While thinking about what I should write for the July Praise News I came across this in my files. I don’t know who the author is but felt this was very appropriate for this month.
– Mary Carothers

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Remember that they were British subjects at the time and fought their own government!

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; one had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. When they signed, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? They 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 strong 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 to other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

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 McKean 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, Heyward, Ruttledge and Middleton. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that 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.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and 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. May we all remember that FREEDOM IS “NEVER FREE”! And may God continue to bless America. Author Unknown (Reprint from July 2013)