"The Patriot" starts in South Carolina in 1776. The movie is a family's story about what they went through during the American Revolution. Mel Gibson stars as Benjamin who was a hero at Fort Wilderness during the French and Indian War, and a widower with seven children. Benjamin is part of the assembly in South Carolina. Benjamin is a respected man in the south because of the role he played in the battle at Fort Wilderness.
In the beginning of the movie Benjamin tells his family they are going to Charleston because the South Carolina assembly is meeting there. While they are in Charleston they stay with their aunt Charlotte. Gabriel, Benjamin's oldest son, decides to sign up with the militia to fight against the British for independence. Benjamin gets angry and they return home. A few moths later Gabriel writes his younger brother Thomas and tells him what is going on in the war. In Gabriel's letter he writes about the fall of Charlestown to the British under command of Lord Cornwallis. Gabriel says that the north is also not doing well due to starvation and low moral. Gabriel ends his letter saying he is about to march south to fight the "red coats." One night Gabriel shows up at the house wounded, while the "red coats" and "rebels" are fighting very near their home. Once the battle is over and the day breaks there are wounded British soldiers and Benjamin's family helps them. One Lieutenant in the British army finds a letter that was to go to the American troops. Gabriele was carrying this letter. The Lieutenant asks where it came from and Gabriele steps up and says that it was he, and that the family was only caring for him because he was wounded. The Lieutenant figures out that Gabriele is Benjamin's son; he then tells his men to tie him up and take him away. Thomas the second oldest sees this and gets scared. He tries to push the British soldiers away that are holding Gabriel and the lieutenant shoots Thomas, and kills him.