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Fun Facts: The 4th of July was almost the 2nd of July

How much do you know about the nation's holiday?

So much celebration goes on for the 4th of July, of course, because we're celebrating our birth as a nation. But we wanted to go over a few facts and myths that surround this auspicious day.

We'll start with a big one, the 4th of July itself. Congress actually voted for the Declaration of Independence on July 2nd, 1776! The next day, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife saying he believed that July 2nd would "be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival..." and he also predicted parades, games, guns, bonfires, and all the pomp and circumstance we give it today!

The document itself, however, wasn't approved until the 4th, which is why we celebrate the 4th of July!

Next up, aside from the hand written draft, the signing of the Declaration of Independence didn't even happen in July! John Hancock was the first to sign the official finalized document, and that didn't happen until August 2nd. Some other members who weren't present that day didn't sign until even later.

How about this one, the famous painting by John Trumbull titles "Declaration of Independence" is often mistaken for the signing of the document. However, it depicts the drafting committee presenting the declaration on June 28th to the Continental Congress, a week before our day of celebration. By the way, that image is also on the back of the two dollar bill.

Now let's talk local. Four men from South Carolina signed the Declaration of Independence. Two of them, Thomas Lynch Jr. and Edward Rutledge, were the youngest to sign. Both men were just 26 years old. The houses of all four South Carolina signee's still stand today, just in case you want to go see them, you can.

Here's a fun one, Francis Marion a.k.a. the Swamp Fox, is not mentioned when it comes to the Declaration of Independence, however he plagued the British troops during the Revolutionary War with his militia style tactics, and was a vital part of gaining our independence. One British officer, British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton was charged to capture the Swamp Fox. After hopelessly pursuing Marion through the swamps of South Carolina he said, "Come on Boys! Let us go back … as for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him." That's where he got his nickname, "The Swamp Fox." The exploits of Francis Marion were made into a movie called "The Patriot," starring Mel Gibson.

The signing of the Declaration of Independence certainly didn't end the conflict. The Revolutionary War went on for years after. It wasn't until September 3rd, 1783, when the "Treaty of Paris" was signed, which is when the British formally recognized the independence of the "former" 13 American colonies.

One last interesting fact, two of the most well known names on that document are Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. In an odd coincidence, both of those men died on the 4th of July, 1826, within hours of each other. That was also the 50th anniversary of our independence day.

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