Plot At the beginning of the American Revolution, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) is a South Carolina veteran of the French and Indian War and a widower raising his seven children. The year is 1776, and Martin is called to Charleston to vote in the South Carolina Assembly whether a levy should be passed in support of the Continental Army. Fearing the consequences of a war with Great Britain, Martin refuses to vote in support of the levy, which is nonetheless unanimous. Ashamed of his father's perceived cowardice, Martin's eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), enlists in the Continental Army against his father's wishes.
A few years pass and Charleston falls to the British. During a battle, Gabriel returns home, stumbling, wounded into the family home and carrying military dispatches. The Martins care for wounded British and American soldiers after the battle. A detachment of British Dragoons arrives, led by the ruthless Colonel William Tavington (Jason Isaacs). They arrest Gabriel as a spy and intend to execute him back at their camp. When Benjamin's next eldest son Thomas attempts to free Gabriel, he is shot and killed by Colonel Tavington. Tavington orders the Martin house burned, and the American wounded shot.
On their way back to camp, the British convoy are ambushed by Martin and two of his sons, freeing Gabriel in the process. Only one British private survives and tells Tavington his frighting sight of a single man â€" a ghost â€" slaying all twenty of his fellow soldiers before he vanished. Gabriel and Benjamin decide to rejoin the American army and fight the British, leaving the rest of the children in the care of his sister-in-law, Charlotte. Due to his battlefield experience, Benjamin is appointed a colonel and put in charge of the local militia. His goal will be to keep Lord Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) occupied in South Carolina in order to prevent him from marching north. Benjamin recruits and trains his force with the assistance of Major Jean Villeneuve (Tchéky Karyo), a French infantry officer, who is assigned to Martin's South Carolina militia unit.
Benjamin's militia uses guerrilla warfare, harassing British supply lines, capturing goods, and burning half the bridges and ferries leading to Charleston. These tactics earn him the disdain of Lord Cornwallis, who perceives these actions as uncivilized. He even blames Tavington for creating this "Ghost" with his brutal tactics, which keeps the General right where he is. Irritated at his lack of progress and insulted by Martin's clever ploy to free eighteen of the militia captured by the British regulars, Cornwallis reluctantly enlists Colonel Tavington to use whatever means necessary to capture Martin and crush his militia, knowing fully well the brutal tactics he will employ. Tavington learns the identities of some of the militia members and proceeds to attack their families and burn their homes. Benjamin's family is forced to flee Charlotte's plantation, after it is burned, and settle along the coast with a group of former black servants. There, Gabriel marries his long-time love Anne (Lisa Brenner).
During his campaign, Tavington rides into a town known to support the militia and has the inhabitants locked in the church, but not before learning the whereabouts of Martin. He then orders the church burned, killing all inside, including Gabriel's new wife Anne. In a rage, Gabriel and a small group of militia attack Tavington's encampment. Gabriel shoots Tavington; Tavington plays dead and then stabs Gabriel through with his sword before escaping. Martin arrives in time to have Gabriel die in his arms.
Heartbroken, Benjamin briefly wavers in his commitment to fight, but later joins the Continental army. At the Battle of Cowpens, the Americans and British fight in a decisive battle. During the chaos, Martin finds and duels Tavington; Tavington gains the upper hand and wounds Martin. Just as Tavington is about to finish off Martin, Martin stabs Tavington through with a bayonet then stabs his throat, killing him. The Battle of Cowpens ends in an American victory and Cornwallis is forced to retreat.
After a series of defeats, Cornwallis is besieged at Yorktown, Virginia, where he surrenders to the Americans. The film ends with Benjamin returning to his farm to find his neighbors and fellow militia men rebuilding his home.
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