Editors Note:  This article has been widely circulated on the Internet (with a variety of sources) and has been sent to me by a number of folks.  It seems perfect for our newsletters.  Before you use it, however, be aware that some of  the facts quoted in the article have been questioned.   Check these out before you decide to reprint.

E. Brooke Harlowe; Dept. of Political Science, Susquehanna University points out a number of inaccuracies and/or misinterpretations.  See his page at: http://WWW.CTSSAR.ORG/articles/price_paid.htm.

See also Jim Elbrecht's analysis at: http://home.nycap.rr.com/elbrecht/signers/signerindex.html
     

           "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."

           Just  take  a  moment . . .  Have  you  ever  wondered  what  happened  to  the  56  men  who
     signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence?

           Five  signers  were  captured  by  the  British  and  brutally  tortured  as  traitors. Nine  fought  in
     the  War  for  Independence  and  died  from  wounds  or  from  hardships  they  suffered. Two  lost
     their  sons  in  the  Continental  Army. Another  two  had  sons  captured.  At  least  a  dozen  of
     the  fifty-six  had  their  homes  pillaged  and  burned.

           What  kind  of  men  were  they? Twenty-five  were  lawyers  or  jurists. Eleven  were
     merchants. Nine  were  farmers  or  large  plantation  owners.  One  was  a  teacher,  one  a
     musician,  and  one  a  printer. These  were  men  of  means  and  education,  yet  they  signed  the
     Declaration  of  Independence,  knowing  full  well  that  the  penalty  could  be  death  if  they  were
     captured.

           In  the  face  of  the  advancing  British  Army,  the  Continental  Congress  fled  from  Philadelphia
     to  Baltimore  on  December  12,  1776.  It  was  an  especially  anxious  time  for  John  Hancock,
     the  President,  as  his  wife  had  just  given  birth  to  a  baby  girl. Due  to  the  complications
     stemming  from  the  trip  to  Baltimore,  the  child  lived  only  a  few  months.

           William  Ellery's  signing  at  the  risk  of  his  fortune  proved  only  too  realistic.  In  December
     1776,  during  three  days  of  British  occupation  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  Ellery's  house  was
     burned,  and  all  his  property  destroyed.

           Richard  Stockton,  a  New  Jersey  State  Supreme  Court  Justice,  had  rushed  back  to  his  estate
     near  Princeton  after  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  find  that  his  wife  and  children
     were  living  like  refugees  with  friends. They  had  been  betrayed  by  a  Tory  sympathizer  who
     also  revealed  Stockton's  own  whereabouts. British  troops  pulled  him  from  his  bed  one  night,
     beat  him  and  threw  him  in  jail  where  he  almost  starved  to  death. When  he  was  finally
     released,  he  went  home  to  find  his  estate  had  been  looted,  his  possessions  burned,  and  his
     horses  stolen. Judge  Stockton  had  been  so  badly  treated  in  prison  that  his  health  was  ruined
     and  he  died  before  the  war's  end.  His  surviving  family  had  to  live  the  remainder  of  their
     lives  off  charity.

           Carter  Braxton  was  a  wealthy  planter  and  trader. One  by  one  his  ships  were  captured  by
     the  British  navy.  He  loaned  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  American  cause;   it  was  never  paid
     back. He  was  forced  to  sell  his  plantations  and  mortgage  his  other  properties  to  pay  his
     debts.

           Thomas  McKean  was  so  hounded  by  the  British  that  he  had  to  move  his  family  almost
     constantly. He  served  in  the  Continental  Congress  without  pay,  and  kept  his  family  in  hiding.

           Vandals  or  soldiers  or  both  looted  the  properties  of  Clymer,  Hall,  Harrison,  Hopkinson  and
     Livingston. Seventeen  lost  everything  they  owned.

           Thomas  Heyward,  Jr.,  Edward  Rutledge  and  Arthur  Middleton,  all  of  South  Carolina,  were
     captured  by  the  British  during  the  Charleston  Campaign  in  1780.  They  were  kept  in
     dungeons  at  the  St.  Augustine  Prison  until  exchanged  a  year  later.

           At  the  Battle  of  Yorktown,  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.  noted  that  the  British  General  Cornwallis
     had  taken  over  the  family  home  for  his  headquarters. Nelson  urged  General  George
     Washington  to  open  fire  on  his  own  home. This  was  done,  and  the  home  was  destroyed.
     Nelson  later  died  bankrupt.

           Francis  Lewis  also  had  his  home  and  properties  destroyed. The  enemy  jailed  his  wife  for
     two  months,  and  that  and  other  hardships  from  the  war  so  affected  her  health  that  she  died
     only  two  years  later.

           "Honest  John"  Hart,  a  New  Jersey  farmer,  was  driven  from  his  wife's  bedside  when  she
     was  near  death. Their  thirteen  children  fled  for  their  lives. Hart's  fields  and  his  grist  mill
     were  laid  waste. For  over  a  year  he  eluded  capture  by  hiding  in  nearby  forests. He  never
     knew  where  his  bed  would  be  the  next  night  and  often  slept  in  caves.

           When  he  finally  returned  home,  he  found  that  his  wife  had  died,  his  children  disappeared,
     and  his  farm  and  stock  were  completely  destroyed. Hart  himself  died  in  1779  without  ever
     seeing  any  of  his  family  again.

           Such  were  the  stories  and  sacrifices  typical  of  those  who  risked  everything  to  sign  the
     Declaration  of  Independence.  These  men  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  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  the  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to each  other,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor."

           Are  there  any  among  us  who  would  do  likewise?

Used with permission...."Yes, by all means reprint it so others can see how our founding Fathers suffered so that we may be free. Thanks for your Patriotism."    Sincerely, Jesse Charles Wagner, II  mailto:Webmaster@MariettaPA.

***  Editor's Note:  Check out Colonial Hall - A Look At America's Founders <http://www.colonialhall.com/index.asp> for biographies of each of the Signers.  We have permission to use those as well.  "You're welcome to reprint the Biographies.  I only ask that you reference our site.  Sincerely Yours,  John Vinci"