God Bless America

Tracey Lee

Relocate Scottsdale Arizona (AZ)
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Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Investment
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4th of July History Lesson

Sacrifices of 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.

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.

These men signed our Declaration of Independence and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They were men of means and well-educated.

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants
Nine were farmers and large plantation owners
They sacrificed all for US (not just U.S., but US today), and signed the Declaration of Independence, knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and Silently thank these patriots and pray that we may also be of their ilk.
Remember: freedom is never free!

Patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer,picnics, and baseball games.