The 4th of July is nearly upon us, so here is yet another seasonal blog post. This one looks at the five men from New Jersey out of the fifty-six men total who signed America’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.
ABRAHAM CLARK – Abraham’s two sons Aaron and Thomas were captured during the war and may have perished while captives of the British. Accounts vary and some sources even claim he had three sons die in the war.
JOHN WITHERSPOON – His son James was killed in the Battle of Germantown, his home was burned by the British and Princeton University, where Witherspoon was president, was vandalized by the Brits as well.
JOHN HART– In late 1776 the British invaded New Jersey and Hart spent weeks literally on the run in the wilderness to avoid being captured. He even slept in a cave at times according to tradition.
FRANCIS HOPKINSON – This songwriter and opera composer also designed the American flag that Betsy Ross notoriously sewed for the Americans.
RICHARD STOCKTON – Got betrayed into the hands of the British by Loyalist neighbors and became very ill while imprisoned. After months of confinement Stockton took advantage of Admiral Richard “Black Dick” Howe’s (insert your own sophomoric joke here) offer of a pardon to any rebels who would swear renewed allegiance to the king. Fellow signers defended Stockton’s actions since he clearly did it to get proper medical care at home.
FOR ALL FIFTY-SIX SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE CLICK HERE.
Balladeer's Blog 
Reckon in light of the actions of these New Jersians, Uncle Sleepy & Auntie Peligro will push for New Jersey Territory’s admission to the Union?
Ha! Quite possible.
Reblogged this on El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso.
Thank you again, sir!
Anytime
😀
It seems that they all had personal motives as well
Yes, things became VERY personal!
We are used to hearing about historical events motivated by big ideas, wills, betrayals, premeditation, and we are never told how much personal aspects influenced them.
I agree!
🙂
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Wow, that’s really fascinating! I’ll definitely have to share this with my niece, who lives in New Jersey. I’m sure she’ll be absolutely thrilled to hear about it. 😉🤙🤗🙏
Great! Thank you very much!
Thanks! Have a Happy 4th of July yourself!