英文片名: The Patriot

中文片名: 爱国者

上映: 2000

                        THE PATRIOT


                             by

                        Robert Rodat


























                                            March 26, 1999






FADE IN:

EXT.  THE SWAMPS OF SOUTH CAROLINA - NIGHT

Dark.  Ominous.  Kudzu hangs from the swamps maples.  A
dark and forbidding place.  A bird CRIES EERILY in the
darkness.  Insects HUM ominously.

SUPERIMPOSITION:

                   FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

A detachment of French soldiers with several wagons makes
it's way along a muddy road cut through the swamp.  The
soldiers are wary, scanning the underbrush, weapons ready.

In the swamp, parallel to the road, SHADOWED FIGURES,
hidden among the brush, silently track the French
soldiers.

As the lead wagon rolls over a muddy puddle, straddling
it, a MUD-COVERED FIGURE, reaches up, grabs the wagon's
undercarriage, pulls itself up and clings, unseen to the
underside of the wagon.  The figure, obscured by the mud,
barely looks human.

As the other wagons roll over other muddy depressions in
the road, three more mud-covered figures reach up, grab
and cling to the underside of other wagons.

FORT CHARLES

The gates are opened.  The relieved French soldiers
quicken their pace and hurry into the relative safety of
the fort.  In the fort yard the weary detachment
disperses.

UNDER THE LEAD WAGON

The first dark, mud-covered figure silently drops to the
ground and draws a distinctive TOMAHAWK from his belt as
the other figures drop from the other wagons.

The figures crawl through the shadows toward the sentries
who are closing the main gates.  THEY SPRING... the lead
figure dashes forward, raises his TOMAHAWK and HACKS DOWN
at a TERRIFIED FRENCH SENTRY...

The other muddy figures join the attack... stifling the
screams of the French soldiers with VICIOUS KNIFE
SLASHES... gaining precious seconds...

A FRENCH SOLDIER CRIES OUT... sounding the alarm... other
FRENCH SOLDIERS come running out of the darkness...

The four muddy figures, make a stand at the gate, brutally
killing the French soldiers as they come, holding the
gates open as...

Dozens of other muddy figures race out of the surrounding
swamp, tearing through the fort gates, joining the
slaughter...

The lead figure, HACKS, again and again with his
tomahawk...

Blood and flesh cover his arm as the vicious blade rises
and falls amid the SCREAMS in the darkness...

                                            DISSOLVE TO:

EXT.  SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

Beautiful sunlight.  AERIAL SHOT of a post rider galloping
along a road through peaceful untamed woodlands.  Soaring
old-growth elms arch over riverside maples along the
shores of the gently curving, deep-water Santee River.

SUPERIMPOSITION:

                      SOUTH CAROLINA
                        April, 1776

The post rider rides along a raised swamp road.  On either
side of the road, gorgeous shafts of sunlight pierce the
canopy falling onto soft, swaying ferns that cover the
high grounds.  Hundreds of BIRDS SING.  The water is
clear, with fields of floating lily pads, each with a
stark white flower rising from it.

EXT.  FRESH WATER PLANTATION - DAY

The post rider approaches a plantation built between the
banks of the river and the deep green of the swamps,
passing acres of perfectly tended rice paddies.  Two
sturdy brothers, NATHAN, 13 and SAMUEL, 12, work alongside
three adult male African freedmen, JOSHUA, JONAH, MICA,
planting rice.  They look up from their work as the rider
passes.  Nathan and Samuel take off running after the post
rider.

THE HOUSE

The post rider approaches the house, built of native
brick, well-constructed and well-maintained.  There's a
barn, a workshop and a forge.  It is a home of substance
rather than wealth.  On the front porch, MARGARET, 11,
pumps a butter churn while her brother, WILLIAM, 6,
watches.  They see the post rider.  Margaret excitedly
runs off toward the workshop while William stares at the
approaching rider who is trailed by Nathan and Samuel.

INT.  WORKSHOP - DAY

A perfect colonial workshop, fastidiously arranged with
every conceivable tool of the period.  A foot-powered
lathe.  A drop-forge.  A lifting saw.  Racks of tools,
planes, hammers, augers, drills, blocks, all hanging in
their places.  All very well-worn.

