The Patriot Page #10

MARION:

You expect Cornwallis to be held

here by militia?

LEE:

Not held, just slowed down.

MARION:

They're nothing but farmers and

you're asking them to try to keep a

tiger in their backyard. They'd be

better off letting it move on.

LEE:

They'd be better off, but the cause

wouldn't be.

MARION:

How many men does Cornwallis have

under his command?

LEE:

Four thousand infantry and around

six hundred cavalry...

(beat)

... including the Green Dragoons

under Tarleton.

At the mention of Tarleton, Marion nods.

MARION:

I'll do what I can.

Lee quickly writes something.

LEE:

I'm giving you a field commission as

a colonel.

He hands it to Marion. Gabriel steps forward.

GABRIEL:

Colonel Lee, I request a transfer to

Colonel Marion's command.

LEE:

Granted.

Lee scribbles another order and hands it to Gabriel. Then

he turns to Marion.

LEE:

Good luck.

Marion nods. They duck out of the tent.

EXT. AMERICAN ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT (LATER)

Marion and Gabriel stand watching Lee and his Continental

regulars move out. Gabriel turns to Marion.

GABRIEL:

What now, sir?

MARION:

We put out the word. We'll start

along the south side of the

Santee...

GABRIEL:

We'd cover more ground if we split

up.

MARION:

It's safer if we stay together.

Gabriel steps in front of Marion.

GABRIEL:

Colonel, I didn't request this

transfer because you're my father.

I requested it because I believe in

this cause and this is where I can

do the most good.

MARION:

Oh?

GABRIEL:

I've been doing this for two years.

I'm the best scout in the

Continental Army, the best horseman,

the best shot, the best scavenger

and I know every deer path and swamp

trail between here and Charleston.

MARION:

Is that so?

GABRIEL:

Yes, sir.

(beat)

My father taught me.

Marion looks at Gabriel closely.

MARION:

Did your father teach you humility?

GABRIEL:

He tried. It didn't take.

Marion looks Gabriel up and down.

MARION:

Alright, Corporal, you take

Bennington, Harrisville, Acworth and

the farms along Black Swamp. I'll

take the north side of the river.

We'll meet at Snow's Island.

GABRIEL:

Yes, sir.

They mount up.

MARION:

And, Corporal...

(beat)

... be careful.

GABRIEL:

Yes...

(beat)

... father.

They ride off in different directions.

EXT. BRADFORD VILLAGE - NIGHT

Marion rides into a small village, passing several bodies

in blue Continental uniforms, hanging from lampposts.

Marion stops in front of a tavern, dismounts and enters.

INT. TAVERN - BRADFORD - NIGHT

As Marion walks in he's greeted by cold stares from half-

a-dozen men, huddles over their drinks.

MARION:

I'm looking for John Billings.

BARTENDER:

He's dead.

Marion looks closely at the grim, suspicious men.

MARION:

If he comes back from the dead, tell

him Francis Marion is looking for

him.

BARTENDER:

I'll be sure to do that.

As Marion turns to leave he notices an open bottle of

Madeira on one of the tables. He stops.

MARION:

I'll wait. Miracles happen.

A stand-off. Then, a hulking FIGURE appears in the

shadows at the back doorway. He's JOHN BILLINGS, big,

coarse, about Marion's age. Billings jerks his head for

Marion to join him in the back room.

INT. BACK ROOM - TAVERN - NIGHT

Dark. Marion and billings talk over a bottle.

BILLINGS:

You expect to hold Cornwallis with

militia?

MARION:

I expect to try.

BILLINGS:

Trust you and Harry Lee. Remember

that damned overland you two thought

up in '62 to hit Fort Louis?

MARION:

It worked. How many men can you

raise?

BILLINGS:

Not many. Dalton, Scott, they've

got their reasons; Rev. Oliver,

he believes in the cause; some of

the young bucks; a few like me with

nothing to lose...

(beat)

What about you? You've got a lot to

lose.

Marion drains his glass and stands up.

MARION:

You coming, or not?

Billings drains his glass. They walk out together.

EXT. TAVERN - BRADFORD - NIGHT

Marion and Billings ride away from the tavern, passing the

hanging Patriot bodies.

EXT. SNOW'S ISLAND - SANTEE SWAMPS - NIGHT

A CACOPHONY OF BIRDS AND INSECTS. Swamp maples and

willows form a canopy over moss-covered mounds and pools

of plant-choked water.

Gabriel leads several men, riding along a dry path that

snakes through the swamp. They cross a narrow land bridge

onto a wooded island, joining a dozen-and-a-half men,

including Marion who kneels at a campfire.

CLOSE SHOT:
Several of Thomas' brightly painted LEAD

SOLDIERS MELT in a cast-iron pan. The little men fall to

their knees then lose form, turning into bubbling, molten

metal.

The new arrivals dismount and greet the others.

Gabriel steps up behind Marion and watches as he pours the

lead into a bullet mold, closes the lid and dips the mold

into a bucket of water which HISSES and STEAMS.

GABRIEL:

Father, this war is about more than

Thomas.

Marion doesn't look up.

MARION:

Is it?

GABRIEL:

If you're here only for revenge,

you're doing a disservice to him as

well as yourself.

MARION:

How old are you?

GABRIEL:

You know how old I am.

MARION:

God help us all when you're forty.

Marion puts some more lead soldiers into the pan. Gabriel

shakes his head, turns away and goes to tend his horse.

EXT. SNOW'S ISLAND ENCAMPMENT - MORNING

Day breaks. A low, thick swamp mist covers the

encampment. Marion, sits alone by the embers of last

night's campfire. The men are awake. Some eat, others

talk.

Marion pulls himself out of his dark reverie. He takes

the bullets from the mold and puts them in a pouch

attached to his weapons' belt. Then he rises and heads

over to the men.

He surveys his brigade. Twenty-six men: framers,

artisans, mountain men, none in uniform. Marion walks

among them, nodding familiarly to several. He notices an

imposing looking Cherokee Indian, BROTHER JOSEPH, standing

a bit apart from the others. They exchange nods.

He notices a stern-looking man in partial clerical garb,

REV. CHARLES OLIVER.

MARION:

Reverend.

REV. OLIVER

I heard about your son. I'm sorry.

Marion accepts his condolences. He notes GEORGE DALTON, a

tough-looking, rustic man with an ice-cold, distant stare.

MARION:

Dalton.

Dalton doesn't respond. Marion recognizes another face,

ABNER BROWN, African-American, around thirty, rugged.

Marion addresses the men who do not gather around so much

as just give him their attention.

MARION:

You all have your own reasons for

being here. I lost a son and I

intend to kill the man who killed

him...

Marion pauses and looks over at Gabriel.

MARION:

... But I don't consider that man's

life adequate payment for the life

of my son, and killing him won't

keep the sons of other men from

dying...

Gabriel nods, approvingly.

MARION:

Cornwallis has to move north. We

have to keep him right here. If

he's south of the Chesapeake when

the French arrive, if the French

arrive, we have a chance of winning

this war.

Marion looks from face to face.

MARION:

Eat, get some rest, we move out in

two hours.

Marion heads back to his campsite, passing Gabriel without

looking at him, but very aware of his son's eyes on him.

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