4th of July

[OasisArab@aol.com]

Do not know if this will go through
but will try it
It reminded me of why we have the holiday that we do on the 4th

Subject: Declaration of Independence
 
  Have you ever 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; another two had sons captured.
  Nine of the 56 fought and died 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 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.  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 they 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."
  They gave you and me a free and independent America.  The history books
  never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War.  We
  didn't fight just the British.
  We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
  Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.
  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!
  I hope you will show your support by please sending this to as many
  people as you can.  It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT
 a  sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and
 baseball   games.

Is this a great country that we live in or what
I just does not get any better than this


Bill & De Proctor
 <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/oasisarab/Oasis.html">The Oasis Arabian 
Horse Ranch</A> 
East Texas