Although this post concerns mostly my American friends, the 4th of July had a profound impact on Greece, as well, as it inspired its own war of independence, in 1821. Much like the people mentioned below, the protagonists of 1821 more often than not found untimely death, died in penury or, in one notable case, were imprisoned post-independence by their fellow Greeks during political infighting.
It can be hard to remember that the people we worship as heroes today were just normal people like you and me, who made a conscious choice to sacrifice comfort and security for freedom. Since some complain that Pearseus, my epic fantasy series, is a bit hard on its heroes, I was curious: 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.
So, 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.
Compared to all that, I believe that you’ll agree: my heroes’ travails are like a walk in the park. Truth can, indeed, be scarier than fiction.
I haven’t heard these stories before, Nicholas. Such sad endings for such brave men and their families. I’m sure most people haven’t and continue to believe these men were so highly honored and that they lived out their lives well privileged. Thanks for sharing and Happy 4th!
Thank you, Michelle! Unlike our fiction, real life doesn’t always make provisions for a happy ending 🙂
Today the Left demonizes the Founders because they were white males. They have no appreciation for their courage, honor and sacrifice.
I make a point of leaving politics out of my blog, but I’ll say this: while I’m sure there are a few individuals who demonize the Founders, the Left I know does no such thing. They honor the Founders as much as everyone else!
I had no idea, but then I’m from across the border.
Seems reality can be a lot crueler than fiction at times.
Sofia, a darling friend who read Pearseus, complained that she loved it, but found parts of it too hard to stomach. I asked her which parts. Virtually all the ones she mentioned, were taken from Herodotus, in his book on Cyrus’ rise to power.
In my rewrite (out in the next few days, the book is at the proofreader’s), I have softened the tone, in a clear case of reality bowing to fiction…
I’m gearing up for a darker edge to appear in my series. It’s funny how some people say I’ve been too soft on the characters and others get annoyed whenever something bad happens. I’m still getting angry stares over the death in the 2nd book.
Never heard of Herodotus. Think I’ll read up on him between editing sections today.
Allow me:
Herodotus was a Greek historian, was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (c. 484–425 BC). Widely referred to as “The Father of History” (first conferred by Cicero), he was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically and critically, and then to arrange them into a historiographic narrative.The Histories—his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced—is a record of his investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars. It includes a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were fanciful and others possibly inaccurate, he claimed he was reporting only what had been told to him. (more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus)
His work is described in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histories_(Herodotus):
The Histories of Herodotus is now considered as the founding work of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in Western Asia, Northern Africa and Greece at that time. It is not an impartial record but it remains one of the West’s most important sources regarding these affairs. Moreover, it established without precedent the genre and study of history in the Western world, although historical records and chronicles existed beforehand.
It stands as one of the first accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, the events of, and causes for, the Greco-Persian Wars between the Achaemenid Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery (the Persians) on the one hand, and freedom (the Athenians and the confederacy of Greek city-states which united against the invaders) on the other.
The Histories was at some point divided into the nine books of modern editions, conventionally named after the Muses.
Wow. Thanks for the info.
That’s amazing. Really interesting and very sad as well.
Indeed. I’ve come to realize that one of the functions of fiction is to offer us the closure that real life lacks.
I agree, although only for those of us who read to escape. Some people like life in books to be so real that it is just as annoyingly closure free because they read to see Real Life highlighted. I keep real life as far away from my fiction as possible – both for the stuff I write and my reading material. Just call me ostrich!
Cheers
MTM
Why would anyone want to be *that* realistic in their fiction? We get enough of the Real Life in, well, our real life! 😀
I think some people do. I also think they’re mad but there you go. Anything mentioning ‘gritty realism’ and I run the other way fast!
Cheers
MTM