4th Of July

[rbaker]

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 f ought 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. 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 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

[GOS_Queen]

That's awesome - thanks for sharing!


I'm going to be participating in a July 4th parade!


:cheers:

[1968]

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.

I agree with the sentiment of your post, however, there appear to be some factual errors making the rounds on the Internet. From http://www.doublegv.com/ggv/JHart.html:

John Hart did not have to hide for months from the British. They were not in the area but from December 8th. 1776, when Washington retreated into Pennsylvania, until at most December 26th, when he captured Trenton. In reality, the actual time was a few days when troops were in the area. They damaged his house and farm, but it was not destroyed. As the outline shows, his wife died in October, so the British did not drive him from her side. Most of his children were grown, so he did not lose them. The two minors went to family nearby while he hid, then everything went back to "normal" after a few days. He did not die a "broken man" from losing his family- he did not lose them, he died of kidney stones after a long, very painful illness- surrounded by family, in his intact home, on his large, still working, farm.

[RT]

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp

[Jubilee]

Whether the prose is all factual or not.. I do appreciate and believe that we should remember the point of the statements...

Freedom isn't free, and we are truly blessed to be in a country where we can have such open debates.


Cassandra

[gemstone]

God bless America!:cheers:

[OPTIDONN]

God bless America!:cheers:

May not be perfect but it's the best damn place on Earth!:cheers::D

[shanbaum]

May not be perfect but it's the best damn place on Earth!:cheers::D

How many places on Earth have you visited?

[rbaker]

In addition to San Francisco, California I’ve spent in excess of thirty days in Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Panama, Costa Rica, England, France, Netherlands, Spain, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Okinawa, Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Yup, USA, still the best place on earth.

[OPTIDONN]

How many places on Earth have you visited?

Why, have you found someplace better? Well I haven't been with every woman in the world but I can say with out a doubt mine is the best! I can't say I'm the parent of every child in the world but I can still say mine are the best! I'm sure if you visit the Shanbaum house hold you'll see 'lil Shanbaum in the corner, out of sight and with a guilty look on his face, waving the American flag watching the fireworks! lol gotta bust your hump man!! HAPPY FOURTH!!

[k12311997]

Why, have you found someplace better? Well I haven't been with every woman in the world but I can say with out a doubt mine is the best! I can't say I'm the parent of every child in the world but I can still say mine are the best! I'm sure if you visit the Shanbaum house hold you'll see 'lil Shanbaum in the corner, out of sight and with a guilty look on his face, waving the American flag watching the fireworks! lol gotta bust your hump man!! HAPPY FOURTH!!

I haven't been with every woman yet, and so far I agree Donn's is the best.

(please forgive my exceptionally bad humor, I just couldn't resist.)

[OPTIDONN]

OK I set my self up for that one! It was pretty damn funny!:bbg:

[Fezz]

I haven't been with every woman yet, and so far I agree Donn's is the best.

(please forgive my exceptionally bad humor, I just couldn't resist.)

Donn-

Looks like we got ourselves a wisea@@. Somebody needs a wood shampoo and a Tom McCann enema!


Or...three cheers for a great line!

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[chip anderson]

"Celebrate the Fourth with
A Fifth!"

[DragonLensmanWV]

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 f ought 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. 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 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

Yes, this time of year means a lot to me. I'm distantly related to two of those, one with a bad ending, one with a good one, neither mentioned above.
Cheers, guys!
:cheers::cheers:

[chip anderson]

Dragon: I think Rush Limbaugh's father wrote that piece many years ago.

[rbaker]

Chip: I do believe that is correct.

[gemstone]

93% of the fireworks we will light tomorrow to celebrate the US independence were made in China. 75% of the US flags we fly are made in China. Thank you CHINA!!:cheers:

[Uncle Fester]

I'm working without my reference books here but as I recall both Generals Cornwallis and Gates played a part in us gaining independence by what they didn't do!

Both were Freemasons from military lodges and must have chaffed under the thought that national leaders were chosen by birth and not ability.

Gates especially if history is read "between the lines" threw the war whenever possible our way. The frontal assault up Breed's (Bunker) Hill was not the way an experienced warrior like Gates would have fought but I believe he was against an Englishman fighting Englishman war and wanted to send home a statement in the form of coffins to show the leaders this was not a good idea. Also his failure to send in a timely manner reinforcements up the Hudson as requested by Burgouinne (sp) led to their defeat at Bennington and evacuation from Boston.

It was nice of Cornwallis to give up Yorktown without a fight.

With the creation of the Constitution (which is still a work in progress) so began the great experiment of whether citizens could govern themselves.:)

It all started with The Declaration Of Independence so Happy Independence Day to everyone.:D:D:D

[EyeManFla]

Actually, guys, this story was first read and published by Paul Harvey in 1956.

