North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["J. Rosano II" <GIANNI-2@prodigy.net>]

Dear folks:

Please forgive me for posting this. Being a veteran it inspired a need
to pass along the commonality of us in the US and how we actually did
get here to grow our fruit and crops.
I have no idea of the validity of these statements.
Again please forgive me if anyone is offended.
 
 The REAL Declaration of Independence or 4th of July sacrafice.
 
 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. A few weeks later
 he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
 Norris 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. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:
 "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the
 protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other,
 our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
 They gave you and I a free and independent America. The history books
 never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We
 didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time
 and we fought our own government!
 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 please sending this to as many
 people as you can. 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.
 
 "Unknown author"

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