Celebrating British Combat on Independence Day

It makes sense that on 4^th of July weekend, that a movie about one of America’s founding heroes would be released. What is surprising is the period of life in which they chose to depict this great leaders life. George Washington was born and raised in Virginia, and before he thought about fighting for independence and creating a country name America, he wanted to be an officer for the British, more than anything (or at least that is what the movie portrayed).

Young Washington starts off in the midst of a battle with George Washington being awoken abruptly, and he did not look good, but he was still ready to fight for his men. Then we flash all the way back to when Washington was a child. It was right after his father had died, and his uncle had come to live with him, but with his father out of the picture, his family was going to be getting on by the skin of their teeth, so George was no longer going to be able to go to school. This frustrated him no end, and it motivated him to become a self-learned man.

Sadly, his frustrations had to continue. Once he was a young man, Washington wrote letter after letter to British officers. He wanted to be an officer badly, but due to his lack of formal education, and the fact that he came from a family that did not have money disqualified him, even though he had more than proven himself to be educated. This same issue came up in his love life. He fell in love with a high up girl, he wrote her many letters, and she loved him too, but she was betrothed to another wealthier man.

All these setbacks did not stop Washington. He continued to reach out to people in power in hopes that one would give him a chance, and finally, he did get a chance. An old man allowed Washington to go out and survey the Ohio Valley Territory. This was a big job, and while he was out there, the Native Americans also showed him that there was a French base out in what was supposed to be British Territory.

So Washington brought back big news, and he was rewarded by being told that he is to handle it with minimum back up. Washington does not back down from a challenge, and he tries to tell the French they must leave, and this results in combat.

Washington creates a fort in an awful place, and they lose the battle pretty quickly, and Washington loses his close friend Leo, who had surveyed Ohio with him. This was the first loss that truly shook Washington, and he went back home to mope.

Eventually, he picks himself back up, and he goes out to join the troops as a volunteer. Washington said that after losing, he learned some lessons, and he thought he would be of assistance, but he did not want to be a leader, just an advisor to share his experience fighting in the new world. The officers kind of laughed this off, because Washington had lost so badly in his first fight.

While traveling, Washington got dysentery, and he was not doing well. So they put him in the back of a wagon. This is when the surprise attack happens, and it brings us back to the opening scene in the movie. Washington goes to help his Virginian brethren, and when an officer goes down, Washington takes command and uses the knowledge from his first loss, and this allows him to save most of the troops.

So the movie touches on none of the Independence movement, and it only lightly alludes to Washington’s thinking in this department. He has lines of dialogue like I was born here, and Virginia is my home. So even though he wanted to be a British officer, his allegiance really was with his home, not the British.

The fight scenes in this movie were solid. It is wild to see their version of warfare, or at least the British way of warfare in America. They would line up and shot and not move, whereas the French and the Natives were much more active, and they would hide in the trees for cover. The old gentlemanly way of warfare was gone, and the British would either have to adapt or lose. I just cannot imagine giving up my life because I was standing out in the open waiting to be told to fire my gun with no defense in front of me.

They also tried to sell the idea of the American Dream from one of our nations most revered leaders. Washington came from a home that struggled with money to the point where they could not afford to send him to school, he had to be home working and helping to run the farm. One thing Washington did have was perseverance. No matter how many times he was told no, and no matter how many times that he failed, he continued to come back and try again, and he kept getting chances, and eventually he became the president.

One thing that I remember from A.P U.S History was Coach King saying that George Washington was a loser, and this movie does kind of go with this narrative. In his first battle, he basically started the French and Indian War, and he lost, and his military career after that is not that great. We know the historical crossing of the Delaware, but other than that, his military career involves way more losses than wins, like way more.  

Although a loser, he does seem modest. He was not particularly interested in becoming the president, and he had to be convinced to do so to help unite the new nation. He also set the precedent for two terms as the president. After his two terms, he stepped down so as not to continue and become a king. He seemed to truly want what is best for the nation, and he knew that the more political fighting there was, the worse off the nation would be. This is a lesson that has gone unheeded and has led to a perpetual worsening of the our political system, no matter what side you are on, politicians have become increasingly self-important, and it has been harder to accomplish much.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It has received surprisingly bad reviews, and it only has a 2.2 average on Letterboxd, which is really surprising. The dialogue can be a little corny and rough at times, but the costumes looked great, and so do the action scenes. I really bought in, and the locations are also solid and clearly done out in nature for the battle scenes. I gave this film 3.5 stars and recommend going and seeing it! It is entertaining and educational.