~What is Historically Accurate..and what is not.~
The Patriot is a movie that seems to have been made as historically correct as possible while adding a personal and emotional side behind it.The four battles depicted in this movie were taken from five original battles that really happened.There were also other details in the film that were not accurately shown. In the movie, during the battle of Camden, it shows the continental army losing the battle against the British for fighting in traditional military style. In reality the army of blue coats was really made up of more than two thirds militia. So the continental army did not flee in this battle it was mostly the militia that fled.
The weaponry in this movie is proved to be mostly accurate except for a few theatrical add-ins to extend action to the movie. One of these weapons was the cannon which during this time use metal projectiles to raid through the armies. Exploding projectiles were no yet invented. This shows that you cannot have a historical action film without any explosions.
One very important detail that the movie portrayed incorrectly was that slaves were not really accepted yet in the fight. In the first few years of the war George Washington actually issued specific orders saying that slaves should not be inducted into the army let alone offered five shillings for each month they served.
In the last battle of the movie, Benjamin Franklin comes up with the plan to use militia as a decoy, the General asks for the militia to take two shots and retreat. In the film more than two shots were taken in the battle of Cowpen but the retreat did occur. When British commander Banastre Tarleton chose to ignore the advice of an experienced officer, he left his army double guarded which led them to be nearly destoryed.
One of the misconceptions of this movie was that the militia alone kept the British army from heading northward which was not true. After the battle of Camden the army retreated to Charlotte, North Carolina. There was no one left behind to act as an official of the continental army.
"The Patriot" movie contains very few tweaks specifically to instill a patriotic veiw in Americans today- that we can be grateful and appreciate our ancestors who got us where we are today. Although, the majority of the film accurately describes the revolution, there is fiction in this film which was added just for drama. Things like the battles, some weaponry, historical facts, and war tactics were changed to help entise the films audience and appearance.
The weaponry in this movie is proved to be mostly accurate except for a few theatrical add-ins to extend action to the movie. One of these weapons was the cannon which during this time use metal projectiles to raid through the armies. Exploding projectiles were no yet invented. This shows that you cannot have a historical action film without any explosions.
One very important detail that the movie portrayed incorrectly was that slaves were not really accepted yet in the fight. In the first few years of the war George Washington actually issued specific orders saying that slaves should not be inducted into the army let alone offered five shillings for each month they served.
In the last battle of the movie, Benjamin Franklin comes up with the plan to use militia as a decoy, the General asks for the militia to take two shots and retreat. In the film more than two shots were taken in the battle of Cowpen but the retreat did occur. When British commander Banastre Tarleton chose to ignore the advice of an experienced officer, he left his army double guarded which led them to be nearly destoryed.
One of the misconceptions of this movie was that the militia alone kept the British army from heading northward which was not true. After the battle of Camden the army retreated to Charlotte, North Carolina. There was no one left behind to act as an official of the continental army.
"The Patriot" movie contains very few tweaks specifically to instill a patriotic veiw in Americans today- that we can be grateful and appreciate our ancestors who got us where we are today. Although, the majority of the film accurately describes the revolution, there is fiction in this film which was added just for drama. Things like the battles, some weaponry, historical facts, and war tactics were changed to help entise the films audience and appearance.