A great 4th of July message courtesty of Operation First Response
AMERICA – 4th of July
What does the Fourth of July mean to you?
Parades? Fireworks? A day off from School or Work?
Here is some information on the true meaning of the birthday of our country.
On July 4th, 1776, John Hancock, who was president of the Continental Congress and
Charles Thomsom, who was the Secretary,
signed the Declaration of Independence, a document that stated we were no
longer willing to be ruled by the British.
“The Price They Paid”
Have you ever wondered what happened to those 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 56 fought and died from their 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 McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was
forced to move his family almost constantly.
He served in Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding.
His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall,
Walten,
Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge, 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 his 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 grist mill were laid to 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 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 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.”
The character of those great Americans so long ago is the
same character displayed
by the men and women of the United States Armed Forces
that continue the fight of Freedom and Independence for this great nation.
A huge THANK YOU to all our service men and women from the crazy chicas at TTWT
