The Patriot (2000 film)

Last updated
The Patriot
Patriot promo poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Written by Robert Rodat
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Caleb Deschanel
Edited by
Music by John Williams
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • June 27, 2000 (2000-06-27)(Century City)
  • June 30, 2000 (2000-06-30)(United States)
Running time
165 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110 million
Box office$215.3 million

The Patriot is a 2000 American epic historical drama war film directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Robert Rodat. The film stars Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper, and Tom Wilkinson. Set in Berkeley County, South Carolina, it follows Benjamin Martin (Gibson), an American colonist who is opposed to going to war with Great Britain but, along with his son Gabriel (Ledger), gets swept into the American Revolutionary War when his home life is disrupted, and one of his sons is murdered by a cruel British officer (Isaacs). Rodat has said Martin is a composite character based on four historical men: Andrew Pickens, Francis Marion, Daniel Morgan and Thomas Sumter.

Contents

The Patriot had its world premiere in Century City on June 27, 2000, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 30, 2000. It received positive reviews from critics and grossed $215.3 million against a $110 million budget. The film generated controversy due to themes of anti-British sentiment and was criticized by historians over its fictionalized portrayal of British figures and atrocities.

Plot

In 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, Benjamin Martin, a French and Indian War veteran and a widower with seven children, is called to Charlestown to vote in the South Carolina General Assembly on a levy supporting the Continental Army. Benjamin abstains, fearing war against Great Britain and not wanting to force others to fight when Benjamin himself will not do so. Still, the vote passes, and Benjamin's oldest son, Gabriel, joins the army against his father's wishes.

4 years later, in 1780, Charlestown falls to the British Army, and a wounded Gabriel returns home carrying rebel dispatches. The Martins care for wounded British and American soldiers before British dragoons arrive, led by Colonel William Tavington. Tavington press gangs the Martins' African American former slaves into the army and arrests Gabriel as a spy. Gabriel's brother Thomas tries to free him, but Tavington kills Thomas, then orders the Martins' house burned and all the wounded Americans executed. After the British leave, Benjamin and his two younger sons ambush the British convoy transporting Gabriel. Benjamin skillfully but brutally slaughters all but one of the British troops in front of his children. The survivor tells Tavington of the attack, earning Benjamin the "Ghost" moniker.

Gabriel rejoins the Continentals, and Benjamin soon follows, leaving the younger children in the care of Benjamin's sister-in-law, Charlotte. While they travel, they witness American forces under General Horatio Gates engaging the British at the Battle of Camden.

Benjamin meets his former commanding officer, Colonel Harry Burwell, who appoints him as colonel to raise a militia unit because of his combat experience and places Gabriel under his father's command. Benjamin is tasked with weakening Lord Cornwallis's regiments by guerrilla warfare. French Major Jean Villeneuve helps train the militia and promises more French aid. Gabriel asks his father why Villeneuve and other militia often mention Fort Wilderness, and Benjamin finally tells him; while fighting in the British Army, Benjamin and his men discovered atrocities against British colonists by French soldiers in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Enraged, they caught up with the retreating French at Fort Wilderness and killed all but two of them. The survivors had to present the severed heads of their comrades to the Cherokee, which convinced the tribe to betray the French. Though regarded as a hero, Benjamin never forgave himself.

Benjamin's militia ambushes many British patrols and supplies caravans, including some of Cornwallis's personal effects and his two Great Danes, and burns bridges and ferries that Cornwallis needs. Cornwallis angrily blames Tavington for his setbacks but, after Benjamin uses what Cornwallis perceives as a dishonorable and embarrassing ploy to free 18 of his captured men, reluctantly allows Tavington to do everything possible to arrest Benjamin.

