that I thought I would post it on AR for everyone else to read.
56 Men Who Signed:
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and were tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes their homes ransacked and burned, two lost their sons serving in the War , another two sons were captured.
Nine of the 56 Signers fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
Twenty-Four were lawyers and jurists, eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated but they all signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well 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 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, Hayward,Ruttledge and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British Commander Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson Estate for his headquarters. He quietly urged General Washington to open fire and destroy the home, Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed, the British jailed his wife where she died a few months later.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives, his fields were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in the forests and caves near his home, he then returned home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. John Hart died a few weeks later from exhaustion and a broken heart.
These are the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble rousing ruffians, these men had security and wealth but they valued liberty more.
I thank Christopher Masiello for this insightful e-mail and I also want to wish all a Happy Fourth.
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