WE WILL HAVE OUR FREEDOM AS LONG AS WE MAINTAIN IT
 

Salute the flag and hear the band
proclaiming freedom in our land.
For instance, when you feel inclined,
You're not afraid to speak your mind;
And from the media's success,
You know there's freedom of the press.
You worship God in your own way,
And no one tells you how to pray.
When traveling by car or train,
You're not required to explain,
But may go anywhere you please;
And thus, as everyone agrees,
With love of freedom so ingrained,
We know that it will be maintained.
So thank the Lord,  for He has planned
This liberty throughout our land.
Author  Gloria Nowak

The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.
... Thomas Jefferson

 

The Declaration of Independence I wonder if the politicians today would sacrifice as much??? Few Americans are aware of the tremendous sacrifices made by the brave and selfless men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Have you ever wondered what happened to those men who signed the Declaration of  Independence? Five signers were captured by British as traitors and were tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked or burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of war. 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 and well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence, knowing full well the penalty would be death if they were captured. They signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags. Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move His family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Hetward, Rutledge and Middleton. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed His wife, after which she died within a few months. At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quickly urged General Washington to open fire on the dwelling. The home was destroyed. Nelson died a bankrupt man. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and gristmill were laid waste. For more than a year, he lived in the forests and in caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Morris 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.  They pledged: "For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." The 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence are: Connecticut & New York: Huntington, Samuel; Floyd, William; Sherman, Roger; Lewis, Francis; Williams, William; Livingston, Philip; Wolcott,  Oliver;  Morris, Lewis. Delaware & North Carolina: McKean, Thomas; Hewes, Joseph; Read, George; Hooper, William; Rodney, Caesar; Penn, John. Georgia & Pennsylvania: Gwinnett, Button; Clymer, George; Hall, Lyman; Franklin, Benjamin; Walton, George; Morris, Robert. Maryland:   Morton, Robert; Carroll, Charles; Ross, George; Chase, Samuel; Rush, Benjamin; Paca, William; Smith, James; Stone, Thomas; Taylor, George. Massachusetts:   Wilson, James; Adams, John. Rhode Island:   Adams, Samuel; Ellery, William; Gerry, Elbridge; Hopkins, Stephen; Hancock, John. South Carolina:   Paine, Robert T.; Heyward, Thomas Jr.. New Hampshire:    Lynch, Thomas Jr.; Bartlett, Josiah; Middleton, Arthur; Thornton, Matthew; Rutledge, Edward; Whipple, William. Virginia & New Jersey:   Braxton, Carter; Clark, Abraham; Harrison, Benjamin; Hart, John; Jefferson, Thomas; Hopkinson, Francis; Lee, Francis Lightfoot; Stockton, Richard; Lee, Richard Henry; Witherspoon, John; Nelson, Thomas Jr.; Wythe, George Taken from Veteran of Foreign Wars Magazine dated June/July 1999.  I am truly grateful for men such these. This Fourth of July tell someone you know about one of these men.

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