U.S. 4th of July

U.S. 4th of July

Gary A. Lamb

6/26/2001

Subject: July 4th


> Forwarding

 Subject: REMEMBERING INDEPENDENCE DAY - The 4th 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!
     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.

Gary A. Lamb LPO, CO, FAAOP
C.O.P.E.
Comprehensive Orthotic-Prosthetic Enterprises
1742 Hickory St.
Abilene, TX. 79601

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