With the aid of Wilkin, a local Loyalist, Tavington has several militiamen's homes burned and their families executed. Benjamin's family flees Charlotte's plantation to live in a Gullah settlement with formerly enslaved residents. There, Gabriel marries his betrothed, Anne. Tavington's brigade raids Anne's town and assembles everyone in the parish church, including her parents and Anne herself; knowing that they are secretly aiding the militia, he demands the location of their camp. Despite one townsperson giving it away, Tavington has the doors barricaded and burns the church to the ground, killing everyone inside. Upon discovering the tragedy, Gabriel and several other soldiers attack Tavington's encampment for revenge, where Tavington kills Gabriel before fleeing. A grieving Benjamin contemplates desertion but after seeing the American flag Gabriel repaired, he is reminded of his son's patriotic dedication and decides to rejoin the others.

Martin devises a battlefield tactic that uses Cornwallis's own pride against him. Martin's militia joins the Continental Army regiment and confronts Cornwallis's troops at the Battle of Cowpens. Benjamin and Tavington engage in personal combat. Tavington disarms and wounds Benjamin and prepares to deliver the coup de grâce. At the last second, Benjamin dodges the attack and impales Tavington twice, killing him. The battle becomes a Continental victory, and Cornwallis retreats.

Cornwallis is finally besieged at Yorktown, where his subordinate surrenders to the surrounding Continental Army and the French naval force. Afterwards, Benjamin returns to his family and discovers that his former militia has rebuilt his homestead, in honor of Gabriel's dream of building a new world.

Cast

Production

Script

Screenwriter Robert Rodat wrote seventeen drafts of the script before there was an acceptable one. In an early version, Anne is pregnant with Gabriel's child when she dies in the burning church. Rodat wrote the script with Gibson in mind for Benjamin Martin and gave the character six children to signal that preference to studio executives. After the birth of Gibson's seventh child, the script was changed so that Martin has seven children. Like the character William Wallace, which Gibson had portrayed in Braveheart five years earlier, Martin is a man who seeks to live his life in peace until revenge drives him to lead a cause against a national enemy after the life of an innocent family member is taken.

Casting

Harrison Ford turned down the lead role of Benjamin Martin because he considered the film "too violent" [3] and that "it boiled the American Revolution down to one guy wanting revenge." [4] Gibson was paid a record salary of $25 million. [5] Joshua Jackson, Elijah Wood, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Brad Renfro were considered to play Gabriel Martin. The producers and director narrowed their choices for the role of Gabriel to Ryan Phillippe and Heath Ledger, with the latter chosen because Emmerich thought he possessed "exuberant youth."

Filming

The film's German director Emmerich said "these were characters I could relate to, and they were engaged in a conflict that had a significant outcome—the creation of the first modern democratic government." [2]

The film was shot entirely on location in South Carolina, including Charleston, Rock Hill—for many of the battle scenes, and Lowrys—for the farm of Benjamin Martin, as well as nearby Fort Lawn. It was filmed on September 7, 1999, and ended on January 20, 2000. [6] [7] [8] Other scenes were filmed at Mansfield Plantation, an antebellum rice plantation in Georgetown, Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Cistern Yard on the campus of College of Charleston, and Hightower Hall and Homestead House at Brattonsville, South Carolina, along with the grounds of the Brattonsville Plantation in McConnells, South Carolina. [9] Producer Mark Gordon said the production team "tried their best to be as authentic as possible" because "the backdrop was serious history," giving attention to details in period dress. [2] Producer Dean Devlin and the film's costume designers examined actual Revolutionary War uniforms at the Smithsonian Institution prior to shooting. [2]

Musical score

The musical score for The Patriot was composed and conducted by John Williams and was nominated for an Academy Award. [10] David Arnold, who composed the scores to Emmerich's Stargate , Independence Day , and Godzilla , created a demo for The Patriot that was ultimately rejected. As a result, Arnold never returned to compose for any of Emmerich's subsequent films and was replaced by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wander.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Patriot holds an approval rating of 62% based on 137 reviews, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Patriot can be entertaining to watch, but it relies too much on formula and melodrama." [11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade "A" on an A+ to F scale. [13]

