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Re: The Patriot



I understand that it is sometimes necessary to rearrange events and invent
dialogue for conversations that happened (or are likely to have happened)
for which no verbatim historical record exists. And I can forgive *slight*
inaccuracies in historical details when it is done to enhance the
cinematography (a maroon village on a river) or make it clear to the
audience what is going on (Tarleton's Legion wearing red coats instead of
green). Having said all that, I wish that Hollywood would just go ahead and
do fiction, rather than say the movie is "based on" a historical personage
or "on actual events." Here is a comparison of "Benjamin Martin" and the
real "Swamp Fox," Francis Marion:

Martin: widower with seven children; has a son named Gabriel; has black
freedmen working on his farm; fought in the French and Indian War; is a
reluctant patriot, joining the cause in 1776; fights as a guerrilla;
involved in a "fictionalized" Battle of Cowpens.

Marion: does not marry until after the Revolution (when in his 50's), and
he and his wife have no children; has a nephew named Gabriel; is a
slaveowner and rice planter; fought in the French and Indian War (Cherokee
Wars of 1759 and 1761); is a member of the Provincial Congress in 1775,
enlists in the Second South Carolina Regiment the same year and serves
successively as a Captain, Major, Lt. Colonel and Colonel (while getting a
reputation as a severe disciplinarian)--no reluctant patriot he!; fights in
the Battles of Charleston (Fort Moultrie, 1776) and Savannah (1779) as a
Continental officer, becomes a guerrilla leader and a brigadier general in
the SC militia after the Battle of Camden (1780), commands NC and SC
militia at the Battle of Eutaw Springs (1781) and is therefore well-versed
in both regular and irregular warfare; finally, he is *not* at the Battle
of Cowpens (which is fought in the Upstate region of SC, not the Pee Dee
region where Marion is based).

As you can see, they have "fictionalized" Marion out of all recognition!
And unfortunately, too many people believe the history that is shown to
them on the movie or TV screen is the "real story" and do not do any
further reading/research.

By the way, other characters in the movie "based on" historic personages
include Colonel Burwell ("Lighthorse Harry" Lee, who did work with Marion)
and the villain of the piece, William Tavington, who is based on Banastre
Tarleton (he had more than his fair share of flaws and gained a reputation
for brutality among the Rebels, but he was not the devil incarnate, as
portrayed in the movie; also, his ultimate historical fate is different
than that in the movie).

Of course, the thing that got me was reading the _Smithsonian_ article and
finding out that an early version of the script had snow falling at the
Battle of Monmouth. One problem--the battle was fought on a sweltering day
in June! (Remember Molly Pitcher?) Oh, well, I guess they thought that
since the battle took place up North, it had to be snowing! I do wish the
writers had sent one of their flunkies to the library to check the date,
but I guess that was too much like doing real research.  :-)

As for working with the media, I have worked with both print and TV folks.
Some are nice, some are pains in the posterior. Sometimes they can be as
demanding as untrained genealogists who want *everything* you have on their
family and are surprised when you do not have it. In my experience, both
print and TV tend more towards photos, with TV more so (natch, since it is
a visual medium). Both groups seem to be always working on a deadline and
needing the stuff NOW, even if the project has been underway for months. It
is always "interesting" to work with them.

My rant for the day. (Could I get a job on Monday Night Football?)

Jim Cross
Special Collections
Clemson University Libraries
Clemson, SC


P.S. South Carolina has more Revolutionary War battle sites than any other
state in the U.S.

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