BENJAMIN MARTIN methodically works his lathe, turning a
piece of hardwood, shaving off tiny curls of wood with a
razor-sharp chisel.  He's in his late-forties, strong and
weathered.  His hands, though big and callused, handle the
chisel with a surgeon's precision.  Self-educated and
self-sufficient, he has built himself, as he built his
farm, brick by brick, from the coarse clay of the earth.

A finely-made rocking chair, missing only the dowel on
which Martin is working, sits on the work table.  The
chair is a work of art, thin and light, a spider-web of
perfectly turned wood, no nails, no glue.  Sitting on the
woodpile, SUSAN, 4, a silent, stone-face wisp of a child,
watches her father.  Margaret races in.

                         MARGARET
          Father!  A post rider!

Martin pointedly continues his work without looking up.

                         MARTIN
          Very well.

Margaret waits, then, seeing that her father isn't going
to come, she turns and races out.

EXT.  FRESH WATER PLANTATION - DAY

The post rider rides up to the house.  ABIGALE AND ABNER,
a middle-aged African couple, step out.  Abigale calls out
to Nathan and Samuel as they run up breathlessly.

                         ABIGALE
          You go tell your father, there a
          post rider.

They race toward the workshop, passing an excited
Margaret.

INT.  WORKSHOP - DAY

Martin calmly takes the piece of wood out of the lathe,
carefully fits it into the chair, inserts a peg and taps
it into place.  Then he steps back and appraises his
handiwork.  He picks up the chair and hooks the top rail
to a scale, countering with a three-pound weight.  The
chair floats.  Martin blows softly on the weight which
sinks.  Susan nods, so far, so good.  Nathan and Samuel
burst into the room.

                         NATHAN
          Father!  Father!

                         SAMUEL
          A post rider!  Mail!

Martin nods, keeping his attention on the chair.

                         MARTIN
          Very well.

The boys wait for more.  Nothing.  They race out.

EXT.  FRESH WATER PLANTATION - DAY

GABRIEL, 18, strong and handsome, walks out of the woods
with a musket in his hand and a dozen game-birds over his
shoulder.  At his side walks THOMAS, 14, also carrying a
musket.  They see the post rider giving the mail to
Abigale with the other children excitedly watch.  Thomas
runs over.  Gabriel restrains himself and strides toward
the workshop.

INT.  WORKSHOP - DAY

Martin takes the chair off the scale and puts it on the
floor.  He walks slowly around it, checking every angle.
He takes a deep breath and starts to sit down but stops as
Gabriel enters.

                         GABRIEL
          Father, a post rider.

                         MARTIN
          I know.

Gabriel waits for Martin to share his excitement.  He
doesn't.

                         GABRIEL
          May I bring it to you?

Martin pointedly keeps his attention on the chair.

                         MARTIN
          No.

                         GABRIEL
          May I open it?

Martin turns with a surprised and authoritarian glare.

                         GABRIEL
          Uh... I can wait.

Gabriel leaves.  Martin exchanges a look with Susan, then
turns back to the chair.  He takes a deep breath and
lowers himself onto the seat, gingerly adding an ounce at
a time.  Not a creak.  He smiles and sits back with a
sigh.

CRACK!  THE CHAIR SPLINTERS under Martin's weight, DUMPING
HIM on his ass on a pile of broken wood.

                         MARTIN
          Damnation!

He picks up some of the wood, about to fling it across the
room but stops as Susan shoots him a disapproving look.
He calms himself.

                         MARTIN
          Sorry.

Susan gets down from the woodpile and puts the remains of
the chair in the fireplace.  Martin steps over to his wood
rack and extracts a fresh dowel.  As Susan climbs back up
to her perch, Martin fits the dowel into the lathe and
starts it up.

THE MAIL sits, unopened, on the hall table.  Margaret,
William, Nathan, Samuel, Thomas and Gabriel hover.
Abigale bustles in and shoos them away.

                         ABIGALE
          You get away from there, now.
          That's not your mail.  You wash up
          for supper... you leave that
          alone...

