The
Price They Paid
Have you ever wondered what happened to those 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 in the Revolutionary
Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or
the hardships of the Revolutionary War.
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. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their
sacred honor.
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 McKean 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 or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, 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. The owner quietly urged General
George Washington to open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed, and Nelson
died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy hailed his wife, and she
died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen
children fled for their lives. His fields and his grist mill were laid waste. For
more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war to find
his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and
a broken heart. Norris and Livivngston suffered a similar fate.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not
wild-eyed, rabble rousing ruffians. These 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 a 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 us an
independent America. Can we keep it?
Thomas Jefferson
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