Mr. McClure, Maine West HS
The Patriot (1998)
In 1778, British forces fighting in the Revolutionary War feared that control of the 13 colonies was slipping
from their grip. The Continental Army had won a decisive victory at the Battle of Saratoga near Albany, New
York, and the fledgling government had signed a peace treaty with the French. Suddenly, the Continental Army
had a new ally, and the British military decided it was time for a change in strategy.
The "shot heard round the world" that started the Revolutionary War rang out in Concord, Mass., in April 1775.
Two months later, the Second Continental Congress voted to form a national military, and in July, George
Washington became the commander of the Continental Army. Many such famous events surrounding that war,
including the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Boston Tea Party, occurred in New England. Yet, after 1777, the
British set their sights south for the new initiative.
Rather than tackling the Continental Army as a whole, the British planned to energize loyalists to the crown
who could undermine the revolutionary forces. After concluding that the highest concentration of loyalists lived
in the South, the British army captured Savannah, Ga., in late 1778, followed by Charleston, S.C., in 1780
[source: Library of Congress]. Those losses stalled the Continental Army's progress briefly, but the resulting
counterattacks would serve as the first nails in the British military's coffin.
In 1778, British forces fighting in the Revolutionary War feared that control of the 13 colonies was slipping
from their grip. The Continental Army had won a decisive victory at the Battle of Saratoga near Albany, New
York, and the fledgling government had signed a peace treaty with the French. Suddenly, the Continental Army
had a new ally, and the British military decided it was time for a change in strategy.
The "shot heard round the world" that started the Revolutionary War rang out in Concord, Mass., in April 1775.
Two months later, the Second Continental Congress voted to form a national military, and in July, George
Washington became the commander of the Continental Army. Many such famous events surrounding that war,
including the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Boston Tea Party, occurred in New England. Yet, after 1777, the
British set their sights south for the new initiative.
Rather than tackling the Continental Army as a whole, the British planned to energize loyalists to the crown
who could undermine the revolutionary forces. After concluding that the highest concentration of loyalists lived
in the South, the British army captured Savannah, Ga., in late 1778, followed by Charleston, S.C., in 1780
[source: Library of Congress]. Those losses stalled the Continental Army's progress briefly, but the resulting
counterattacks would serve as the first nails in the British military's coffin.
The Swamp Fox
When the state-controlled South Carolina militia began to mobilize against British forces prior to the capture of
Charleston, some of the fighters had already whetted their swords during the Seven Years' War (also known as
the French and Indian War). That war pitted the French and British forces against each other in a duel over
North American ownership. In South Carolina, colonists fought and killed Cherokee Indians who had initially
united with the British.
One such colonist was a young farmer named Francis Marion, who joined the South Carolina militia to fight at
the age of 25 [source: Crawford]. Like George Washington, the military experience Marion gained in the Seven
Years' War would pave the way for his battlefield leadership during the Revolutionary War. In fact, Marion's
earliest biographer referred to him as the "Washington of the South" [source: Weems].

When the state-controlled South Carolina militia began to mobilize against British forces prior to the capture of
Charleston, some of the fighters had already whetted their swords during the Seven Years' War (also known as
the French and Indian War). That war pitted the French and British forces against each other in a duel over
North American ownership. In South Carolina, colonists fought and killed Cherokee Indians who had initially
united with the British.
One such colonist was a young farmer named Francis Marion, who joined the South Carolina militia to fight at
the age of 25 [source: Crawford]. Like George Washington, the military experience Marion gained in the Seven
Years' War would pave the way for his battlefield leadership during the Revolutionary War. In fact, Marion's
earliest biographer referred to him as the "Washington of the South" [source: Weems].
The Flick: An American whose home gets attacked by foreigners goes ape s*** and kills everybody of the same
race as those who attacked him, even people who weren't actually involved. Yay, prescience!
The Inaccuracies: Benjamin Martin, the vaguely-named Mel Gibson
character in the film, is actually based on a real guy in the Revolutionary
War, Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion. Aside from having a more
memorable name, there were some notable differences between Mel and
Marion. Marion, for example, never single-handedly killed an entire British
infantry unit. He did, however, slaughter dozens of unarmed Cherokee
Indians and repeatedly raped his female slaves. So, there's that.
Why It Would Have Sucked Otherwise: True, it would have given us an
earlier tip-off that something is dreadfully wrong with Mel Gibson, but we're
not sure anyone wants to watch a movie where the bad guys burn churches
full of innocent prisoners and the good guy sexually assaults slaves and
hunts Indians for sport. You kind of don't know who to root for anymore, other than maybe the French-and who
wants that?
Read more: 11 Movies Saved by Historical Inaccuracy | Cracked.com
http://www.cracked.com/article_15014_11-movies-saved-by-historical-inaccuracy.html#ixzz1Y8ov4yNf and
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/amrevfilm.cfm
http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/oped/owens/00/patriot.html
http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2000/thepatriot.html
Maine West HS
Mr. McClure