What Happened to the 56 Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence?

[cenimo]

Received via e-mail, source unknown

Here's a little historical perspective on
> Independence Day.
>
> 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 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!
>

 

[Goldstein]

It's all wrong dude.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/declare.htm

 

[Brimshack]

Snopes

 

[Talmid HaYarok]

I read the Snopes article and it didn't actually disagree with any of the stated facts. It merely draws a different conclusion and tries to make insinuations into the original article which it doesn't.

I find it interesting that most of it is based off of "would have", if history had been different. But I wonder, if history had been different how does one know how it would have gone?

 

[foolsparade]

Talmid HaYarok, you may want to take a second look at the snopes article.

"The truth is that only one man, Richard Stockton, came to harm at the hands of the British as a direct result of his having signed the Declaration of Independence, and he isn't even mentioned here."

"Several signers were captured by the British during the Revolutionary War, and all of them were released alive by the end of the war. Certainly they suffered the ill treatment often afforded to prisoners of war, but they were not tortured, nor is there any evidence that they were treated more harshly than other wartime prisoners who were not also signatories to the Declaration."

"Some signers were killed or injured because they took an active part in fighting the war for independence, some of them lost their wealth or their property because they used their assets to support the revolutionary cause, and some of them suffered losses simply because they (or their property) got in the way of a war that was being waged on American soil, but all of this was the result of the fortunes of war, not of their having signed a piece of paper."

"George Walton, a colonel in the revolutionary army, would have been taken prisoner at Battle of Savannah whether or not he signed the Declaration of Independence. The ships that Carter Braxton used to aid the revolutionary cause would have been sunk by the British whether or not he signed the Declaration of Independence. Property was often seized or destroyed as part of the spoils of war, and many men who did not sign the Declaration of Independence saw their homes ransacked. Yet most of the signers' homes were not looted at all, even though British troops had ample opportunity to do so."

"None of this is to say that the signers of the Declaration of Independence were any less courageous because they suffered fates no worse than others who did not sign. They did take a huge risk in daring to put their names on a document that repudiated their government, and they had every reason to believe at the time that they might well be hanged for having done so. But "risk" and "sacrifice" are not the same thing, and it cheapens the latter to equate it with the former."

"The most disturbing concept offered here is the one most inimical to what America supposedly stands for: the notion that those of wealth and privilege have more to give up than the common man and are therefore more noble for risking it all. To paraphrase some of our notable patriots, we're all created equal, and we all have but one life to give."

 

[Talmid HaYarok]

Yep, it still says the same thing on a second look.

The original article posted by Cenimo doesn't say "direct result" or any sort thing as the Snopes article holds. What happened to the signers of D of I? Looks like they both say the same thing.

 

[Matthew Hobbs]

Yes, but the original piece of e-mail trash posted by Cenimo tries to imply a causal connection between the fates of the 56 men, and their signing of the Declaration of Independence. As Snopes accurately points out, there is no such link.

Coincidence does not imply causality.

As a trained historian, this kind of thing really bugs me - history is interesting enough in itself. We don't need to go reading things into it. And sometimes liberals are accused of revisionist history.

 

[Talmid HaYarok]

The only ones I see trying to imply anything are those of you trying to add your own meaning and additional miscontext to the post.

Show me the causality you're trying to inappropriately put into his email.

As for their being no such link, to say that you'd have to believe that events in history are unconnected even if there isn't a direct link.

 

[Matthew Hobbs]

Talmid -

Please, don't be so disingenuous. The purpose of the e-mail is to link the trials and tribulations of the signers with their action of signing. Two clues point to this -

#1 - the fact that it is written at all, and titled "What Happened to the 56 Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence?"

If I picked 56 men who fought in Vietnam, and then related to you their sob stories afterwards, I would be implying that the ordeal of being in Vietnam led to their ruination. Such would not neccessarily be the case.

#2 - the last line exhorts us to "Remember: freedom is never free!" This is an attempt to link the signing of the Declaration ("freedom") with the price these men paid ("never free.")

Your attempt to deny the implications simply make you look like you're digging your heels in over nothing. It's kind of sad. Are you also going to hold your breath until we agree you're right?

 

[Talmid HaYarok]

Ah, so if I don't agree with you then I'm simply digging my heels in and waiting till you agree?

The title is accurate to what the article is about? its not talking about the "56 men who were at Gettysburg". The 56 men aren't random, its talking about the ones who signed the declaration. what title would you find more appropriate?

It shows what these famous men were willing to go through for the cause of Revolution. It has nothing to do with it being a result of their signing the declaration.

seems like you've got an agenda to make this into something it isn't. Are you also going to your breath until we agree you're right?

 

[Peter]

What about all those men who suffered the same fate as the 56? Do they get no credit? There are thousands we will never know the name of who were captured, had their houses burned etc. Freedom never comes cheap. So what's the point of the original post?

Let's see:

Did you ever wonder what happened to the writers of such classics as "Moby Dick," "Gulliver's Travels," and "War and Peace"?

One died, the other died and the third died. Writing a classic novel was never without cost.

C'mon!

Peter

 

[ZiSunka]

First, none of the signers of the Declaration of Independence died in captivity. All but two, or possibly three, died natural deaths and the majority of them lived to advanced age and had adequate possessions if not wealth. Of the deaths, Thomas Lynch, Jr. was lost at sea on a recreational voyage, Button Gwinett died from injuries in a duel with a political rival, and George Wythe was thought to have been poisoned by a man who wanted his estate, but the man was acquitted. At least four of the signers were captured by the British, but apparently because they were soldiers, not signers of the Declaration. We consulted seven sources about the signers and none contained accounts of what could be called torture, at least not that was directed toward any of them for being founding fathers. Two who were captured may have experienced some kind of torture because of the severity of their confinement, but that is conjecture. All were released and died natural deaths, although the health of some was affected by their imprisonment.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/patriots.htm
http://www.colonialhall.com/index.php