So many things for all you to remember about this wonderful day. What are your memories? Please share them.
I can almost clearly remember July 4th 1976. The 200th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. The day had been planned and anticipated for several years. One of the people that was most interested in this day had been President Richard Nixon. Unfortunately, his presidency did not survive to welcome the nation into its third century. Instead, an appointed President, appointed even to the Vice Presidency, Gerald Ford was the Master of Ceremonies.
The biggest celebration was the big ships parade followed by fireworks in New York City. What a day! And we were able to watch it on Television around the nation. That concept sounds absurd today, but it hadn’t always been that you could watch “live” events around the country.
How much has changed since then, and since 1776:
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
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.
Well, enjoy your “fourth”, as we remember all those brave men and women that made this one possible.
Phil Brewer's Blog 
AS WITH SO MANY OF OUR NATIONS HERO’S, THE REAL STORY’S ARE SELDOM HEARD.