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Local historian: Remember 56 men who risked all for freedom By MARGOT MOHSBERG, Staff Writer
Five 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. Two lost their sons who were serving in the Revolutionary Army, and another had two sons captured. It's a history that Donald R. Zuchelli of Annapolis, the owner of the only privately owned home of a signer, doesn't want you to forget as you marvel at the fireworks tomorrow. "Everyone who signed it expected to die," said Mr. Zuchelli, who owns the Peggy Stewart House at 207 Hanover St. History is Mr. Zuchelli's passion. Although he doesn't expect the average person to know as much about history as he does, he said he is shocked by the number of people who don't know the risk that the signers of the Declaration of Independence took in July 1776. "The signers were landowners. They had everything to lose. They could have been silent and lived a fine life. They didn't have to stick out their necks," he said. He is most fascinated by signer Thomas Nelson of Virginia, whose Yorktown home was taken over by British General Cornwallis. Nelson's home was destroyed after he urged George Washington to open fire on his home during the Battle of Yorktown. He would never recover from the loss, and died bankrupt. Signer Francis Lewis of New York also had his home and properties destroyed. The Redcoats jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. Signer John Hart of New Jersey was forced to leave his dying wife and live in the woods and caves for more than a year. When he returned, he found his property destroyed, his wife dead and his children missing. Hart died a few weeks later from exhaustion and a broken heart. "These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more," Mr. Zuchelli said. Out if the 56 signers, 24 were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners. "They were men of means, yet they signed the declaration knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured," he said. Signer Thomas Stone was living in Mr. Zuchelli's house, built in 1763, when he signed the declaration. Mr. Stone owned land throughout the state. "He was in sympathy for us being independent, but he did not think we should go to war for it. He was hesitant about signing but he did it because he said the majority should rule, which is where the practice majority rules comes from. He was a very brilliant man. Peculiar, but brilliant," he said. Stone and the other three Maryland signers who lived in Annapolis at the time did not suffer as tragically as many of their fellow patriots. In fact, they fared quite well. Stone lived another 11 years and became a state senator. He actually spent most of his time living in Charles County, according to R. J. Rockefeller, director of reference services for the Maryland State Archives. He was a business partner of another signer - Charles Carroll, a major owner of the Baltimore Iron Works, he said. Although Stone, a member on the Board of Visitors at St. John's College, died in Alexandria, Va., he was buried on his Charles County estate, Mr. Rockefeller said. Samuel Chase, whose home is on Maryland Avenue, was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Washington and lived to be 70 years old. William Paca, whose home is on Prince George Street, became governor of Maryland, during which time he helped build Washington College in Chestertown. He later became a federal district court judge. Carroll, whose homes is on Duke of Gloucester Street, became a member of the U.S. Senate. He was active in trade, land development and with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. At the outbreak of the revolution, he was one of the wealthiest men in America, Mr. Rockefeller said. He died in 1832 at the age of 95 - the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Staff Writer Allison Foreman contributed to this story.
Published July 03, 2000, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
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Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who risked their lives and property to sign the Declaration of Independence leading to America's freedom from England?
Banneker-Douglass Museum