Original subtitles

- ♪ I see a land

♪ With liberty for all ♪

- ♪ Yet still I know

- ♪ The truth will rise and fall ♪

- ♪ Ooh yeah

♪ That's just the way it goes ♪

- ♪ A word now to the wise

♪ The world was made to change ♪

♪ Each day is a surprise

♪ I'm looking at life through my own eyes ♪

♪ I'm searching for a hero to idolize ♪

♪ Feeling the pain as innocence dies ♪

♪ I'm looking at life through my own eyes ♪

- ♪ I'll take my heart into battle ♪

♪ Give that freedom bell a rattle ♪

♪ Get my independence signed

♪ Declare it on the dotted line ♪

♪ Let Philadelphia freedom ring ♪

♪ And patriotic voices sing

♪ Red white and blue never give up ♪

♪ You represent America

- ♪ Hoping and praying for a brighter day ♪

♪ I listen to my heart and I obey ♪

♪ How can I see it any other way? ♪

♪ I'm looking at life

- ♪ Looking at life

- ♪ Through my own eyes ♪

♪♪

(man) - Here are some exciting scenes

from today's episode of "Liberty's Kids."

- I believe in being what you want to be,

not what people tell you to be.

- The British have begun moving back to Manhattan.

- We absolutely must evacuate Fort Washington.

The armaments at the fort are critical to our cause.

- We're in a war, Joe.

We're bound to lose men.

If you haven't the stomach for it, get another job.

- Keep firing.

If we can't hold this position,

you won't have the Corbins to blame!

♪♪

(Henri) - Look at this!

Gems and gems and more gems!

Oh, and rock candy!

Moses and I will starve while you're in France!

(laughing)

Those sweets are to ease the discomfort of a long voyage.

- If you try to ship out with our peach jam,

you'll have to get past me first!

- Congress won't be happy

if you delay their most important statesman.

- They would understand if they knew

how good this jam tastes.

- You're probably right,

but they have asked Dr. Franklin

to try to enlist France in the American cause.

- Right now, we Americans stand alone in the world.

We must acquire allies or the revolution is doomed.

- Promise me you'll bring back some French pastries.

♪♪

- I'm worried about him.

After his last voyage,

he swore he's never cross the Atlantic again.

70 is very, very old.

At his age and in his health,

who knows if he'll survive the trip?

- There!

♪♪

♪♪

- Thank you.

- Who's it from?

- Sarah and James.

Would you like to read it, Henri?

- I couldn't possibly read through the tears in my eyes,

tears from seeing all this food for the last time.

- I hope it's good news.

If I'm to convince France to help us,

we have to show that we can gain

a victory against the British on our own.

Hmm.

- What's wrong?

- Washington's retreating from Manhattan.

(Sarah) - "Dear Mother,

"Please forgive the irritable nature of my letter,

but I'm tired and thirsty."

Oh! (groans)

(growls)

(Sarah) - "And the men in these colonies

"suffer from a decided lack of gallantry.

"In addition, since I'm not a man,

"General Washington told me

"I couldn't stay at the front lines.

He sent me to a place called Fort Tryon."

- Here!

(Sarah) - "It can't be much of a fort,

"as I'm about to join a group of camp followers,

"women and children who live here with their soldiers.

"I'd certainly rather be viewing the action

"with the general and James than be here,

watching people wash clothes."

Thank you, sir. (man grumbles)

- Nice little stroll, huh? - Huh?

- I'm Margaret Corbin.

My friends call me Molly. Who are you?

- Thank you. I'm Sarah Phillips.

(drinking)

It's good.

- Of course it is.

The dirt from the river adds flavor.

- Oh!

- I've been General Washington's secretary for months now,

and I've never seen him so discouraged.

- All we need is a victory,

and I know the general will deliver it.

He's the most decisive, commanding man I've ever met.

- Lieutenant Harrison, I need you now!

- Commanding is right.

(thunder rumbling)

- English is not even my language.

They say I talk funny and I can't learn to read.

- Who says this?

- Other boys.

- Let me tell you something, Henri.

It's a credo I live by.

Be what you want to be,

not what people tell you you can be.

- Well, then stop telling me I can be a reader.

What I want to be is left alone.

- You owe it to yourself to hone your reading,

writing, and arithmetic.

- I'm doing just fine without it.

- Yes, you've done well so far.

You've learned a trade and a second language,

and I'd like to help you keep learning.

- Why?

- For one thing, if you could improve your skills

at estimation, we might not be short logs for the fire,

and we wouldn't both be freezing our toes off.

- At least we're not outside.

Do you think Sarah and James are all right,

out in the wilderness?

- Rosemary, stop wiping your nose on my dress.

(laughing)

- Ouch!

This is ridiculous!

I'm out in the middle of Fort Nowhere,

fishing for trousers.

- You're not the only one who didn't want to come here.

- Oh! Hello, Molly.

- After my husband John enlisted,

he was about to leave our place in Pennsylvania.

Know what it's like to be a woman

living alone in the wilderness?

- I'm sure I don't.

- In that wild country,

I wouldn't even have been able to feed myself.

- Hey, Mol, what's for supper?

Some kind of shirt soup?

- Better than raw squirrel

or whatever it is you got stuck in your beard.

(laughing)

Ah, you leg-puller!

Raw squirrel?

It's probably raccoon.

- It's amazing the way you keep your optimism

in a place like this.

- Dearie, when I was 5,

my daddy was killed and my mama kidnapped.

I never saw her again.

If that didn't ruin my life,

I'm sure not gonna let this do it.

(both laughing)

- Who's your friend, Mol?

- Sarah. She's English.

