Though it recreates the historical American Revolution, The Patriot‘s true story is much different from what was seen on screen. In The Patriot, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) is a veteran of the French and Indian War who now lives as a widower with his many children. Martin is initially reluctant to fight against the British, but when the villainous redcoat leader, Colonel William Tavington, murders one of his sons, Martin recruits a militia and leads them in a highly effective guerrilla campaign against the British forces in South Carolina.
