First time I've seen it. The 4th is now past and another birthday gone. Most of us are winding down the past days of beer, bbq, and baseball. We now prepare to head back to work to continue our dailey lives in this great country we live.
Below is an eMail I recieved from sidetrack most recently and after I read it I beagn to think of how we as Americans talk of freedom, liberty, tyranny and the like. How we claim to defend it to the death and no one will take it away. Well folks; after reading this, how many of us can truely say we could go through what our founding fathers went through to give us what we have today. Yes, many men and women have served and died to protect what they gave us; but how many of us can say we would go through the terrible cirumstances they went through for us...READ IT AND THINK ABOUT IT; are we as I people today as strong as they....I HOPE SO!....Thanks Deb for passing this to me.
This is very interesting!
"Posterity--you will never know how much it has cost my generation
to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." (John Q. Adams)
Subject: July 4th History
This is pretty cool, if you don't know a lot of history read this.
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.