Martin should probably be considered a wholly fictional character. While I am on the subject of discussions of the philosophy of war, there is a marvelous exchange between Cornwallis and Martin in which Cornwallis complains that it is wrong for Martin to target British officers. If you kill off the officers and leave just the men you will have chaos on the battlefield, he complains. In one sentence he douses us with culture shock and sums up the differences of 18th century warfare and the more modern brand that was coming. That may well be the best written line in any film I have seen this year.
Culture shock is just why one wants to see historical films.
Luckily almost nobody since the Civil War. It is rare that we see any film about the Revolutionary War and far rarer that we see that war from the eyes of the southern colonies. Still some of what we see is a little hard to believe. This part was overseen by experts from the Smithsonian Institute and what we see does have an air of authenticity. Some of the battle scenes are also authentic in a brutal sort of way.