"The Spirit of '76" depicted multiple atrocities committed by the British side during the war, including soldiers bayoneting babies and raping unarmed women, the Wyoming massacre, and the Cherry Valley massacre. It also contained scenes with no known factual basis, such as a physical assault on Benjamin Franklin by King George III, and a sexual liaison between the king and Catherine Montour — possibly based on his supposed (and equally fictitious) relationship with Hannah Lightfoot.