The New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell gave the film a generally negative review, although he praised its casting and called Mel Gibson "an astonishing actor", particularly for his "on-screen comfort and expansiveness". He said the film is a "gruesome hybrid, a mix of sentimentality and brutality". [14] Jamie Malanowski, also writing in The New York Times, said The Patriot "will prove to many a satisfying way to spend a summer evening. It's got big battles and wrenching hand-to-hand combat, a courageous but conflicted hero and a dastardly and totally guilt-free villain, thrills, tenderness, sorrow, rage and a little bit of kissing". [15] In his review of the film, the critic Roger Ebert wrote, "I enjoyed the strength and conviction of Gibson's performance, the sweep of the battle scenes, and the absurdity of the British caricatures. None of it has much to do with the historical reality of the Revolutionary War, but with such an enormous budget at risk, how could it?" [16]

False reviews controversy

A highly positive review was purportedly written by a critic named David Manning, who was credited to The Ridgefield Press , a small Connecticut weekly news publication. During an investigation into Manning's quotes, Newsweek reporter John Horn discovered that the newspaper had never heard of him. [17] The story emerged at around the same time as an announcement that Sony had used employees posing as moviegoers in television commercials to praise the film. All of those occurrences raised questions and controversies about ethics in film promotion practices.

On the June 10, 2001 episode of Le Show , host Harry Shearer conducted an in-studio interview with Manning, whose "review" of the film was positive. The voice of Manning was provided by a computer voice synthesizer. [18]

On August 3, 2005, Sony made an out-of-court settlement and agreed to refund $5 each to dissatisfied customers who saw that and four other films in American theaters as a result of Manning's reviews. [19]

Box office

The Patriot opened in 3,061 venues at #2 with $22,413,710 domestically in its opening weekend, falling slightly short of expectations (predictions had the film opening #1 with roughly $25 million ahead). The film opened behind Warner Bros.'s The Perfect Storm , which opened at #1 with $41,325,042. [20] [21] The film closed on October 16, 2000, with a domestic total of $113,330,342. It saw a similar level of success in foreign markets, earning $101,964,000 there for a grand total of $215,294,342, against a production budget of $110 million. [22]

Accolades

The Patriot was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Lee Orloff). [23] It also received several guild awards, including the American Society of Cinematographers award to Caleb Deschanel for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography [24] and the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award for Best Period Makeup and Best Period Hair Styling. [25]

Historical authenticity

During development, Emmerich and his team consulted experts at the Smithsonian Institution on set, props, and costumes; advisor Rex Ellis even recommended the Gullah village as an appropriate place for Martin's family to hide. [26] In addition, screenwriter Robert Rodat read through many journals and letters of colonists as part of his preparation for writing the screenplay. [27]

Producer Mark Gordon said that in making the film, "while we were telling a fictional story, the backdrop was serious history". [2] Some of the resulting characters and events thus were composites of real characters and events that were designed to serve the fictional narrative without losing the historical flavor. Rodat said of Gibson's character: "Benjamin Martin is a composite character made up of Thomas Sumter, Daniel Morgan, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Marion, and a few bits and pieces from a number of other characters." [2] Rodat also indicated that the fictional Colonel William Tavington is "loosely based on Colonel Banastre Tarleton, who was particularly known for his brutal acts". [2] [ failed verification ]

While some events, such as Tarleton's pursuit of Francis Marion and his fellow irregular soldiers who escaped by disappearing into the swamps of South Carolina, were loosely based on history, [28] and others were adapted, such as the final battle in the film which combined elements of the Battles of Cowpens and Battle of Guilford Court House, most of the plot events in the film are pure fiction.

Criticism of Benjamin Martin as based on Francis Marion

The film was harshly criticized in the British press in part because of its connection to Francis Marion, a militia leader in South Carolina known as the "Swamp Fox". After the release of The Patriot, the British newspaper The Guardian denounced Marion as "a serial rapist who hunted Red Indians for fun." [29] Historian Christopher Hibbert told the Daily Express about Marion:

The truth is that people like Marion committed atrocities as bad, if not worse, than those perpetrated by the British. [30]

The Patriot does not depict the American character Benjamin Martin as innocent of atrocities; a key plot point revolves around the character's guilt over acts he engaged in, such as torturing, killing, and mutilating prisoners during the French and Indian War, leading him to repentantly repudiate General Cornwallis for the brutality of his men.