The children reluctantly follow her orders, leaving the
unopened mail on the table.

EXT.  HILLTOP - FRESH WATER FARM - SUNSET

The loveliest spot on the farm.  A beautiful view of the
house, barns, river, fields and hills beyond.  A
gravestone stands in the shade of a soaring oak tree
covered with Spanish moss.  It reads:

          ELIZABETH PUTNAM MARTIN    1738-1773

Above her name is a carving of the night sky, at the
center of which is the NORTH STAR, steady and guiding.

Martin approaches.  He gives himself a moment to look at
the grave.  A soft wind blows some dry leaves along the
ground.  Martin turns his head, as if listening to spoken
words.  PUSH IN on the North Star on the gravestone.

                         MARGARET (V.O.)
          That's her, the North Star...

                                            DISSOLVE TO:

INT.  GIRLS' BEDROOM - NIGHT

Martin stands in the doorway, unobserved, while Margaret
and Susan look out the window at the night sky.

                         MARGARET
          ... you start from the front two
          stars of the Big Dipper and count up
          five fingers lengths... that's
          right... there.

Susan gazes up at the North Star.  The girls notice Martin
and climb into bed.  He puts a chair against Susan's bed
and kisses her.  He pulls a blanket up around Margaret,
who whispers:

                         MARGARET
          It helps her to know Mother's there.

Martin nods with a thin smile, kisses Margaret, picks up
his candle and walks out.

INT.  BOYS' BEDROOM - NIGHT

Martin enters, finding William asleep on the floor and
Nathan and Samuel both asleep in their beds.  He lifts
William into bed, takes a slingshot from Nathan's hand.
Samuel looks up, three-quarters asleep, murmuring:

                         SAMUEL
          Mail, papa...

                         MARTIN
          I know.

He tucks in Samuel and walks out.

INT.  FOYER - MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Gabriel hovers near the still unopened mail.  Thomas lies
on the floor, deploying squadrons of lead soldiers.
Martin walks in and pours a drink.

                         MARTIN
          Very well.  Open it.

Thomas and Gabriel leap for the mail, battling, tearing
into it.  Martin steps to the window with his drink,
looking out into the night.  Gabriel scans, Thomas reads
more slowly.

                         GABRIEL
          The New York and Rhode Island
          assemblies have been dissolved...

                         MARTIN
          The middle colonies?

                         GABRIEL
          Rioting both sides of the bay, in
          Chestertown they burned the Customs
          House and tar-and-feathered the
          Customs Agent.  He died of burns.
          In Wilmington they killed a Royal
          Magistrate and two Redcoats.

                         MARTIN
          Foolish men.

                         GABRIEL
          Who, the rioters or the magistrates?

                         MARTIN
          Anything about the convention in
          Philadelphia?

                         GABRIEL
          Poor Richard says they'll make a
          Declaration of Independence by July.

Martin extracts a delicate pair of reading glasses from a
wooden pocket-box and motions for Gabriel to hand him some
of the newspapers and pamphlets.  Gabriel does so.  Martin
sits down and begins reading.

                         GABRIEL
          Scott Higgins joined the militia.

Martin doesn't respond.  Thomas looks up from his lead
soldiers.

                         GABRIEL
          He's seventeen.  A year younger than
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Gabriel and Thomas wait for a reaction.  None.  Gabriel
sighs and sits down to open more mail.  Martin's eyes
drift from the page to Gabriel.  Suddenly Gabriel starts:

                         GABRIEL
          Father!  The assembly's been
          convened!  You're called to
          Charleston!

Martin nods, not pleased, not surprised.

                         MARTIN
          We'll leave in the morning.

EXT.  SWAMP ROAD - DAY

The Martins drive on a beautiful swamp road.  The arching
maples and willows form a tunnel of green.  The children
excitedly CHATTER AND SING.  Martin, driving one of the
wagons, is troubled.  Gabriel, driving the other, is as
excited as his siblings, but he restrains himself.

EXT.  BENNINGTON OVERLOOK - DAY

The two carriages pass a view of their entire valley.
Scattered farms with a patchwork of cultivated fields and
rice paddies surround the town of Bennington.

