THE PATRIOT

In a dance of galloping, frightened horses, firing and

reloading men, and obscuring smoke, the dozen-and-a-half

men and their mounts battle over the shallow, rolling

hills...

A pair of Green Dragoon lieutenants FALL...

More Dragoons take shots...

Then volleys from both sides... mutual destruction...

Down to a handful of men...

Only Gabriel left of the Patriots...

Gabriel draws a bead on Tavington...

FIRES... Tavington goes down...

Motionless...

Gabriel dismounts... the only man standing of all dozen-

and-a-half...

He walks over to Tavington, drawing Martin's tomahawk from

his belt...

About to finish Tavington off, when...

Tavington pulls a pistol from underneath himself and

FIRES...

Straight into Gabriel's chest...

EXT.  WOODS BORDERING ROLLING HILLS - LATE AFTERNOON

Martin and his men BLAST OUT OF THE WOODS, weapons ready,

then rein back, stopping, seeing a tableau of death...

Bodies and blood spread over the fields... dead Dragoons,

dead avenging Patriots, dead horses, a few riderless

horses graze...

Martin looks around frantically... sees movement...

Gabriel, mortally wounded, crawling...

Martin leaps, half-falling out of his saddle.  Throws

himself on the ground, holding Gabriel...

Sees his wounds, knows they're fatal... Gabriel knows,

too... He looks up at his father, trying to speak...

Martin holds him, cradles him, trying to soothe him...

                         MARTIN

          Sssshhh...

GABRIEL DIES.  Martin sees his own tomahawk on the ground

next to Gabriel.  The life drains from Martin, lost in an

incomprehensible nightmare of overwhelming loss and

emptiness and guilt.  Martin caresses Gabriel...

CAMERA SLOWLY CRANES UP revealing, over the shallow hill,

above and beyond Martin...

A DISTANT LINE OF BLUE

Thousands and thousands of Continental soldiers

approaching.

Martin, small and unaware in the FOREGROUND, holds

Gabriel's body in his arms...

EXT.  PATRIOT ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT

Mixed gatherings of militia and Continentals are clustered

around the campfires.  More Continentals arriving all the

time.

Some of the militiamen and regulars regale each other with

tales of their exploits but most are grim and tired,

talking quietly.

A couple of Patriots play a MELANCHOLY TUNE ON FIFE AND

VIOLIN.

INT.  MARTIN'S TENT - NIGHT

Dark.  Shadowed.  The sounds of celebration can be heard

outside the tent.

Martin sits on his camp chair.  Gabriel lies on the

ground, carefully covered up to his chin with a blanket.

A single candle burns.

Lee enters.  Stands silently near Martin.

                         MARTIN

          He looks as if he's sleeping,

          doesn't he?

                         LEE

          Yes, he does.

After another moment Lee moves toward Gabriel's body.

                         LEE

          I'll help you bury him.

                         MARTIN

          Don't touch him.

Lee stops.

                         LEE

          How many men have we seen die?

                         MARTIN

          Two.  Gabriel and Thomas.

                         LEE

          Nothing will replace your sons but

          if you come with us you can justify

          their sacrifice.

                         MARTIN

          It's ended.

                         LEE

          I have a son.  He was born two

          months ago in Alexandria.  I fight

          for him.  You have other children

          for whom to fight.

Martin can't restrain his anger at Lee's words.

                         MARTIN

          It's over!

Lee sighs.  He touches Martin on the shoulder and walks

out, leaving him alone with Gabriel's body.

EXT.  PATRIOT ENCAMPMENT - MORNING

The Patriots, Continentals and Militia, are moving out.

Most of the tents have been taken down.  Wagons are

rolling out.  Companies of Continentals march off in good

order.

MARTIN'S TENT still stands.  His men finish packing up,

storing their heavy gear in wagons, tying their field gear

onto their horses.

EXT.  PATRIOT ENCAMPMENT - DAY

The last of the soldiers move out, leaving their

smoldering campfires and refuse.  The only tent that

remains is Martin's.

EXT.  MARTIN'S TENT - DAY

Martin sits in his tent, gazing obliquely at Gabriel's

body which has grown ashen.  A SOLITARY BIRD CRIES in the

distance.

EXT.  REMNANTS OF PATRIOT ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT

A dark, moonless night.  The sky is filled with stars.  A

SOFT WIND BLOWS dead leaves along the ground.  A few of

the leaves are blown through the opening of Martin's tent.

INSIDE THE TENT

Martin looks down, noticing the leaves, HEARING THE WIND.

A few of the leaves come to rest on Gabriel's haversack.

Martin sees a corner of Gabriel's Old Glory sticking out.

