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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. 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 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 more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games

Tags: 56, Declaration, Independence, of, signers

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Comment by Mrs. Diane L. Logan on July 8, 2012 at 9:06pm: I did do a search and not just because of the article on this site but because a conservative friend of mine brought my attention to it as being untrue.

Me a lib infiltrator? You must be delusional or have never read any of my previous replies or my own posts.

And I happen to like Rush although I do think at times he is a bit pompous.

I never downplay the deeds of our hero's. I do take to task falsification of those deeds as should everyone.

Comment by Michael C. Vidic on July 7, 2012 at 8:09pm: Mrs. Diane Logan seems to be at odds with the facts. Is she a liberal infiltator speading misinformation.

Some years ago, Rush Limbaugh published in his "Limbaugh Letter" a speech his father used to give on or about July 4 in which he described the hardships AND LOSS OF WEALTH that many of those men endured. It's entitled "The Americans Who Risked Everything."

Mrs. Logan, you would do well to read it. And, if you don't like Rush Limbaugh, just do a search on the internet. There are plenty of resources other than Rush Limbaugh's father.

Seems to me that you sound not like a conservative. Why do you downplay what these men suffered?

Are you a liberal seeking to spread misinformation about the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence?

Comment by Mrs. Diane L. Logan on July 7, 2012 at 6:38pm: PJ, the quote "Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died." was a fallacy. I do not usually take other conservatives to task but in order for us to represent truth we must recognise it.

If you have any complaint then I suggest you respond to, "Truth and Fiction", from where I would prefer to take my inquiries rather than Wikipedia, Google or Snopes.

And BTW, I am not a 'Ms' but a 'Mrs' and I prefer should you require an answer then I expect you will address me as such...a title I carry as an honor.

Comment by PJ Gildernew on July 7, 2012 at 4:00pm: Sorry Ms Logan,

As I read your post and read Darla's post it never claims that any were tortured only that they were targets of the British government because they were deemed TRAITORS. You can read an 1832 copy of A Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence written by L. Carroll Judson in 1839 (for free on Google Books) to find out all of the details of the hardships many if not all of our Founders went through after signing the Declaration of Independence. I also want to point out a fact that seemed to be passed over...a large portion of the delegates were ministers or had some sort of divinity degree. I mention this down played fact for several reasons; the first, religion and politics DO MIX! In the long list of grievances provided to the King in the Declaration taxes and economic issues weren't in the the top 10. Secondly, where Christianity is the worth of an individual (especially women) go up as well as sanctity of life and liberty, finally, Pastors in days past were not only leaders of the congregations but also leaders in their community as they were moral and righteous men who thought of serving others before themselves...who else would you want to be your leader??? (lawyers like we elect to day???)

Comment by Mrs. Diane L. Logan on July 6, 2012 at 9:13am

Sorry Darla but that seems to be incorrect:

The Lives of the Signers of The Declaration Of Independence Were Characterized by Death And Hardship-Truth! & Fiction!

Summary of eRumor: This email goes through a list of some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence that led to the formation of the United States more than 200 years ago. It says that the signers lived lives of hardship, personal loss, and poverty, and that five of them were captured by the British, tortured, and died. The entire email is duplicated at the bottom of this page.

The Truth:
This is a delicate one and could possibly be affected by which history book you read and how you interpret what is there. The courageous patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence, as well as other of the fathers of our country, deserve all the recognition and honor we can give. They risked everything to bring this country into being. This email, however, makes it sound as though the British won, not the Colonists. We don't want to diminish the sacrifices each of them experienced. There were hardships and losses, but to characterize the signers as not having enjoyed the fruits of their project of liberty is to overlook the quality of their abilities and the success of what they did.
Here are some of our findings:
First, none of the signers of the Declaration of Independence died in captivity. All but two, or possibly three, died natural deaths and the majority of them lived to advanced age and had adequate possessions if not wealth. Of the deaths, Thomas Lynch, Jr. was lost at sea on a recreational voyage, Button Gwinett died from injuries in a duel with a political rival, and George Wythe was thought to have been poisoned by a man who wanted his estate, but the man was acquitted. At least four of the signers were captured by the British, but apparently because they were soldiers, not signers of the Declaration. We consulted seven sources about the signers and none contained accounts of what could be called torture, at least not that was directed toward any of them for being founding fathers. Two who were captured may have experienced some kind of torture because of the severity of their confinement, but that is conjecture. All were released and died natural deaths, although the health of some was affected by their imprisonment.

Comment by Chickygirl on July 5, 2012 at 11:33pm: I love my country and I thank God for giving me the good fortune of being born here. If our schools had continually taught our nation's history, we wouldn't have so many liberals running around spewing lies and hatred against our way of life in the greatest country on earth!

Comment by mike on July 5, 2012 at 6:57am: Yes and there is not one school in the country that even reads this story or anything remotely close to it,thanks to the liberals that operate K - University in this country.

Comment by Mike Horner on July 5, 2012 at 6:47am: I never knew all of this and I am an avid follower of history and the founding of our great Country. Do we have men of this caliber today? Sadly, I don't think so. In the military, yes, but not among our politicians who seem to favor lavish vacations and golf outings more than they love our Country! The Supreme Court, save a few, is obviously made up of political hacks who enjoy the perks of their lifetime appointments!

Comment by Anthony J. Riccio on July 5, 2012 at 3:26am

To Howiem:

I did Google as you suggested. Here are three of the websites I found:

All three stated the very same things that Git-R-Done wrote, word for word.

Comment by Beate Mcneal on July 5, 2012 at 2:13am: Wow, they sure don't make man like this anymore do they? I sure can't find them in Washington DC can you? All I see is greed, traitors, disconnect from people, liers, disgrace and wimps. Welcome to the new America.