he town meeting, Martins eldest son, Gabriel, enlists in the Continental Army, much to his fathers dismay. The sets about a look into the historical military accuracy of the film. During a confrontation, you see both the British and colonial armies marching toward each other. Finally the colonial army stops, takes aim, and fires at the British soldiers. Historically, this was necessary due to the short range of the muskets used by both the colonial and British soldiers. Both armies would fire in volleys in which the front lines of soldiers would fire there rifles, followed by the row of soldiers directly behind them in an alternating sequence. Loyalists, colonists who were still loyal and faithful to the British crown, were also represented in this film. One man in the film is adamantly speaking out against independence during the South Carolina meeting. At one point in the film he even joins the British army as a Dragoon, or mounted cavalry man.One question that puzzles me revolves around Gibsons character Benjamin Martin. Was he based on the life of a real person? If the answer is yes, perhaps the closest model we could find would be that of General Francis Swamp Fox Marion. The parallels between the two are uncanny. The similarities go way beyond the fact that their names are quite similar. For example, upon researching General Marion, I found that he was born and raised in South Carolina as was Benjamin Martin. Both men commanded a small militia of under trained men. Marion however trained his men in guerilla warfare. The character of Benjamin Martin had the aid of a Frenchman who helped train his militia. The training of these militia men by the French soldier was quite reminiscent of George Washingtons hiring of Baron von Steuben of Germany to train colonial soldiers. Finally, both Marion and Martin used their militias to covertly attack British troops. In the film this is portrayed several times as Martin and his men hide behind ...
