SIGNIFICANT AMERICAN HISTORY AND THE 4TH OF JULY
My special friend and history buff, Peter Forrest, sent me the following message that has facts I never knew. I have a personal desire to learn something every day and the following material and the author have provided me today’s lesson. Let me wish anyone who might read this a happy 4th of July. This old veteran tears up when yoy read the fate of our “Founding Fathers. “God Bless America” and God Bless every veteran who has served this wonderful country. C Brewer
On this day (July 3) in 1775, George Washington took command of the Continental Army.
Have you 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; while another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and made the ultimate sacrifice, dying 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 Dilly, 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.
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.
Remember: freedom is never free, and patriotism is not a sin.
LJL
Larry J. Lust
Major General, USA, Retired
9022 Cottonwood
Lenexa, Kansas 66215
Major General, USA, Retired
9022 Cottonwood
Lenexa, Kansas 66215
***************************** *******
Comment: ….and please remember our men and women in uniform serving even today in harm’s way in dangerous places.
Guarding our Republic, our culture, our freedoms,
has always been costly in terms of lives, time, and treasure.
Thank God we still have a few willing to do that
(0.4% of our people today). Few realize just how few they really are. Amazing.
Bless them all, the long and the short and the tall. jno
Posted by cb75948 in misc, patriotic and tagged America, Founding Fathers, Francis Lewis, freedom, George Washington, John HartFreedom, Major General Larry J Lust, misc, Peter Forrest, Thomas McKeam, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
A Conservative View 