I was planning on saying something tonight, about the TRUE MEANING OF THE FOURTH OF JULY. That was the plan. I decided to start doing a bit of research first, as I like to be accurate, if nothing else. I came across a piece that was written by John and Glenda Akins. I do not know them, I do not know how to get in touch with them to get permission to copy their work. I think they would want this message to reach as many eyes as possible, so risking possible copyright infringements, I am going to just go ahead and paste it here anyway. Like I said, I was going to write something, but I do not think I could do better with the topic than they already have. Here it is...
The True Meaning of the Fourth of July
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 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, 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.
The only thing I can add to this is that there are still men and women willing to give everything, including their lives, to defend this great nation of ours. They leave their families, their homes, their jobs, their friends so that you and I can live each day able to speak our minds freely, able to openly condemn our own government if we choose to, free to practice any religion we wish (or to abstain from practicing religion ,if we so choose), free to do practically anything we want (as long as doing so does not interfere with the freedoms of others. We can even burn our flag and hold demonstrations at the funerals of the soldiers (and Marines, and Airmen, and Naval Personnel) who died to protect our rights, if that is what we wish to do. (Of course I personally do not agree with that kind of behaviour, but I will go to my grave defending your right to do it if you want to. But if that is something you wish to do, keep in mind, I have the right to tell you EXACTLY what I think of you, loudly and crudely and without restraint.) So when you silently Thank the men who signed the Declaration, remember to also Thank all the men and women who defend you still.
A NOTE FROM ME TO ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE EVER, ARE NOW, AND WILL EVER SERVE IN OUR ARMED FORCES...
Thank You!
The True Meaning of the Fourth of July
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 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, 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.
The only thing I can add to this is that there are still men and women willing to give everything, including their lives, to defend this great nation of ours. They leave their families, their homes, their jobs, their friends so that you and I can live each day able to speak our minds freely, able to openly condemn our own government if we choose to, free to practice any religion we wish (or to abstain from practicing religion ,if we so choose), free to do practically anything we want (as long as doing so does not interfere with the freedoms of others. We can even burn our flag and hold demonstrations at the funerals of the soldiers (and Marines, and Airmen, and Naval Personnel) who died to protect our rights, if that is what we wish to do. (Of course I personally do not agree with that kind of behaviour, but I will go to my grave defending your right to do it if you want to. But if that is something you wish to do, keep in mind, I have the right to tell you EXACTLY what I think of you, loudly and crudely and without restraint.) So when you silently Thank the men who signed the Declaration, remember to also Thank all the men and women who defend you still.
A NOTE FROM ME TO ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE EVER, ARE NOW, AND WILL EVER SERVE IN OUR ARMED FORCES...
Thank You!
That's all. Goodnight.
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