The Price They Paid

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the 4^th of July, Independence Day, the day the Declaration of Independence, declaring our independence from England, was unanimously adopted by the Continental Congress. Have you ever wondered what happened to those men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Detractors have sometimes described them as wild-eyed radicals. Others have described them as wealthy merchants and landowners merely motivated by profits. It has been suggested that the war was really about economics; not liberty nor social justice. If so, then it was a high price they paid for "business".

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 and 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 honor.

Of the fifty-six signers, five were captured by the British, branded traitors, and severely tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned to the ground. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured and imprisoned. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds and hardships during this war.

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 had to keep moving his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, his possessions were taken from him and he lived out his final years in poverty.

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. Nevertheless, he quietly urged and ordered George Washington to open fire. Nelson's home was destroyed. Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis' home and properties were destroyed. His wife was jailed by the enemy. She died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she lay dying. Their thirteen children also had to flee for their lives. His fields and grist mill were laid waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning after the War to find his wife buried and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died too; from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston both 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 the following: "For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They pledged their lives and their fortunes, and in many cases they sacrificed them to give us an independent America. But the "sacred honor" they pledged has lasted. It is the foundation for what has become the greatest nation on Earth, - in wealth, in strength, and in charity, for the citizens of the United States give more to others than those of any other nation on Earth.

They gave us this America. It is up to us to carry it on.

The 4^th of July is a great date to celebrate. But take a moment also to remember the sacrifices these and so many other men and women have made to make this celebration possible.

Adapted from an earlier Scoutmaster Minute, original source unknown.