re: I have heard that "The Patriot" is terribly inaccurate and offensive to the British

Hahaha at people thinking atrocities like the church burning scene did not happen. People need to read a history of the war in SC and NC. It was a free for all, many instances of loyalist troops taking revenge on patriots and vice versa. Everything from murders to burning of fields and homes. British regulars where not immune. They would hang people after granting them pardons.

People should also read about Tarlton's quarter if they think the British where all honorable. In several cases they killed everyone in a battle and gave no quarter. The portrayal of the Brits in the Patriot was pretty spot on. The same with the Americas.

Gibson was basically a Francis Marion character. He was portrayed as restrained by the ideals of his son. The reality is that Marion was just an honorable person that would punish his own people for getting out of line. The main difference is that Marion was not a face to face warrior, he was a small man, but great tactician. Tarlton never could find the swamp fox for the showdown. Literally the Fox wore him out and sent him packing. It is not inaccurate to say that the two most important military men of the revolution was George Washington and Frances Marion.