Great movie, just don't use it for your history homework

Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2005)

"The Patriot" is a superb movie set in South Carolina during the American Revolution. Although the characters (with the exception of Lord Cornwallis and references to King George III, George Washington, and General Gates) the events, locations, lifestyle, and details are mostly accurate. Benjamin Martin, while not an actual character himself, is the epitome of those militia leaders who fought in South Carolina in the Revolution, such as Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, and Thomas Sumter. As a native South Carolinian and lifelong resident of Carolina, I was deeply appreciative that the film was not set in New England. The Revolution began in New England, but the vast majority of it occurred in the South, especially in the Carolinas. The battles mentioned in the movie, such as Charleston and Camden (the biggest British victory of the war b/c of General Gates's ignorance) are real places that are still beautifully maintained as historical sites today. The final battle of the movie is loosely based on the battle of Cowpens. The scenery and locations in the movie are incredibly accurate, having mostly been filmed in South Carolina. The weaponry, tactics, uniforms, architecture, and other details are very accurate. However, there are a few things that I noticed are incorrect:
1. At the beginning of the movie when the family rides over a hill to Charleston; there are no hills of any kind near Charleston or anywhere in the low country of SC.
2. Again, there are no hills from which to leap down onto a road and ambush the British from.
3. The fact that Benjamin Martin's slaves aren't slaves but paid freemen is incredibly unlikely. No slave holder at that time, even the historical figures that Martin is based, on would have done that.
4. Tavington is a green dragoon, but real green dragoons wore green, not red (hence the name)
5. The Native Americans that Martin killed in the past were indeed the Cherokee (not the Mohawk as Deagleman's review said; they lived in New York), although there was never a Fort Wilderness
6. There were no French in South Carolina to help the militia
7. The huge victories Martin won are unrealistic; the real fighters such as Francis Marion literally fired two shots and ran, they did not eliminate whole convoys or fire 8 guns 5 times in 2 minutes. However, Marion and his cohorts did employ a number of clever escapes.
8. During the Revolution, the Americans still had British accents; there was no difference between the way they talked
9. South Carolina was the only state during the Revolution that did not allow African-Americans, slaves or not, to serve in its militia or regular army. Occum would not have been allowed to fight. He also wouldn't have been granted freedom for his service even if he wasn't in South Carolina, because freedom was only granted for service with the regulars. However, there are accounts of slaves fighting for or alongside their masters with the militia either in exchange for freedom on different terms or just because they were told to.
In conclusion, the message of this movie is one that is distinctly American, one of hardships, loyalty and sacrifice (as well as really cool fight scenes and some great lines, particularly by Monsieur Villeneuve). In addition, the movie is also careful to point out two of the most little-know facts:
1. Slaves were still kept in large quantities, particularly in Sotuh Carolina, despite the Declaration of Indepence's "all men are created equal", as a result, some slaves fought for the British instead of the colonists for their freedom
2. It can be argued that the American Revolution was begun in the North, waged in the South, and won by the French
"The Patriot" is a fabulous movie with a breath-taking performance by Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, and Jason Isaacs. I highly advise you watch it, whether you are a history buff, a Southerner, a Yankee, someone from another country, or just somebody who likes great action and war movies.