The Patriot Movie Historical Accuracy

Brief Plot Summary:
Benjamin Martin, who was a French and Indian war hero, is a patriot who does not want to fight in the war against Britain. He has seven children and is raising them alone because his wife died. The family lives in South Carolina and owns working slaves. Two of his sons, Gabriel and Thomas, are nothing like their father. They are eager to fight battles as soon as possible. Gabriel enlists in the army and, when South Carolina goes to war with Britain, he is involved. Colonel Tavington, who is on the opposing side, captures Gabreil and condemns him to be hanged. The family is present when he is captured. His younger brother, Thomas, tries to save him but is shot and dies right in front of the family. Benjamin tries to help
Thomas but it is too late. To get revenge, Benjamin enlists in the fight to help gain independence for the thirteen colonies. He is a great soldier who is instrumental in the battles. Due to his bravery and willingness to fight, he helps them defeat the British.
Historical Issues Addressed/ How accurate is the film in portraying the historical issues addressed?
Although the movie did a very good job of representing some of the events that occurred in the American Revolution, some parts were not historically accurate. There were three battles that the movie alluded to, including Camden, Charlestown, and Yorktown. The battle of Camden, which was based on a real battle, was the one that Gabriel and Benjamin watched after they have decided to leave the war effort. The battle of Charlestown, which resulted from the Siege of Charlestown, was not shown, but the results serve as a time transition in the movie. Yorktown, which is also based on a real battle, was scarcely shown at the end during Mel Gibson’s closing narration. There was also an unknown battle that was based on occurrences in the Battle of Cowpens and the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Some other events that were historically accurate include Benjamin Martin’s raid on Fort Wilderness and when Colonel William Tavington burned a militia leader's home and kills Benjamin’s son. Additionally, explosive projectiles were not invented in that time period but the cannonballs that were used were accurate. The Patriot used the “Betsy Ross” flag, which
became the American flag. However, there was no fixed flag used by the Patriot forces in the Continental army. After the battle of Camden, the entire Continental army retreated to North Carolina, which is fictional. The movie had scenes where Gabriel and Anne were bundling. This actually was a common practice for couples during this time period. In the movie, George Washington made sure that slaves were not inducted into the army. However, in reality, slaves were enlisted in the army when a state was desperate and were given five shillings per month served. Slaves’ colonies existed in the war and these were also seen in the movie. The movie used militia decoys for General Cornwallis and Greene and this was not historically accurate. A final event that was fictional was when General Cornwallis was trapped at Yorktown, forced to surrender, and was so embarrassed that he sent General Charles O’Hara to surrender to Washington. The accurate story is that he sent O’Hara because he was ill. Many characters in the movie were based on real people and shared the same characteristics; only the names were different.
Review:
Personally, I believed that the movie was quite boring. I do not typically choose this type of film for personal enjoyment. However, overall, I thought it did a good job of creating realistic scenes from the American Revolution. The costumes were from the correct period, the battle scenes were quite graphic, and the weapons seemed appropriate. Also, I thought the actors were very good in the movie and invoked an emotional reaction from the viewers. Some parts were very sad and I got teary-eyed several times.