Conservative radio host Michael Graham rejected Hibbert's criticism of Marion in a commentary published in National Review :

Was Francis Marion a slave owner? Was he a determined and dangerous warrior? Did he commit acts in an 18th century war that we would consider atrocious in the current world of peace and political correctness? As another great American film hero might say: 'You're damn right.' "That's what made him a hero, 200 years ago and today." [31]

Graham also refers to what he describes as "the unchallenged work of South Carolina's premier historian" Dr. Walter Edgar, who claimed in his 1998 South Carolina: A History that Marion's partisans were "a ragged band of both black and white volunteers". [31]

Amy Crawford, in Smithsonian magazine, stated that modern historians such as William Gilmore Simms and Hugh Rankin have written accurate biographies of Marion, including Simms' The Life of Francis Marion. [32] The introduction to the 2007 edition of Simms' book was written by Sean Busick, a professor of American history at Athens State University in Alabama, who wrote:

Marion deserves to be remembered as one of the heroes of the War for Independence....Francis Marion was a man of his times: he owned slaves, and he fought in a brutal campaign against the Cherokee Indians...Marion's experience in the French and Indian War prepared him for more admirable service. [32]

During pre-production, the producers debated on whether Martin would own slaves, ultimately deciding not to make him a slave owner. This decision received criticism from Spike Lee, who in a letter to The Hollywood Reporter accused the film's portrayal of slavery as being "a complete whitewashing of history". [33] Lee wrote that after he and his wife went to see the film, "we both came out of the theatre fuming. For three hours The Patriot dodged around, skirted about or completely ignored slavery." Gibson himself remarked: "I think I would have made him a slave holder. Not to seems kind of a cop-out." [34]

Criticism of Tavington as based on Tarleton

After release, several British voices criticized the film for its depiction of the film's villain Tavington and defended the historical character of Banastre Tarleton. Ben Fenton, commenting in The Daily Telegraph, wrote:

There is no evidence that Tarleton, called 'Bloody Ban' or 'The Butcher' in rebel pamphlets, ever broke the rules of war and certainly did not ever shoot a child in cold blood. [35]

Although Tarleton gained the reputation among Americans as a butcher for his involvement in the Battle of Waxhaws in South Carolina, he was a hero in the City of Liverpool. Liverpool City Council, led by Mayor Edwin Clein, called for a public apology for what they viewed as the film's "character assassination" of Tarleton. [36]

What happened during the Battle of The Waxhaws, known to the Americans as the Buford Massacre or as the Waxhaw massacre, is the subject of debate. According to an American field surgeon named Robert Brownfield who witnessed the events, the Continental Army Col. Buford raised a white flag of surrender, "expecting the usual treatment sanctioned by civilized warfare". While Buford was calling for quarter, Tarleton's horse was struck by a musket ball and fell. This gave the Loyalist cavalrymen the impression that the Continentals had shot at their commander while asking for mercy. Enraged, the Loyalist troops charged at the Virginians. According to Brownfield, the Loyalists attacked, carrying out "indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the most ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages".

In Tarleton's own account, he stated that his horse had been shot from under him during the initial charge in which he was knocked out for several minutes and that his men, thinking him dead, engaged in "a vindictive asperity not easily restrained". [37]

Tarleton's role in the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas is examined by Ben Rubin who shows that historically, while the actual events of the Battle of the Waxhaws were presented differently according to which side was recounting them, the story of Tarleton's atrocities at Waxhaws and on other occasions became a rallying cry, particularly at the Battle of King's Mountain. [38] The tales of Tarleton's atrocities were a part of standard U.S. accounts of the war and were described by Washington Irving and by Christopher Ward in his 1952 history, The War of the Revolution, where Tarleton is described as "cold-hearted, vindictive, and utterly ruthless. He wrote his name in letters of blood all across the history of the war in the South." [39] Not until Anthony Scotti's 2002 book, Brutal Virtue: The Myth and Reality of Banastre Tarleton, were Tarleton's actions fully reexamined. Scotti challenged the factual accounts of atrocities and stressed the "propaganda value that such stories held for the Americans both during and after the war". [40] Scotti's book, however, did not come out until two years after The Patriot. Screenwriters consulting American works to build the character Tavington based on Tarleton would have commonly found descriptions of him as barbaric and accounts of his name being used for recruiting and motivation during the Revolutionary War itself. [41]

