The Patriot

At the beginning of the American Revolution, Benjamin Martin is a South Carolina veteran of the French and Indian War and a widower raising his seven kids (Gabriel, Thomas, Margaret, Nathan, Samuel, William, and Susan) on his plantation. Gabriel, the eldest, is anxious to join the American forces fighting the British in the Revolutionary War. Knowing war from personal experience, Ben tries to discourage his son's ambitions, but his son enlists anyway.Gabriel returns home some time later, stumbling wounded into the family home and carrying military dispatches. The next day, a military skirmish has the Martins caring for the wounded from both sides. British soldiers - the ruthless Green Dragoons cavalry - arrive and kill the Colonial wounded, burn down the Martin house and arrest Gabriel as a spy, intending to hang him. When Ben's next eldest son, Thomas, protests against Gabriel's capture, he is shot and killed by the leader of the Green Dragoons, Colonel William Tavington.Making use of his knowledge of fighting in the wilds, Ben and his two younger sons, Nathan and Samuel set forth to ambush the British column in the woods. They manage to kill most of the soldiers in an ambush and free Gabriel. The boys are horrified at their first glimpse of their father's ferocity. Gabriel rejoins the cause against his father's will again, stating it is his duty as a soldier. Ben decides to join as well, leaving the rest of the children in the care of their aunt Charlotte, Ben's sister-in-law.Continental Army Colonel Harry Burwell, having fought alongside Ben in the French and Indian War, asks him to organize a militia designed to keep British General Cornwallis in the south until the French Navy arrives to assist. French officer Jean Villeneuve, is present to help train the militia.Ben's South Carolina militia uses guerrilla warfare, attacking the British supply lines. After a meeting with Cornwallis himself, Ben confronts Tavington again. Tavington mocks him about the death of Thomas and Ben responds by saying "Before this war is over, I'm going to kill you". To combat the militia, Cornwallis has Tavington track Ben's family to their refuge with Charlotte and burns down her plantation. However, the family escapes, and are led to a safe haven by Gabriel. Gabriel also marries his childhood friend Anne Howard.Soon after, Tavington orders Anne and her family, along with all their fellow townspeople, to be burned alive whilst locked in the church for aiding the Continentals.A grief-stricken Gabriel rides out with others to avenge their deaths. During the ensuing fight,the entire British dragoon army is killed, but Tavington kills Gabriel and escapes. Ben is devastated and his zeal for combat extinguished, but soon returns to the Continentals to avenge his sons' deaths. During the climactic battle, Ben uses the militia to lure the British into a trap, where Continentals are waiting to charge the British. And soon after, as the Continentals are slowly losing their morale and are retreating, Ben encourages them by raising the flag up high. The American forces push forward, gradually overwhelming the British. Ben fights Tavington in a vicious duel. Tavington manages to bring Ben to his knees while mockingly noting that his foe is not the better man. Ben then kills Tavington, noting his agreement, and that his sons were in fact better men. The tide of battle quickly turns and Cornwallis is forced to retreat and eventually surrender when the French Navy arrives and starts to attack him during the Siege of Yorktown. Martin and his family return to their home to find the militia helping to rebuild it. Occam, a soldier in the militia tells Ben, "Gabriel said that if we won the war, we could build a whole new world. Just figured we get started right here, with your home". Ben smiles and says "Sounds good".