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Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? July 4 will have a great meaning to me from now on. A friend sent me the following: 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 in the Revolutionary army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 who fought died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary army.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Do you know what kind of men they were? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated; they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if captured. They were not wild eye, rabble or rousing ruffians; they were soft spoken men of means and education, with security, but they valued liberty more. They meant it when they said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”
We need to remember July 4 was paid with a price. Just as we need to remember that freedom today is also paid with a price. May God bless our service men and women, who also are willing to give their lives for our freedom.
LaVerne Cramer,
Tomah
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