What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the crown? To each of you, the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock and Jefferson are almost as familiar as household words. Most of us, however, know nothing of the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them? Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it.
John Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500 pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters so that his Majesty could now read his name without glasses and could now double the reward. Ben Franklin wryly noted: "Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately."
Even before the list was published, the British marked down every member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of them became the objects of vicious manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near British strongholds suffered.
Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. Their honor, and the nation they sacrificed so much to create are still intact.
The 56 signers of the Declaration Of Independence proved by their every deed that they made no idle boast when they composed the most magnificent curtain line in history. "And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
The above are excerpts from a speech written by Rush H. Limbaugh jr., father of the popular radio host Rush Limbaugh. Click here for the full version of this fantastic and moving speech.
The listed coordinates will bring you to the North Burial Ground and the family plot of Stephen Hopkins, 10 time Rhode Island Governor and Declaration signer.One of his met a tragic end as described on his grave stone. You will need to use some of the information from that stone to solve the puzzle. The rest of the puzzle questions can be easily answered with a little online research.
North Burial Ground gates open at 8:00am and close at 4:00pm. The gates close at 3:00pm on weekdays M-F during the summer(July and August) Don’t get locked in. The cache is not in the cemetery. It's best to drive into the cemetery, solve the puzzle (a skilled researcher may be able to solve this online), then drive to the parking coordinates, also in the cemetery. You will have to then walk out of the cemetery to make the find. Wheelchairs will need to use the ACCPRK parking coordinates and park along North Main Street.
The cache coordinates are N41 5A.9BC W071 WX.YZ9
A= the last digit of the year of death of Benjamin Franklin.
B= the last digit of the year that John Adams nominated George Washington to lead the Continental Army.
C=the second digit of the day that the aforementioned son of Stephen Hopkins died.
W= the number of times John Hancock was the Governor of Massachusetts.
X= the day on which the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776.
Y= the number of children Thomas Jefferson had named Lucy.
Z= the first digit of the day that the aforementioned son of Stephen Hopkins died.
Check your answers here.
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