Whereas Tavington is depicted as aristocratic but penniless, Tarleton came from a wealthy Liverpool merchant family. Tarleton did not die in battle or from impalement, as Tavington did in the film. Tarleton died on January 16, 1833, in Leintwardine, Herefordshire, England, at the age of 78, nearly 50 years after the war ended. He outlived Col. Francis Marion who died in 1795, by 38 years. Before his death, Tarleton had achieved the military rank of General, equal to that held by the overall British commanders during the American Revolution, and became a baronet and a member of the British Parliament.

Depiction of atrocities in the Revolutionary War

The Patriot was criticized for misrepresenting atrocities during the Revolutionary War, including the killing of prisoners of war and wounded soldiers and Tavington's burning a church filled with civilians. Although historians have noted that both sides during the conflict committed atrocities, they "generally agree that the rebels probably violated the rules of war more often than the British". According to Salon.com , the church-burning scene in the film is based on the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre committed by German forces in 1944, though "[there] is no evidence that a similar event took place during the American Revolution". [42] Historian Bill Segars noted that there was no record of the British ever burning a church full of civilians during the Revolutionary War, [43] though British and Loyalist forces did burn several empty churches such as the St. Philip's Church in Brunswick Town and Indiantown Presbyterian Church. [43] [44] [45] [46]

The New York Post film critic Jonathan Foreman was one of several focusing on this distortion in the film and wrote the following in an article at Salon.com:

The most disturbing thing about The Patriot is not just that German director Roland Emmerich (director of Independence Day) and his screenwriter Robert Rodat (who was criticized for excluding the roles played by British and other Allied troops in the Normandy landings from his script for Saving Private Ryan ) depicted British troops as committing savage atrocities, but that those atrocities bear such a close resemblance to war crimes carried out by German troops—particularly the SS in World War II. It's hard not to wonder if the filmmakers have some kind of subconscious agenda... They have made a film that will have the effect of inoculating audiences against the unique historical horror of Oradour—and implicitly rehabilitating the Nazis while making the British seem as evil as history's worst monsters... So it's no wonder that the British press sees this film as a kind of blood libel against the British people. [47]

The Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter said: "Any image of the American Revolution which represents you Brits as Nazis and us as gentle folk is almost certainly wrong. It was a very bitter war, a total war, and that is something that I am afraid has been lost to history....[T]he presence of the Loyalists (colonists who did not want to join the fight for independence from Britain) meant that the War of Independence was a conflict of complex loyalties." [48] The historian Richard F. Snow, editor of American Heritage magazine, said of the church-burning scene: "Of course it never happened—if it had do you think Americans would have forgotten it? It could have kept us out of World War I." [49] [50]

Home media

The Patriot was released on DVD and VHS on October 24, 2000, a Blu-ray release followed on July 3, 2007. [51] The film was later released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 22, 2018. [52]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Marion</span> American military officer, planter and politician (1732–1795)

Brigadier General Francis Marion, also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the American Revolution, Marion supported the Patriot cause and enlisted in the Continental Army, fighting against British forces in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War from 1780 to 1781.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Camden</span> 1780 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Camden, also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routed the numerically superior American forces led by Major General Horatio Gates about four miles north of Camden, South Carolina, thus strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Pickens (congressman)</span> Revolutionary War militia general in South Carolina (1739-1817)