EXT.  SANTEE ROAD - DAY

Passing through rolling farmland, the Martins head toward
the coast.  They pass a large contingent of South Carolina
Militia, drilling in a field.  The children, particularly
Gabriel, watch avidly.

EXT.  CHARLESTON - DAY

Bustling.  Martin and Gabriel negotiate the carriages
through the busy streets.  The children watch, wide-eyed,
seeing taverns, a public gallows, drunkards, street
entertainers, well-dressed ladies attended by their maids,
food venders.  They pull up in front of a grand house --
Charlotte's.

INT.  CHARLOTTE'S HOUSE - CHARLESTON - DAY

CHARLOTTE SELTON, mid-thirties, beautiful, with a deep
sadness that she keeps hidden as best she can, runs down
the grand staircase of her mansion.  She stops in front of
a mirror and quickly primps, then hurries out the front
door.

EXT.  CHARLOTTE'S HOUSE - CHARLESTON - DAY

The children leap from the carriages and swarm around
Charlotte, embracing her, smothering her with kisses.

                         THE CHILDREN
          Aunt Charlotte!  Aunt Charlotte!

                         CHARLOTTE
          Welcome!  Welcome!  Margaret,
          William, look at you...!
                  (to Martin)
          They're huge.  What have you been
          feeding them?

                         MARTIN
          They're from good stock on their
          mother's side.

                         CHARLOTTE
          Thank you.  Come, come, inside, wait
          until you see what I have...

                         THE CHILDREN
                  (simultaneous; all
                   except Susan)
          Presents!  For me?  What do you
          have?

                         CHARLOTTE
          Inside, inside...

The children race through the door, forcing Martin and
Charlotte together.  They stand awkwardly, their bodies
close, as the children pass.  After the children go,
Martin and Charlotte stand for an extra instant, then turn
and see Susan standing, staring.

                         CHARLOTTE
          You, too, Susan.  There's something
          for you...

Martin and Charlotte watch Susan walk inside.

                         CHARLOTTE
          She still hasn't started talking?

Martin shakes his head.  They sigh and head inside
together.

EXT.  CHARLESTON SQUARE - NIGHT

CHAOS.  A yelling crowd of Sons of Liberty is massed
around a Liberty Tree from which hang dozens of glowing
lanterns.  GABRIEL walks through the crowd drinking it all
in, turning his head this way and that, seeing:

Drunk men.  Vendors selling rum, ale, food and banners
emblazoned with a coiled snake and the legend, 'Don't
Tread On Me.'  Scores of on-lookers, including respectable
people, as well as street urchins, whores and drunkards,
watch the proceedings.

Gabriel moves through the crowd, excited by the madness of
the scene, listening in to BITS OF CONVERSATION as he
goes.

Gabriel stops, noticing PETER HOWARD, a one-legged,
middle-aged man about Martin's age, standing with his
family on the edge of the crowd.  Howard's daughter, ANNE,
very attractive, around fifteen, stands a bit apart from
her parents.

Gabriel makes his way over and stands next to Anne.  They
exchange a look.  She turns back to watch the crowd.
Gabriel clears his throat and speaks with earnest, adult
politeness.

                         GABRIEL
          Miss Howard, isn't it?

She speaks without looking at him.

                         ANNE
          You know who I am, Gabriel Martin.
          The last time you saw me I was nine
          and you put ink in my tea.

Gabriel straightens up and speaks officiously, trying to
appear a man above such childish pranks.

                         GABRIEL
          I believe that was one of my younger
          brothers... perhaps Samuel or
          Nathan.

                         ANNE
          It was you and it turned my teeth
          black for a month.

                         GABRIEL
          I... uh...

The CROWD CHEERS AS several Sons of Liberty string up
effigies of King George III and Governor Wilmington.  As
they light the effigies on fire, Anne's father, notices
Anne talking to Gabriel.  He motions for her to join him
at his side.  Anne nods to Gabriel, taking her leave.

