Thursday, January 17, 2008

Today In History: Mel Gibson Kills The English, Part II

On this date in 1781, Mel Gibson killed a whole bunch of Englishmen and won the Battle of Cowpens single-handedly.
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:59 PM, January 17, 2008

    I think he also somehow freed the slaves in that movie. I wasn't really paying attention.

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  2. Anonymous1:31 PM, January 18, 2008

    If I take the shortcut across Hwy 11 in South Carolina from I85 to I26 on my way back to TN, I drive right past the Cowpens Battlefield.

    But I never see old Mel visiting. Of course he also won the Battle of Stirling Bridge in Scotland without the bridge.

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  3. Anonymous7:45 PM, January 18, 2008

    "I think he also somehow freed the slaves in that movie."

    No, actually that was a gov't thing... any slaves who fought on the American side for a certain length of time became legally free. It was on a bulletin board a while before Cowpens.

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  4. Anonymous1:39 PM, January 19, 2008

    That was a joke about the historical accuracy of the film.

    I can't believe they used naval cannons in place of field guns.

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  5. Anonymous2:49 PM, January 19, 2008

    Historical accuracy, right. From what I read in the linked Wikipedia article on the Battle of Cowpens, the movie's depiction combined Cowpens with Guilford Courthouse. And it seems this isn't the first time liberties were taken with Cowpens.

    Which scenes used the wrong artillery?

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  6. Anonymous2:51 PM, January 19, 2008

    Also, I've heard Mel Gibson's character was based loosely on Francis Marion, aka "The Swamp Fox", who we can't find out much about because he said little and wrote less.

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  7. Anonymous1:58 AM, January 20, 2008

    I think it's the first battle seen by the audience.

    I think they are naval guns, anyway. I can't be quite sure; I'm just repeating something I heard.

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  8. Anonymous9:05 PM, January 20, 2008

    Someone mentioned Francis Marion, aka "The Swamp Fox"

    Johnny Cash didn't have enough imagination when he wrote "A boy named Sue" - imagine being called "Franny MaryAnne"

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