Signer of the Declaration of Independence - Thomas Nelson Jr. скачать в хорошем качестве

Signer of the Declaration of Independence - Thomas Nelson Jr.

There were 56 signers to the Declaration of Independence. Each of them has a story of patriotism, bravery, and courage. Seven signers were from Virginia, the most famous being Thomas Jefferson. But what about the other rebel from Virginia named Thomas? Here is a hint. As Governor of Virginia and Commander General of Virginia’s militia, he fought alongside George Washington during the Siege of Yorktown. And fired a cannon on his own house. Who was this patriot named General Thomas Nelson, Jr? On the morning of November 7, 1774, the York County committee, led by Thomas Nelson, Jr., boarded the “Virginia”, hoisted the tea out of its hold, and threw it in the Yorktown River. Even though it was not as large as the Boston Tea Party, the Yorktown Tea Party had the effect of moving more people to the verge of Revolution. In mid-1775, Nelson was elected to fill George Washington's seat in the Second Continental Congress when Washington left to assume command of the Continental Army. And so it was in July of 1776 that Thomas Nelson Jr. added his name to the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Nelson, Jr. had inherited a vast family fortune and used it liberally many times for the American cause. In the spring of 1780, Nelson signed his name to a loan for 2 million dollars that was needed for the war effort in Virginia. On June 12, 1781, Nelson was elected to succeed Thomas Jefferson as governor of Virginia. He faced the greatest challenge of his public career—the invasion of the British army in his hometown. In the fall of that year, General Nelson led 3,000 Virginia Militiamen as part of George Washington's Army besieging Yorktown. When British General Charles Cornwallis set up his headquarters in the Nelson home, our patriot offered 5 guineas to the first American artillerist to hit his home. They refused to fire on the house, in respect to General Nelson. So Nelson aimed and fired a cannon at his own home. His house was hit by at least six cannon balls and was severely damaged. General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, marking the end of major fighting in the American Revolution. The War left Nelson a poor man with a wife and 11 children. His personal loan of over $2,000,000 to help finance Virginia's war costs was never repaid by the state. Living on the edge of poverty, he died of asthma on January 4, 1789 – at age 50. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Yorktown's Grace Church so that his creditors could not hold his body as collateral. A true patriot, willing to sacrifice his home, livelihood, and life, Thomas Nelson Jr., personified the closing words of the Declaration of Independence, upon which he fixed his signature: "...and for support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."