Gabriel watches her go.  With extreme effort, she keeps
herself from glancing back at him.  Gabriel turns his
attention back to the crowd.  Seeing a small knot of
affluent men gathered in conversation, Gabriel walks over
and stands just outside their circle, listening avidly.

EXT.  CHARLOTTE'S BALCONY - NIGHT

Martin, his children and Charlotte watch the mob in the
square below, The children are transfixed.  Martin is
troubled.  Charlotte looks closely at Martin, gauging his
expression.

                         THOMAS
          Look!  There's Gabriel!

They see Gabriel making his way through the crowd.  He
sees them and waves, then enters the house.  A moment
later Gabriel breathlessly steps onto the balcony.

                         GABRIEL
          It's coming...

                         THOMAS
          War?  War?

                         GABRIEL
          Harry Lee is here from Virginia
          recruiting for a Continental Army.
          He seeks a levy of troops and money.
          The Governor has vowed that if the
          Assembly votes a single shilling to
          Lee, he'll dissolve the body.

                         CHARLOTTE
          Which would force our delegates in
          Philadelphia to vote for
          independence.

                         MARTIN
          And send us to war alongside
          Massachusetts.

Gabriel nods enthusiastically.  Martin shoots him a
sidelong glance, troubled by the prospect.  Charlotte
notices.

IN THE SQUARE, a pair of drunk Sons of Liberty, pull down
one of the smoldering effigies, cut off its head, and
start hacking at it's groin with a sword.

Martin sees his younger children's expressions as they
watch.

                         MARTIN
          Inside, all of you, right now.

They start to protest but a look at their father's face
convinces them otherwise.  They file into the house.
Gabriel assumes the order doesn't apply to him but a stern
look from Martin sends him reluctantly inside, leaving
Charlotte and Martin alone on the balcony.

                         CHARLOTTE
          Lee will be counting on your vote.
          He'll expect you to be the first to
          enlist.

Martin looks down at the mob without responding.  The
flames of the burning effigies light his face.

EXT.  ASSEMBLY HALL - CHARLESTON - DAY

The capital building of South Carolina.  A large crowd of
lower-class men and women is massed in front of the
Assembly Hall.  As well-dressed Assemblymen walk into the
building, the CROWD YELLS words of encouragement to some
and berates others.

In the square in front of the Assembly Hall a squadron of
blue-uniformed AMERICAN CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS drills.  A
recruiting table is being set up by a Continental Captain
and several military clerks.

INT.  ASSEMBLY HALL - DAY

Two dozen ANGRY, YELLING, MEN OF PROPERTY.  Among them are
ROBINSON, HAMILL and JOHNSON, who are Patriots.  Opposed
to them are SIMMS, WITHINGTON and BALDRIDGE who are
Loyalists.  As Martin makes his way to his seat, the
SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY POUNDS HIS GAVEL.

                         SPEAKER
          ORDER!  ORDER!

Slowly, the room quiets down.

                         SPEAKER
          Our first order of business...

                         SIMMS
          And our last if we vote a levy...

The ROOM ERUPTS.

                         SPEAKER
          ORDER!  ORDER!  Mr. Simms, you do
          not have the floor.

The ROOM SETTLES DOWN.

                         SPEAKER
          Our first order of business is an
          address by Colonel Harry Lee of the
          Continental Army.

An imposing figure makes his way to the front of the
assembly, COLONEL HARRY LEE, about Martin's age and cut
from the same cloth -- strong, weathered, with a powerful
bearing.  Lee sees Martin and offers a familiar nod, which
Martin returns, stone-faced.  At the dais Lee pauses, then
speaks simply.

                         LEE
          You all know why I am here.  I am
          not an orator and I will not try to
          convince you of the worthiness of
          our cause.  I am a soldier and we
          are at war and with the declaration
          of independence we all expect from
          Philadelphia, it will soon be a
          formal state of war.  In preparation
          for that, eight of the thirteen
          colonies have levied money in
          support of a Continental Army.  I
          ask South Carolina to be the ninth.

In the balcony, Gabriel nods in agreement.  Simms rises.

                         SIMMS
          Colonel Lee, Massachusetts may be at
          war, along with New Hampshire and
          Rhode Island and Virginia, but South
          Carolina is not at war.