Andrew Pickens was a militia leader in the American Revolution. A planter and slaveowner, he developed his Hopewell plantation on the east side of the Keowee River across from the Cherokee town of Isunigu (Seneca) in western South Carolina. He was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives from western South Carolina. Several treaties with the Cherokee were negotiated and signed at his plantation of Hopewell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Charleston</span> 1780 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town, the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British, following the collapse of their northern strategy in late 1777 and their withdrawal from Philadelphia in 1778, shifted their focus to the North American Southern Colonies. After approximately six weeks of siege, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding the Charleston garrison, surrendered his forces to the British. It was one of the worst American defeats of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banastre Tarleton</span> British general (1754–1833)

General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet was a British military officer and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He later served in Portugal and held commands in Ireland and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kings Mountain</span> Battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took place on October 7, 1780, 9 miles (14 km) south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina. In what is now rural Cherokee County, South Carolina, the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot. The battle has been described as "the war's largest all-American fight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Legion (American Revolutionary War)</span> British unit of the American War of Independence

The British Legion was an elite British provincial regiment established during the American Revolutionary War, composed of Loyalist American troops, organized as infantry and cavalry, plus a detachment from the 16th Light Dragoons. The unit was commonly known as Tarleton's Legion, after the British officer who led it on campaign, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. It was a unit the size of a regiment, consisting of artillery, cavalry, and light infantry, and able to operate independently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cowpens</span> 1781 battle during the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and regulars under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan faced 1,000 British troops under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

The Waxhaws is a geographical region extending beyond both sides of the border between what now is North Carolina and South Carolina, United States. It encompasses the areas currently known as Lancaster, Union and Mecklenburg counties. The name is derived from that of the Indigenous people who first inhabited the landbase, the Waxhaw people. Much of the area is now the territory of the Catawba Indian Nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Waxhaws</span> 1780 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Waxhaws was a military engagement which took place on May 29, 1780 during the American Revolutionary War between a Patriot force led by Abraham Buford and a British force led by Banastre Tarleton near Lancaster, South Carolina. Buford's men consisted of Continental Army soldiers, while Tarleton's force was mostly made up of Loyalist troops. After the two forces sighted each other, Buford rejected an initial demand to surrender. Tarleton's cavalrymen launched a charge against the Patriot troops, which led many of Buford's men to throw their arms down in surrender. However, as Tarleton's horse had been shot from under him during the charge, pinning him underneath, his infuriated soldiers attacked their Patriot opponents, killing several.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Fishing Creek</span> 1780 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Fishing Creek, also called the Battle of Catawba Ford, was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on August 18, 1780, between American and British forces including the 71st Foot. It was fought near the junction of Fishing Creek and the Catawba River in South Carolina. British forces under Banastre Tarleton surprised the militia company of Thomas Sumter, killing a significant number, taking about 300 captives, and very nearly capturing Sumter, who some say was asleep at the time of the attack.

Pyle's Massacre was fought during the American Revolutionary War in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina on February 24, 1781. The battle was between Patriot troops attached to the Continental Army under Colonel Henry Lee III and Loyalist North Carolina militiamen commanded by John Pyle. Due to the unique uniform of his forces, the Loyalists mistakenly thought Lee's men were the British Legion, who were en route to reinforce Pyle. When Lee's men opened fire, they took Pyle's force totally by surprise. This resulted in an extremely lopsided victory for Lee, and Pyle's command was scattered and routed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War</span>

The southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central theater of military operations in the second half of the American Revolutionary War, 1778–1781. It encompassed engagements primarily in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Tactics consisted of both strategic battles and guerrilla warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Charlotte</span> 1780 battle

The Battle of Charlotte was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 26, 1780. The battle took place at the Mecklenburg County Court House; which is now the site of the Bank of America tower at Trade and Tryon Streets in uptown Charlotte. An advance guard of General Charles Cornwallis' army rode into town and encountered a well-prepared Patriot militia under the command of William R. Davie in front of the court house. A skirmish ensued in which George Hanger, leading the British cavalry, was wounded. The small Patriot force, which had not intended more than token resistance, withdrew north toward Salisbury upon the arrival of Cornwallis and the main army.