He has updated it a couple of times since, but the one we have here is the original.

[elena]

93% of the fireworks we will light tomorrow to celebrate the US independence were made in China. 75% of the US flags we fly are made in China. Thank you CHINA!!:cheers:
:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[chip anderson]

The rest are made in Mexico.

[gemstone]

Just stay away from the dogfood,toothpaist and tires.

[rinselberg]

The Tea Tax: If it hadn't rubbed those colonists the wrong way, how would we ever have arrived at this?

teqj7l-vb_k&NR=1

[ShuString]

thanx RBaker

thank you for the insight.

[Diane]

Thanks Dick.

We should all remember history. Unfortunately, not all today care enough. Celebrating the fourth of July, should be a remembrance for those who believe that freedom wasn't cheap.

Hope that everyone had a Happy Fourth of July, and remembered those who thought enough of the future generations to make a difference. Thanks to those who are fighting today to make that difference safe again.

Diane

[shanbaum]

I think we should care enough to try to remember history accurately. Doing so may not be as emotionally satisfying as recalling a glorified version, but it's more likely to produce good outcomes in the future... which is to say, more likely to preserve the value of such sacrifices as have been made.

[rinselberg]

I think we should care enough to try to remember history accurately. Doing so may not be as emotionally satisfying as recalling a glorified version, but it's more likely to produce good outcomes in the future... which is to say, more likely to preserve the value of such sacrifices as have been made.I've seen commentary that suggests ...

The "Tea Tax" that is conventionally portrayed as the provocation that led to the Boston Tea Party was almost nothing, in comparison to the price of tea - not exactly a credible reason for what has often been portrayed as one of history's most successful "tax revolts" - the Revolutionary War.

"No Taxation Without Representation" - long enshrined in American memory as one of the Revolutionary slogans - is seen by certain historians as something of a canard. According to this POV, the rebels were not genuinely interested in achieving more representation within the British Parliament - as an alternative to achieving independence - because they knew they would still be a minority with a lesser number of votes, considering the smaller population of the colonies v. the number in England.

Some historians have called the American Revolution a "counterrevolution" to emphasize the POV that it was led from the very top of colonial society, by the most affluent segment of colonial society.

Two groups that were not immediate beneficiaries of the changes brought about by the American Revolution, in the eyes of many historians, were the native Americans ("Indians") and (of course) the considerable number of Loyalists that were faced with the necessity of seeking refuge in what would later become Canada.

I think one of the main reasons that the British didn't persist in trying to defeat the Revolutionaries was that compared to India (tea) and the Caribbean (where sugar cane was grown for the distillation of rum), the American colonies were not all that profitable for the British Empire. I guess they were growing tobacco as a cash crop in the colonies, but cigarettes hadn't been invented yet and the demand for other tobacco products not that great, compared to tea and rum.

I wonder what course history would have taken if there had been no Revolution, and if the American colonies had continued along the lines of Canda (the obvious example).

One of the best things about the Revolutionary War, from a modern perspective: It was more than 200 years ago. Time for the damages of war to be repaired, to the extent that they can be repaired.

All in all, I suspect that had I lived in the colonies at that time, I might well have sided with the Loyalists.

But that's the kind of hypothetical that really has no answer or logic to it, when you think about it at length.


teqj7l-vb_k&NR=1

Here's to Independence and the Revolutionaries who created it!



http://img18.exs.cx/img18/5972/GreatSealObverse.gif
Eye on history

[HarryChiling]

History has shown that I will never get away with lighting off mortar style fireworks in my neighborhood and tyhis year history repeated with two visits from our boys in blue. Cheers to the police who chased fireworks all day and wrote next to no tickets for it. And bless thoose little chinese hands for creating such a great thing as fireworks.

[1968]

(blank)

[rbaker]

PC run amok.
Irishman
Englishman
Scotsman
Chinaman
Unbelievable.

[1968]

(blank)

[chip anderson]

What idiot ever came up with political correctness anyway?
A Mexican is someone from Mexico. They are not Latino's, or Spanish, or any of a half dozen other terms. They are Mexicans. If they came into this country ilegally they are Wet Backs, not undocumented emigrants.

Have you ever heard the good Doctor on the Limbaugh show who guest hosts from time to time give his dissertation on the fact that he doesn't know if he is the N-word (for you politically correct leftist) or a Negro, or Black or African~American, or just not pigmentaly challenged?

Where do you folks come up with this stuff and then pretend you're saintly for same.

Chip

[1968]

(blank)

[Judy Canty]

Yup!

[HarryChiling]

No offense meant by it, I am constantly called an A-rab or sand honkey by my buddies. :bbg: And I retaliate with red neck or neck for short. 1968 if you are a chinese native then let me know and I will stop if it offends you, otherwise don't be so sensitive you might get mistaken for a sissy. :D

[1968]

(blank)