A lifelong rugby buddy of mine, Bob Ahola is a writer and a producer who lives in California. For the past two years he has sent this note about the Fourth of July. It is phenomenally interesting so, I wanted to pass it along. It really helps us appreciate all of the difficulties the signers of the declaration had. We should never take our freedom for granted. We are blessed!
Independence Day!
The Fourth of July! The birth of the United States! It’s the third most popular holiday in America. And yet so few of us know what it really cost us to achieve it … So take a minute or two look at the price that was paid to get us where we are.
July 4th is the day the Declaration of Independence passed. (It wasn’t officially signed until August 2: Signing day).
But what about the signers? Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who created this new nation in the face of accusations of treason? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated—and with much to lose. And yet they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty for their actions would be death or imprisonment were they ever to be captured.
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Elbridge Gerry each became Vice President, and John Adams and Thomas Jefferson became President. The sons of signers John Adams and Benjamin Harrison also became Presidents. (George Washington was not a signatory.)
After the Revolution, 13 of the signers went on to become governors, 5 served in the House of Representatives and 6 became United States Senators. James Wilson and Samuel Chase became Justices of the United States Supreme Court. And Benjamin Franklin became our first Postmaster General.
Five of the signatories were captured by the British and held in prison. Richard Stockton was tortured by his captors and ultimately died of the wounds they inflicted.
Eleven signers had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 died before the war ended in 1783—two in combat—and never saw the fruit of their efforts realized.
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 never fully recovered.
Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family constantly to evade capture. He served in Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and he spent his final years impoverished and bankrupt.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Ellery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson residence for his headquarters. He secretly urged General
George Washington to open fire on his own home rather than give the British that pleasure. Legend has it that Washington (superb grenadier that he was) lobbed a cannon round through the dining room window that killed a British commissary general and his staff. Nelson’s home was virtually destroyed but restored after his death as a national monument.
Francis Lewis of New York had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. (Later his son Morgan would serve as Governor of New York.)
John Hart, Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly had his house looted by redcoats. His fields and his gristmill were laid waste. And he was driven into hiding for nearly a year, as were his 13 children, some of whom he never saw again before dying two years later.
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. And to always remember: Freedom is a conscious state of being.