                         LEE
          Massachusetts and New Hampshire are
          not as far from South Carolina as
          you might think and the war they're
          fighting is not for independence of
          one or two colonies.  It's for the
          independence of one nation.

                         WITHINGTON
          And what nation is that?

Robinson, one of the Patriots, stands up.

                         ROBINSON
          An American nation.  Colonel Lee,
          with your permission?

Lee nods.

                         ROBINSON
          Those of us who call ourselves
          Patriots are not seeking to give
          birth to an American nation, but to
          protect one that already exists.  It
          was born a hundred-and-seventy years
          ago at Jamestown and has grown
          stronger and more mature with every
          generation reared and with every
          crop sown and harvested.  We are one
          nation and our rights as citizens of
          that nation are threatened by a
          tyrant three thousand miles away.

                         LEE
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          exact words I would have spoken.

Laughter.  Martin rises.

                         MARTIN
          Mister Robinson, tell me, why should
          I trade one tyrant, three thousand
          miles away, for three thousand
          tyrants, one mile away?

Laughter from the Loyalists.  Surprise from Lee and the
Patriots.  In the gallery, Gabriel winces.

                         ROBINSON
          Sir?

                         MARTIN
          An elected legislature can trample a
          man's rights just as easily as a
          King can.

                         LEE
          Captain Martin, I understood you to
          be a Patriot.

                         MARTIN
          If you mean by a Patriot, am I angry
          at the Townsend Acts and the Stamp
          Act?  Then I'm a Patriot.  And what
          of the Navigation Act?  Should I be
          permitted to sell my rice to the
          French traders on Martinique?  Yes,
          and it's an intrusion into my
          affairs that I can't... legally.

Laughter.

                         MARTIN
          And what of the greedy, self-serving
          bastards who sit as Magistrates on
          the Admiralty Court and have fined
          nearly every man in this room.
          Should they be boxed about the ears
          and thrown onto the first ship back
          to England?  I'll do it myself.
                  (beat)
          And do I believe that the American
          colonies should stand as a separate,
          independent nation, free from the
          reins of King and Parliament?  I do,
          and if that makes a Patriot, then
          I'm a Patriot.

Martin grows more serious.

                         MARTIN
          But if you're asking whether I'm
          willing to go to war with England,
          the answer is, no.  I've been to war
          and I have no desire to do so again.

The room is quiet, the Assemblymen having been thrown off-
balance.  Gabriel is disappointed by his father's speech.

                         ROBINSON
          This from the same Captain Benjamin
          Martin whose anger was so famous
          during the Wilderness Campaign?

Martin glares at Robinson, then smiles.

                         MARTIN
          I was intemperate in my youth.  My
          departed wife, God bless her soul,
          dampened that intemperance with the
          mantle of responsibility.

Robinson looks derisively at Martin.

                         ROBINSON
          Temperance can be a convenient
          disguise for fear.

Martin bristles but before he can answer, Lee steps in.

                         LEE
          Mister Robinson, I fought with
          Captain Martin in the French and
          Indian War, including the Wilderness
          Campaign.  We served as scouts under
          Washington.  There's not a man in
          this room, or anywhere, for that
          matter, to whom I would more
          willingly trust my life.

                         ROBINSON
          I stand corrected.

                         LEE
          But, damn it, Benjamin!  You live in
          a cave if you think we'll get
          independence without war...

                         MARTIN
          Wasn't it a Union Jack we fought
          under?

                         LEE
          A long time ago...

                         MARTIN
          Thirteen years...

                         LEE
          That's a damn long time...

The Speaker POUNDS HIS GAVEL again.

                         SPEAKER
          Gentlemen!  Please!  This is not a
          tavern!

Martin and Lee ignore the speaker.

                         MARTIN
          You were an Englishman then...

                         LEE
          I was an American, I just didn't
          know it yet...

The Assemblymen and even the Speaker turn their heads in
simultaneous anticipation of each rejoinder.

                         MARTIN
          We don't have to go to war to gain
          independence...

                         LEE
          Balderdash!

                         MARTIN
          There are a thousand avenues, other
          than war, at our disposal...

