This is an interesting lesson in history and what happened to the men  that
signed the Declaration of Independence.

 THE 4TH OF JULY

 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.

 Many of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. 
The Fourth of July is more than beer, picnics, and baseball games.  It's
about showing gratitude and respect to those gave much more than most of  us
to keep our nation free. So on this 4th of July holiday, take a few  minutes
and silently thank these patriots and others who have given so  much for our
freedom. That's not much to ask for the price they paid.