The Patriot

I have long feared...

...that my sins would return to visit me.

And the cost is more than I can bear.

Samuel! A postrider!

An "R".

Good.

What about this one?

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Father! Father!

Nine pounds, 11 ounces. That's perfect. Perfect.

Father, a postrider!

Did you finish planting the field?

More than half.

Those swimming breaks really cut into the day, don't they?

Told you.

Thomas.

Wait for Father.

Sorry.

That's her. The North Star.

See?

You start from the front two stars of the Big Dipper.

And then you count up.

You count up five finger-lengths...

...and it's right there.

And she'll always be looking down on us.

And protect us. Forever.

Come. Into bed.

Good night. Good night, Meg.

It helps her to know Mother's there.

Good night.

So, what was in the mail?

Peter Cuppin joined the Continentals.

He's 17, a year younger than I.

Well, the assembly's been convened, so I've been called to Charles Town.

- We're going to Charles Town? - We are.

We leave in the morning.

- Aunt Charlotte! - Aunt Charlotte!

Margaret, William, look at you.

Missed you.

They're huge. What have you been feeding them?

Well, they're from good stock. On their mother's side, of course.

Thank you. Come inside. Wait until you see what I have.

- Presents? Presents for us? - Move slowly.

You two, keep an eye on these heathens, will you?

Thomas!

Sorry.

I have this for you, Susan. It belonged to your mother.

She's still not talking?

No.

It does me good to see you.

Look, there's Gabriel.

- Gabriel! - Gabriel!

- Burn him! - Hang King George!

Death to King George!

- Hang them all! - Hang the lot of them!

My name is Peter Howard.

I lost most of my hearing and my left leg...

...fighting for the Crown in the French and Indian War.

And how did King George reward me?

He cuts off my other leg with his taxes.

Miss Howard, isn't it?

You know who I am, Gabriel Martin.

The last time you saw me, I was 11 and you put ink in my tea.

I believe that was one of my younger brothers.

Perhaps Samuel or Nathan.

It was you, and it turned my teeth black for a month.

I...-

...and send a message to King George he will never forget!

Our first order of business...

And our last, if we vote a levy!

Order, order!

Mr. Simms, you do not have the floor.

First, an address by Colonel Harry Burwell of the Continental Army.

Colonel Burwell.

You all know why I'm here.

I'm not an orator.

And I would not try to convince you of the worthiness of our cause.

I'm a soldier.

And we are at war.

From Philadelphia, we expect a declaration of independence.

Eight of the 13 colonies have levied money...

...in support of a Continental Army.

I ask that South Carolina be the ninth.

Massachusetts and Virginia may be at war...

...but South Carolina is not!

Hear, hear.

This is not a war for the independence of one or two colonies...

...but for the independence of one nation.

And what nation is that?

An American nation!

There is no such nation, and to speak of one is treason.

We are citizens of an American nation.

And our rights are being threatened...

...by a tyrant 3000 miles away.

Would you tell me, please, Mr. Howard...

...why should I trade one tyrant 3000 miles away...

...for 3000 tyrants one mile away?

An elected legislature can trample a man's rights as easily as a king can.

Captain Martin...

...I understood you to be a patriot.

If you mean by "patriot," am I angry about taxation without representation?

Well, yes, I am.

Should the American colonies govern themselves independently?

I believe they can. And they should.

But if you're asking me am I willing to go to war with England...

...then the answer is most definitely no.

This from the same Captain Benjamin Martin whose fury was so famous...

...during the Wilderness campaign?

I was intemperate in my youth.

Temperance can be a disguise for fear.

Mr. Middleton, I fought with Captain Martin...

...under Washington in the French and Indian War.

There's not a man in this room...

...or anywhere for that matter, to whom I would more willingly trust my life.

- Hear, hear. - Hear, hear!

There are alternatives to war.

We take our case before the king.

- We plead with him. - We tried.

Well, then we try again, and again, if necessary, to avoid a war.

Benjamin. I was at Bunker Hill.

The British advanced three times.

We killed over 700 at point-blank range, and still they took the ground.

That is the measure of their resolve.

If your principles dictate independence...

...then war is the only way.

It has come to that.

Hear, hear!

I have seven children.

My wife is dead.

Now, who's to care for them if I go to war?

Wars are not fought only by childless men.

Granted.

But mark my words.

This war will be fought not on the frontier...

...or on some distant battlefield...

...but amongst us.

Among our homes.

Our children will learn of it with their own eyes.

And the innocent will die with the rest of us.

I will not fight.

And because I will not fight, I will not cast a vote...

...that will send others to fight in my stead.

And your principles?

I'm a parent. I haven't got the luxury of principles.

We must vote to levy!

Twenty-eight to 12! The levy passed!

You intend to enlist without my permission?

Yes, I do.

Father, I thought you were a man of principle.

When you have a family of your own, perhaps you'll understand.

When I have a family of my own, I won't hide behind them.

He's as imprudent as his father was at his age.

Regrettably so.

I'll see to it that he serves under me.

Make him a clerk or quartermaster, something of that sort.

Good luck.

Dear Thomas: Though many seasons...

...have passed, it seems like only yesterday...

...when we last saw each other in Charles Town.

With sadness, I learned of its recent fall to the British...

...under General Cornwallis.

I received a letter from Aunt Charlotte...

...saying she closed her home in Charles Town after the city fell...

...and moved to her plantation on the Santee.

Here in the north, our campaign has been marked by defeat and privation.

Our losses have been grievous.

My good friend, Peter Cuppin, fell at Elizabethtown.

No!

His death has been difficult to bear.

We will march south with General Gates...

...to fight the redcoats under Cornwallis.

Thank you, sir.

Easy, Red. Easy.

Come back!

I envy you...

...your youth and your distance from this cruel conflict...

"of which I am a part."

But I am fortunate to be serving the cause of liberty.

And though I fear death...

...each day in prayer I reaffirm my willingness...

...to give my life in its service.

Pray for me.

But above all, pray for the cause.

"Your loving brother, Gabriel."

What are you doing?

Turn around.

Not yet, Thomas.

When?

Seventeen.

That's two years. It's already been two.

- The war could be over by then. - God willing.

All right. Seventeen.

All right.

Put it back, please.

Father?

What happened at Fort Wilderness?

Put it away.

Six-pounders. Lots of them.

How far away?

They're a long way off. They're most likely heading the other direction.