He looks at the flag for a moment.  Then he stands and

walks:

OUTSIDE THE TENT

Martin watches the leaves skittering along the ground.  He

listens to the wind.

Then HE LOOKS UP AT THE NIGHT SKY.  The stars are bright.

His eyes are drawn to the Big Dipper and from there to the

Little Dipper and the...

NORTH STAR.

Holding his eyes on the faint, but steady star, he

gradually reorients himself.  He looks around at the

abandoned encampment.  Then he looks into the tent and

sees Gabriel's body.  The SOFT WIND BLOWS AROUND HIM.

Martin nods in response.

EXT.  BURIAL GROUND - WOODED ENCAMPMENT - MORNING

Martin finishes burying Gabriel, putting the last

shovelfuls of dirt on the freshly turned earth.  He stands

next to the grave, looking down, and says a silent prayer.

EXT.  COWPENS ROAD - DAY

The AMERICAN FORCES are on the move, all heading in the

same direction.  Continentals and militiamen fill the

road.  Some on horseback, others in wagons, most on foot.

Among them, a mixed unit of Continentals and Martin's

brigade, at the head of which ride Lee and DeLancey.

Something catches Lee's eye and he turns back, seeing over

a shallow ridge that runs parallel to the road, an

American flag, Old Glory, just visible, the rider carrying

it hidden behind the ridge.

THE FLAG APPROACHES.  One after another, the men see it

coming.  The flag is Gabriel's, the repair almost

completed, trailing a single strip...

The men begin to sense who it is...

And then they see him... Martin, who rides up between Lee

and DeLancey.  They exchange nods.

They ride on, passing a sign that reads, "Cowpens.  20

miles."

EXT.  AMERICAN ENCAMPMENT - COWPENS - NIGHT

The campfires of the American army burn.  Small groups of

uniformed Continentals and raggedly dressed militia

cluster around different fires.  There's little mixing

between groups.

AROUND ONE OF THE CAMPFIRES

The commanders:  Lee, Martin, DeLancey, several other

officers and DAN MORGAN, a bull of a man around Martin and

Lee's age.  Morgan, a Continental, is in command.

                         MORGAN

          Benjamin, tell me about Cornwallis.

                         MARTIN

          Remember Braddock?

                         MORGAN

          That bad?

                         MARTIN

          Worse.

Morgan sighs.

                         MORGAN

          Gentlemen, as far as we know,

          General Cornwallis is at

          Bradleyville.  Two thousand of his

          infantry along with four thousand

          Green Dragoons under Tavington are

          between us and the river.  They

          outnumber our regulars two to one

          and they have five times our

          cavalry.  Two thirds of our force is

          militia.  Unreliable at best.

                         LEE

          We could pull back, try to slip away

          before dawn...

Martin shakes his head.

                         MARTIN

          You underestimate our militia, all

          of you do.

                         LEE

          I've seen our militia lines break

          again and again.  At Saratoga, at

          Monmouth, at Cherry Hill.

The officers are silent in agreement.  Martin shoots a

glare at Lee.

                         MARTIN

          Tavington and Cornwallis have seen

          the same thing.  Use that.

                         MORGAN

          How?

Martin pulls Cornwallis' journal out of his haversack and

leafs through it.

                         MARTIN

          I'll let Cornwallis tell you

          himself, and he speaks for

          Tavington, as well...

                  (reading)

          "... but it is this colonial militia

          that is the most irksome.  Not

          worthy of my attention, but

          demanding it; not worthy of British

          blood, but taking it; and not worthy

          of a soldier's honor, but sullying

          it.  Those nights of mine that are

          not sleepless, are filled with

          dreams of a cavalry charge on the

          heels of fleeing farmers..."

Martin closes the journal.

                         MARTIN

          Cornwallis and Tavington have even

          less respect for citizen soldiers

          than you do.

Morgan considers Martin's proposal.

EXT.  AMERICAN ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT

Campfires receding into the darkness, each with a small

cluster of men.  DeLancey watches as Martin talks with a

few men at one of the fires.

Martin leaves that campfire and joins another small

gathering of men at a different campfire.  Lee and some of

the other officers can be seen talking with other clusters

of militiamen at other campfires.

Martin steps up to another campfire, this one near

DeLancey, who listens.

                         MARTIN

          ... so all we're asking is that the

          front line of militia fires two

          shots.

A MILITIAMAN shakes his head with misgivings.

                         MILITIAMAN

          Lot can happen in the time it takes

          to fire two shots, 'specially

          against British regulars.

                         MARTIN

          Which is why I'm not asking for

          three.

Martin gives the men around the campfire a moment to

consider his words, then he rises and heads over to

another campfire and another small group of militiamen.