Thought for the Fourth...

Found this at Adrienne's Catholic Corner and thought it worth passing on. I've edited it slightly (sue me).

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 had two 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, winnett, 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 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 sending this to as many people as you can, please. It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has greater meaning than beer, picnics, and baseball games

FWIW, the American Revolution came during a time when the divine right of kings was still fervently believed in by much of the civilized world. The American experiment in self governance was seen as a crap shoot, not too many folks would have bet on success. That included our erstwhile allies (France and Holland come to mind) who delighted in sticking it to the Brits.

So these men gambled it all on something they had no guarantee would succeed. They did it because they believed in it, even though many in that time would have regarded the thought of self rule as almost blasphemous.

Something to remember as we get ready to try taking the nation back. IMO times are going to get tough for those of us believing in traditional values concerning God and country. The fight will go on for decades, the present Administration is only a symptom of the rot infesting our culture. Even voting them out won't make a major dent in the problem. It will be the start of the beginning.

But we have an advantage over those courageous Founders of Our Nation, we know exactly what America can be. It can be One Nation Under God, a shining beacon of liberty, freedom and moral rectitude. The Founders only had blind faith and hope yet still were able to sacrifice all when called upon.

If faced with a similar price, how can we refuse?