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PysOps during the Revolution
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11-07-2003, 11:41 AM
revwardoc
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Gardner, MA
Posts: 4,252
Distinctions
Des and Bluehawk
Several years ago there was a movie called "Sweet Liberty" starring Alan Alda, Michelle Pfeiferand Michael Caine. Alda protrayed a college professor who wrote a book about the Battle of Cowpens that was to be made into a movie, Caine was to play the role of Banastre Tarleton and I forget Pfeifer's role. The producers and director of the movie decided to re-make it into a comedy, totally ruining the book and disallusioning the local population who re-enacted the battle on an annual basis. They had Caine wearing a typical red Brit uniform because they figured the average American would be confused if he didn't. They also planned to have the Brits win the battle!In the end, Alda and the locals turned the tables on them.
I know several people who were some of the nameless rabble in "The Patriot" and they were shocked to actually be taking part in what was essentially "Sweet Liberty". No matter how many times they tried to tell the director, a German national by the way, that what he was doing was historically inaccurate he said that the average American would be confused if he didn't make that way and if they didn't like it, they could leave!! Sometimes life and the arts are the same thing.
I took part in a PBS documentary called "The Man Who Wouldn't Be King". It's about George Washington's early military life and his actions during the French and Indian War. There was a scene where we (the Virginia militia) captured some Frenchmen and the director noticed some vines growing nearby and told us he would film us cutting them and using them to tie up the prisoners. We refused to do it telling him that they would have used rawhide thongs. After debating with us for several minutes he tried to outfox us saying that we'd have to use the vines since it would take too long to procure and leather thongs. With that we all pulled our leather thongs from out of our haversacks. The director just stared at us then asked why we carried them. We answered, "Because THEY did!". He walked away muttering about how he hated re-enactors, but we did it our way.
Des; tarring and feather may seem silly but it was a painfulpunishment. The tar was boiling hot and was poured over a naked victim resulting in severe burns. Removing the tar would literally tear the flesh away leading to a sometimes fatal infection.
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