Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
The Price They Paid
July 2, 2002
George Denise, Scoutmaster
Originial Author Unknown

This Thursday is the 4th of July, Independence Day. It is the day we celebrate for winning our independence from Great Britain. Actually, the war for independence - the Revolutionary War was won in 1783 and Great Britain recognized our independence in 1784. However, we first formally declared our independence on July 4, 1776, so that is the day we celebrate.

There were 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. What do you suppose happened to them? Have you ever wondered?

Some have said that the original signers of the Declaration of Independence were businessmen, and that the war for independence was about economics; about making greater profits. Others have suggested they were hotheaded radicals. Neither depiction is true.

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.

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured until 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 fifty-six fought and died from wounds and hardships of the War.

It took seven years of war to win our independence once it was proclaimed. Of a total population of about 3 million people in America, 250,000 fought in the war for independence, a greater percentage of the population than in any other war in our history. Of those 250,000 who fought, 6,188 were wounded, and 4,435 died, making it one of the most costly wars in our nation's history.

These men, representing the thirteen original states, signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their 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 McKean was so hounded by the British that he had to keep moving his family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay, his possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward.

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. The owner quietly urged and ordered George Washington to open fire on it, which was done. 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 thirteen children fled 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, his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston 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: "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."

Three of the signers went on to become presidents of the United States. An interesting note, one of them, John Adams, our second president, said, "I must practice at politics and war, so that my children may practice business, so that their children may practice the arts." Today, as he predicted, most of his descendents are prominent artists: architects, musicians, painters, sculptures, and writers.

They gave us an independent America with more freedoms than any other country before or since. Can we keep it?

Thank you, and may God be with you.