Martin speaks slowly and firmly.

                         MARTIN
          We do not have to go to war to gain
          independence.

Lee says nothing for a moment, then he speaks more
seriously, quietly, grimly.

                         LEE
          Benjamin, I was at Bunker Hill.  It
          was as bad as anything you and I saw
          on the frontier.  Worse than the
          slaughter at the Ashuelot River.
          The British advanced three times and
          we killed over seven hundred of them
          at point blank range.  If your
          principles dictate independence,
          then war is the only way.  It has
          come to that.

Martin is silent for a long moment.  He softens and grows
unsteady, speaking far more honestly than he ever wanted
to.

                         MARTIN
          I have seven children.  My wife is
          dead.  Who's to care for them if I
          go to war?

Lee is stunned by Martin's honesty and his show of
weakness.  At first Lee has no answer, then:

                         LEE
          Wars are not fought only by
          childless men.  A man must weigh his
          personal responsibilities against
          his principles.

                         MARTIN
          That's what I'm doing.  I will not
          fight and because I won't, I will
          not cast a vote that will send
          others to fight in my stead.

                         LEE
          And your principles?

                         MARTIN
          I'm a parent, I don't have the
          luxury of principles.

The other Assemblymen, both Patriots and Loyalists, stare
at him, appalled.  Martin, feeling weak, sits down.  Lee
looks at his friend with more sympathy than
disappointment.  In the gallery Gabriel turns and walks
out.

EXT.  ASSEMBLY HALL - DAY

The crowd waits.  The doors open and a PAGE BOY dashes out
and runs to the Continental Captain at the recruiting
table.

                         PAGE BOY
          Twenty-eight to twelve, the levy
          passed!

The Continental Captain motions to an assembled squadron.
They raise their muskets and FIRE A VOLLEY into the air.
Other soldiers, STRIKE UP A MARTIAL AIR ON FIFES AND
DRUMS.  Volunteers crowd around the recruiting table,
YELLING and jostling for position.

The delegates walk out.  Both Patriots and Loyalists give
Martin a wide berth.

Martin sees Gabriel, standing near the crowd at the
recruiting table.  Martin walks up to him.

                         GABRIEL
          Father, I've lost respect for you.
          I thought you were a man of
          principle.

                         MARTIN
          When you have children, I hope
          you'll understand.

                         GABRIEL
          When I have children, I hope I don't
          hide behind them.

Martin looks closely at Gabriel.

                         MARTIN
          Do you intend to enlist without my
          permission?

                         GABRIEL
          Yes.

They lock eyes for a moment, then Gabriel turns from his
father and walks away, joining the crush around the
recruiting table.  Martin stands alone in the middle of
the chaos.  The FIFES AND DRUMS continue to play.  Martin
doesn't hear them.

                         LEE (O.S.)
          Is he as imprudent as his father was
          at his age.

Martin turns and sees Lee standing next to him, looking at
Gabriel.

                         MARTIN
          Unfortunately, so.  In other
          measures he is his mother's son, but
          in prudence, or lack thereof, he is
          his father's.

                         LEE
          I'll see to it that he serves under
          me.  I'll make him clerk or a
          quartermaster, something of that
          sort.

                         MARTIN
          Good luck.

They shake hands.  Then Lee walks over to the soldiers.
CAMERA CRANES UP as Martin takes a last look at Gabriel,
then heads off through the crowded square, moving against
the tide of men headed toward the recruiting table.

CRANE UP ENDS ON TABLEAU of the sunlit city of Charleston.
Bustling streets filled with civilians, Patriots streaming
into the Assembly Square and fluttering flags -- the South
Carolina state flag and numerous 'Don't Tread On Me'
flags.

                                            DISSOLVE TO:

EXT.  CHARLESTON - DAY

The same view of the city which has radically changed:

SUPERIMPOSITION:

                      TWO YEARS LATER

The sky is cloud-filled and dark.  The flags have all been
replaced by Union Jacks.  Redcoats march in lock-step
unison where excited Patriots and civilians ran.  A fleet
of British ships is visible i
                                

                                
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