The Patriot

The Patriot is about a colonial family in South Carolina in the year 1776, the peak of the Revolutionary War (Patriot 2000). The main character is Benjamin Martin, who is loosely based on Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion (Jones 2000), a Revolutionary War hero, is a widowed family man. He, like Marion, has a war hero reputation. Although, he became a war hero during the French & Indian War. Benjamin Martin’s son, Gabriel Martin aspires to be a member of the Continental Army. However, his father does not support war anymore, and opposes Gabriel’s joining the army. Colonel Tavington is the British main character. He is represented in a very bias manner. He is shown as a vile, uncompassionate, unfeeling, stone of a man. Contrarily, there are few moments when he is speaking with General Cornwallis, who is also given a negative reputation, where he shows emotion and concern.

Throughout the movie, it deals with what it is like to be a soldier in the war and what it is like to have children in the war. Benjamin Martin ended up fighting side by side with his son in the South Carolina militia as the militiamen’s colonel. Unfortunately, the main issues in this movie are less historical and more non-fiction personal stories just to give the movie a more dramatic, entertaining mood. In summary, Benjamin Martin loses a son when the tyrannical Colonel Tavington shoots the kid for trying to save his brother, Gabriel, who was detained for being a spy. Benjamin martin joins the war as means of getting personal revenge on Tavington. He establishes the South Carolina militia and makes many British enemies along the way. He loses his eldest son, Gabriel, just before the final battle in the film, a representation of the Battle of Guilford Court House. Colonel Tavington kills Gabriel, infuriating Benjamin Martin even more. Martin claims his revenge by killing Colonel Tavington during the Battle of Guilford Court House. In the film, the Battle of Guilford Court House is an American victory. In reality, the American forces began retreat approximately 90 minutes into the battle (Kieron 1913).

The movie was tolerably historically accurate, besides the aforementioned inaccuracy of the final battle. The characters were portrayed very precisely and authentically. There was bias against the main two nemesis characters, Colonel Tavington and General Cornwallis. These two men are shown as relentless, merciless, stubborn men. The movie sheds away from