FIFTY-SIX MEN signed the Declaration of Independence.
They largely represented the wealthy elite of colonial society; one-third were slaveholders.
But some made significant personal sacrifices for the cause of independence . . .
RICHARD STOCKTON, N.J.
Late in 1776, Stockton hastened home from an inspection of the Continental Army in New York, after learning of the British invasion of New Jersey. He was captured and imprisoned under harsh conditions. Released in 1777, in poor health, he found Morven, his home in Princeton, pillaged and partly burned. He died in 1781, months before the British surrender.
THOMAS HEYWARD Jr., S.C.
Heyward was wounded in 1779 while helping to repel a British attack on Port Royal Island, near his home, and was captured in 1780 during the siege of Charleston. The next year, the British pillaged his home. While he was imprisoned at St. Augustine, Fla., his wife died. At the war’s end, he was nearly killed after falling overboard while traveling by ship with other prisoners.
SEE MORE (slide show from New York Times): http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/07/03/opinion/20130704_Signers-ss.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
and . . .
TRANSCRIPT/HIGH-RES IMAGE of the Declaration of Independence: http://www.theindianreporter.com/historical_documents/archives/Declaration_of_Independence_Transcription.pdf