The Battle of Lenud's Ferry was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that was fought on May 6, 1780 in present-day Berkeley County, South Carolina. All of the British soldiers who took part in the Battle of Lenud's Ferry were in fact Loyalists who had been born and raised in the colony of South Carolina, with the sole exception being their commanding officer Banastre Tarleton. The unit was known as the Loyalist British Legion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. The Loyalist British Legion scattered a company of Patriot militia at Lenud's Ferry, a crossing point on the Santee River, north of which lies present-day Georgetown County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Blackstock's Farm</span> United States historic place

The Battle of Blackstock's Farm, a military engagement of the American Revolutionary War, took place in what today is Union County, South Carolina, a few miles from Cross Anchor, on November 20, 1780.

The Battle of Wetzell's Mill was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on March 6, 1781, between detachments of Nathanael Greene's Continental Army and militia and Banastre Tarleton's Loyalist provincial troops in Guilford County, North Carolina.

The Battle of Wahab's Plantation was a surprise attack on a Loyalist camp, which included elements of the British Legion commanded by Banastre Tarleton, by Patriot militia under the command of William R. Davie on September 21, 1780. The owner of the plantation was militia Captain James A. Walkup who served as a guide for Davie prior to the attack. Confusion has arisen over the spelling of the name Wahab as there are many spellings of the surname including, Walkup/Wahab/Wauchope/Waughup. The Loyalists were camped on the west side of the Catawba River while General Charles Cornwallis' army had camped on the east side. Davie opportunistically decided to attack the Loyalist camp, and succeeded in driving them back in complete surprise and with heavy casualties. He retreated before the British regulars arrived. The latter, as was customary, burned down Captain Walkup's plantation.

The Battle of Fishdam Ford was an attempted surprise attack by British forces under the command of Major James Wemyss against an encampment of Patriot militia under the command of local Brigadier General Thomas Sumter around 1 am on the morning of November 9, 1780, late in the American Revolutionary War. Wemyss was wounded and captured in the attack, which failed because of heightened security in Sumter's camp and because Wemyss did not wait until dawn to begin the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Torrence's Tavern</span> Part of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Torrence's Tavern was a minor engagement of the American Revolutionary War that took place in what was the western portion of Rowan County, North Carolina, approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the Catawba River near modern-day Mooresville in Iredell County. Torrence's Tavern was a part of the larger Southern campaign of the American Revolution, which, by 1780–1781 involved a series of clashes between the British Army and Loyalist militia and the Continental Army and Patriot militia in the Piedmont region of North and South Carolina.

