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Gabriel Edward Martin
Born: 1758
Died: 1780
Gabriel Martin is THE Patriot. His ideals reflect those
of the young men who were most patriotic about American
sovereignty and freedom. He is part of the generation
that was too young to remember the French and Indian War
and has grown up in a (relatively) stable and civilized
colonial atmosphere. By April 1776, he is eighteen and
has impatiently waited for Benjamin's consent to join
the fighting. He finally enlists against his father's
wishes when Colonel Harry Burwell speaks before the
South Carolina Assembly asking for their support for the
war.
General Charles Cornwallis was an actual historic figure
and not merely a character suggested by a historic
figure. The personal journals that Martin captures in
the movie were also real and Cornwallis later published
them in several volumes. Cornwallis was born into new
British nobility and spent all his younger years in
noble circles. He purchased a commission in the British
Army and then unlike most gentried officers he actually
studied for it. He proved to be a successful and
competent officer.
1778
 Betsy Ross 13 Star
Flag
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Betsy Ross and the American Flag
Betsy would often tell her children,
grandchildren, relatives, and friends of the
fateful day when three members of a secret
committee from the Continental Congress came
to call upon her. Those representatives,
George Washington, Robert Morris, and George
Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This
meeting occurred in her home some time late
in May 1776. George Washington was then the
head of the Continental Army. Robert Morris,
an owner of vast amounts of land, was
perhaps the wealthiest citizen in the
Colonies. Colonel George Ross was a
respected Philadelphian and also the uncle
of her late husband, John Ross.
Naturally, Betsy Ross already knew George
Ross as she had married his nephew.
Furthermore, Betsy was also acquainted with
the great General Washington. Not only did
they both worship at Christ Church in
Philadelphia, but Betsy's pew was next to
George and Martha Washington's pew. Her
daughter recalled, "That she was previously
well acquainted with Washington, and that he
had often been in her house in friendly
visits, as well as on business. That she had
embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and
cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his
friendship for her that she was chosen to
make the flag."
In June 1776, brave Betsy was a widow
struggling to run her own upholstery
business. Upholsterers in colonial America
not only worked on furniture but did all
manner of sewing work, which for some
included making flags. According to Betsy,
General Washington showed her a rough design
of the flag that included a six-pointed
star. Betsy, a standout with the scissors,
demonstrated how to cut a five-pointed star
in a single snip. Impressed, the committee
entrusted Betsy with making our first flag.
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The Star Spangled Banner
by Francis Scott Key
O say! can you see, by the dawn's early
light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's
last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro'
the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so
gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs
bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night, that our flag
was still there.
O say! does that Star-Spangled Banner yet
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of
the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of
the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread
silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the
towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half
discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's
first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the
stream.
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner. O long may it
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of
the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly
swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's
confusion
A home and a country should leave us no
more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul
footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of
the grave,
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of
the brave.
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and war's
desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the
Heav'n-rescued land
Praise the pow'r that hath made and
preserv'd us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is
just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our
Trust."
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph
shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of
the brave.
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