[DL][OT](sorry) Revolutionary History Question

["Derek D. Bass" <wangenstein@mad.scientist.com>]

(Tried sending this once, and didn't get it back through the list, so I
don't think it made it. Sorry if it did...)

This was forwarded to me today. Now, I'm not at all one to forward a chain
letter on to other people. I certainly wouldn't do it to the List without a
reason, like the fact that this one is history-related. My knowledge of the
fine details of the American Revolution is painfully limited. I know that
there are several people on this list who know a great deal more than I
about American History, so I thought I'd run this by you. My question is
this: are these stories accurate? Did the men mentioned below fall to the
fates attributed to them here? I also thought that there might be others
here who would be interested in the answer.

It goes without saying that anyone who answers should snip all of this out
in his or her reply. No need to burden those who only get the digest any
more than necessary. Really sorry if this annoys anyone, particularly the
Deputy. This truly is an earnest, academic question.

Derek "Would've posted on [DL-OT], but this List is a lot more coherent" D.
Bass

REMEMBER TO SNIP ME--------->

Subject: The Price they Paid


This is my Fourth of July gift for you...

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
tall, 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.

I hope you will show your support by please sending this to as many people
as you can. 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.

<-----------DON'T FORGET TO SNIP ME!

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