References

  1. ↑ "The Patriot (15)". British Board of Film Classification . June 22, 2000. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Patriot (DVD). Columbia Pictures. 2000. ISBN   0-7678-5846-8. Special features – True Patriots featurette
  3. ↑ Reporters, Telegraph (March 6, 2015). "Harrison Ford: his life and career" . Archived from the original on January 12, 2022 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "The Enduring Appeal Of Harrison Ford". People.
  5. ↑ "Livin' Large". Entertainment Weekly . No. 540. Spring 2000. p. 117.
  6. ↑ "The Patriot Filmed on Location at Mansfield Plantation".
  7. ↑ "The Patriot - Movies Filmed in South Carolina".
  8. ↑ "The Patriot on TNT". TNT (TV network). 2009. Archived from the original on March 19, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Movies Filmed in South Carolina – The Patriot". South Carolina Information Highway. SCIway.net. 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Filmtracks: The Patriot (John Williams)". Filmtracks.com. June 22, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Patriot (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Patriot". Metacritic . Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  13. ↑ "PATRIOT, THE (2000) A". CinemaScore . Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  14. ↑ Mitchell, Elvis (June 28, 2000). "Film Review; A Gentle Farmer Who's Good at Violence". The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  15. ↑ Malanowski, Jamie (July 2, 2000). "The Revolutionary War Is Lost on Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  16. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 28, 2000). "The Patriot". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  17. ↑ Horn, John (June 2, 2001). "The Reviewer Who Wasn't There". MSNBC . Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 9, 2001. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  18. ↑ Shearer, Harry (June 10, 2001). "le Show". HarryShearer.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  19. ↑ Elsworthin, Catherine (August 5, 2005). "Sony to pay $1.5m for film hoax". Irish Independent . Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  20. ↑ "George Clooney "Storms" Box Office". ABC News .
  21. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for June 30 – July 2, 2000". Box Office Mojo . July 3, 2000. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Patriot (2000)". Box Office Mojo . October 16, 2000. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  23. ↑ "The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  24. ↑ "15th Annual ASC Awards – 2000". ASC Roster. American Society of Cinematographers. 2000. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards (2001)". IMDb.
  26. ↑ Moore, Lucinda (30 June 2000). "Capturing America's Fight for Freedom". Smithsonian . Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  27. ↑ Malanowski, Jamie (July 2, 2000). "Film: The Revolutionary War is Lost on Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  28. ↑ Crawford, Amy (July 1, 2007). "The Swamp Fox – Elusive and crafty, Francis Marion outwitted British troops during the American Revolution". Smithsonian . Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Spike Lee slams Patriot". The Guardian . London. July 6, 2000. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  30. ↑ "Mel Gibson's latest hero: a rapist who hunted Indians for fun". The Guardian. 15 June 2000. ISSN   0261-3077.
  31. 1 2 Graham, Michael (June 26, 2000). "The British Are Crying, the British Are Crying (guest column)". National Review . Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  32. 1 2 Crawford, Amy (July 1, 2007). "The Swamp Fox". Smithsonian .
  33. ↑ "Spike Lee slams Patriot". The Guardian. 6 July 2000. ISSN   0261-3077.
  34. ↑ Dunkel, Tom (June 2000). "Mel Gibson Pops an American Myth". George .
  35. ↑ Fenton, Ben (June 19, 2000). "Truth is first casualty in Hollywood's war". The Daily Telegraph . London.
  36. ↑ "Patriotic Liverpool up in arms over Gibson's blockbuster". The Guardian. 30 June 2000. ISSN   0261-3077.
  37. ↑ Hickman, Kennedy. "American Revolution: Battle of Waxhaws". About.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  38. ↑ Rubin, Ben (2010). "The Rhetoric of Revenge: Atrocity and Identity in Revolutionary Carolinas". Journal of Backcountry Studies. 5 (2). Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  39. ↑ Rubin, 2010, p. 17
  40. ↑ Scotti, Anthony Jr. (July 2002). Brutal Virtue: The Myth and Reality of Banastre Tarleton. Boise, MD: Heritage Books. ISBN   978-0788420993.
  41. ↑ Rubin, 2010, p. 21.
  42. ↑ "Did the Brits Burn Churches". Slate. July 10, 2000.
  43. 1 2 Lyle, Samantha, 'Church burnings made Colonists fight Brits even harder', The Darlington County News & Press, November 26, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  44. ↑ Jarvis, Gail, 'The Destruction of Old Sheldon Church and Other Ravages of War', Abbeville Institute, March 22, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  45. ↑ Dukes, Josh, 'Indiantown Presbyterian Church', Johnsonville SC History. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  46. ↑ Merida, Paul C., 'The British Southern Campaign 1778-1781: The Impact of Strategic Level Assessments and Assumptions on British Decision Making ', USMC Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University, March 5, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  47. ↑ Foreman, Jonathan, 'The Nazis, er, the Redcoats are coming!', Salon.com, July 3, 2000. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  48. ↑ Fenton, Ben (June 19, 2000). "Truth is first casualty in Hollywood's war". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  49. ↑ "The Patriot: more flag-waving rot with Mel Gibson". The Guardian. London. July 23, 2009.
  50. ↑ "Tony Parsons Column: Danger in Mel's deceit". The Free Library. Farlex.
  51. ↑ "The Patriot DVD Release Date October 24, 2000". DVDs Release Dates. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  52. ↑ "High Def Digest | Blu-ray and Games News and Reviews in High Definition". ultrahd.highdefdigest.com. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.