A tribute to those who signed the Declaration of Independance. And the consequences of their signature on the Document.

The signers of the Declaration represented the new States as follows:

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Francis Lewis, Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor,James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

What happened to these men?

5 of the signers were captured out right, by the British, branded as TRAITORS, and TORTURED before they died.

12 saw their homes ransacked and burned, and their families dispersed.

2 lost their sons in the Revoltutionary Army. Another had 2 sons captured.

9 of the 56 actually fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the WAR itself.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw all his ships swept from the sea by the British Navy. He sold his home and his properties to pay his debts. Carter Braxton died in rags.

Thomas McKean of Delaware, was so hounded by the British, he was forced to moved his family almost constantly. He served in the Continental Congress during the WAR without pay. And his family was kept in hiding. All of his possesions were taken from him. Poverty was his reward.

Vandals or British soldiers, or perhaps both, looted the homes and properties of William Ellery of Rhode Island, George Clymer of Pennsylvania, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton of Georgia, and Thomas Heyward, Jr., Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton of South Carolina.

At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. of Viginia found that the British General Cornwallis had taken over Mr. Nelson's personal home to use as his Headquarters. Mr. Nelson sent a quite message to General Washington, The General had been reluctant to begin a battle around the home of his old friend. But Nelson's message urged General Washington to fight, to open fire, and WIN the BATTLE. And the General did. Mr. Nelson's home was destroyed, Nelson never recovered his fortune, and died in bankruptcy.

Francis Lewis of New York, saw his home and all properties destroyed. The British jailed his wife in a damp dark prison cell, and she died within a few months.

John Hart of New Jersey, was driven from his wife's bedside, as she lay dying, their 13 children were forced to flee for their very lives. His fields and mills were laid waste by the British Army. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves. Returning home after the WAR he found his wife dead, and his children, forever vanished. A few weeks later, he too, died.

Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, and Philip Livingston of New York, suffered similiar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the men who signed the Document.

The Declaration of Independace.