This Wednesday marks the 225th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In honor of the founding of our country, I have decided to devote this week's column to profiles of South Carolina's four signers of the Declaration of Independence -- Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Thomas Lynch, and Arthur Middleton.

Edward Rutledge was a lawyer in Charleston. His brother, John Rutledge, was the first governor of the independent state of South Carolina. Edward was only twenty-seven years old when he signed the Declaration. During the Revolutionary War, he served as Captain of the Charleston Battalion of Artillery, which defended the city from British attack. After the war, Rutledge was elected governor of South Carolina in 1798. He died in office in 1800.

Thomas Heyward was a lawyer from Charleston. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, when John Rutledge stepped down to become governor. In 1778, he was appointed as a judge of the criminal courts. He presided over the trial of several people who had betrayed secret information to the British. After being found guilty of treason, Judge Heyward sentenced them to death.

Thomas Lynch, Junior was born in Georgetown in 1749. His father, Thomas Senior, was a rice planter. Thomas Senior was elected to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, but he suffered a stroke and became gravely ill. Thomas Junior then rushed to Philadelphia to be with his dying father. Thomas Junior took his father's place in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. On the trip home from Philadelphia, Thomas Senior passed away.

Arthur Middleton was a lawyer from Charleston. In 1775, he was elected to the Charleston Council of Safety. This secret committee was in charge of preparing South Carolina to defend itself when the colony declared its independence. After the Revolution, some people urged Middleton to run for Congress, but he chose to serve in the state legislature instead. Middleton's family home, Middleton Place, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

Life was not easy for these patriots. When the British invaded Charleston in 1780, Rutledge, Heyward and Middleton were captured. They were imprisoned in the Provost Dungeon in downtown Charleston and later sent to a prison camp in St. Augustine, Florida. Arthur Middleton's home was looted by the British. Shortly after signing the Declaration, Thomas Lynch, Jr. and his wife later disappeared while travelling to the Caribbean. It is believed they died in a shipwreck.

Each of these men was a devoted patriot. When they signed the Declaration of Independence, each of them pledged to defend our new nation with their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Each of them made tremendous sacrifices for our country. This Independence Day, let us honor their memory.