- Well, we won't hold that against her.

- This is John. He's a matros.

Cleans and loads the cannons.

I'm mighty proud of him.

One reason I don't mind working so hard.

We can't have the man loading the cannon

wear dirty drawers, can we?

(both laughing)

- What kind of cannons are they?

- Pennsylvania six-pounders,

right up there on the brow of that hill.

We protect the northern approach to Fort Washington.

Those beauties will make things plenty tough

on the lobster-backs.

I beg your pardon for the slight, Sarah.

- Never mind. I quite understand.

- Ignore him. John just doesn't like red.

Sure am lucky he married me.

- Don't let her fool you, Sarah.

I'm lucky she married me.

- It's not like I had lots of choices.

It was either him or squirrel beard over there.

- It's raccoon!

(laughing)

(all laughing)

- Dr. Franklin, the only thing you'll catch

with a line that thick is influenza.

(sniffling)

I think I've already got that.

Actually, at the other end of the line is a thermometer

to measure the water temperature.

- I'll save you the trouble. It's cold.

- I study the ocean currents and temperatures

every time I cross the Atlantic.

It was these studies that helped me chart

the Gulf Stream seven years ago.

- Just don't let your studies interfere with your health.

It's my job to get you to France alive.

How are you feeling?

- I'm not sleeping well, and these rough seas

and the food, particularly the salted beef,

is tough on 70-year-old teeth.

(inhales deeply)

But the fresh air seems to do me some good.

However, I'd prefer to avoid the frequent baths.

- Gentlemen, I have surprising news.

The British have begun moving back to Manhattan.

I suspect they're mobilizing to attack Fort Washington...

our last stronghold in Manhattan.

It houses some of our finest troops

and a large amount of our armaments and ammunition.

This fort and its outposts are critically important

to the war for both sides.

- Sarah's at one of those outposts.

- Yes. Your friend who wanted to see action

is about to get her wish.

♪♪

- Swab cannon!

- Load powder!

- Load ball!

- Rally-ho!

- Cannon ready to fire!

- Molly, how brave you are!

- She's the best artillery mate in the whole regiment.

- I can't believe you're permitted to do such a thing.

- I don't ask permission to do nothing.

I believe in being what you want to be,

not what people tell you to be.

- I know someone else who shares your point of view.

- (speaking French)

Oh, I can't read the recipe.

I will starve to death.

(door opening) (gasps)

Who is there?

(Moses) - Henri?

- Moses, is that you?

- What's wrong, lad?

- Nothing's wrong.

- Come on, son. Tell me.

- When you didn't come back, I tried to make dinner

from the notes you left me, but I couldn't measure.

- Oh, you're teasing me now.

- And there are lots of words I don't understand.

Hey, you're the one who's teasing me!

You were late on purpose!

You knew I wouldn't be able to make myself food!

I could have starved.

- Somehow I think you wouldn't have starved,

but reading and measuring are important things to know.

Have you changed your mind about learning them?

- Yes, even if other fellows don't think I can,

but not right away.

- Why not?

- Because I'm too hungry!

- First a late supper, then a late lesson.

- We absolutely must evacuate Fort Washington!

The armaments at the fort are critical to our cause!

America has no munitions factories.

We have no way to replace the guns

and ammunition if they're captured.

- General Washington, I strongly disagree

with Colonel Reed.

I'm confident we can hold the fort.

- If we can hold it, we should hold it.

- Sir, General Greene would risk

over 2,000 of our finest troops!

We've already lost too many to disease and desertion.

I don't have the stomach to lose any more.

- We're in a war, Joe.

We're bound to lose men.

If you haven't the stomach for it,

get another job!

I stand by my recommendation to hold the fort!

- General Greene's right! We must fight!

Um, excuse me... sirs.

- Sir, this hesitation to evacuate

is nothing short of reckless.

Forgive me, but you must make up your mind.

(wind whistling)

- It's only November.

How much colder does it get here?

- Much!

That's why when John's tour of duty is up,

we're moving south.

(sips)

Then we'll start a family.

- Oh! How many children do you want?

- I don't know. Eight, ten.

- Oh, my!

- John's a good man. He'll make a fine father.

Probably a tired one, too.

(both laughing)

- I miss my family terribly,

but being around people like you

makes my stay here so much easier.

- Here, now.

I'll make it easier still.

I like to press the summer flowers.

They always add a bit of cheer

when winter comes knockin'.

- (sniffs)

It still has its perfume.

- General Washington, sir, we need a decision now.

Do we abandon Fort Washington or do we defend it?

- General Greene, as you are the officer

most familiar with the situation,

I leave it to you to give such orders

as to defending Mount Washington

as you judge best.

- I appreciate your confidence in me, sir.

- So, General Howe demands that I surrender this fort

over to you British.

Please repeat the following to your commander.

Give me leave to assure His Excellency

that inspired by the most glorious cause

that mankind ever fought in,

I am determined to defend this post

to the last man.

♪♪

- I would expect nothing else

from a soldier of Colonel McGaw's reputation.

That will be all.

Gentlemen, I am resolved to crush the rebels into the dust.

Even a single victory could give

their so-called revolution momentum on the battlefield

as well as support from foreign shores...

especially France.

- Look at all the Redcoats.

They're preparing for an attack.

- And we won't have long to wait, either.

See there? Hessian troops to the north.

- Hessian mercenaries!

I can't believe the king is paying Germans

to come here and kill British colonists.

- General Washington is not going to evacuate

the fort after all, is he?

- He's worried that it may not be as strong as we think.

He wants to inspect it in person.

- Why does he keep changing his mind?

(cannons firing)

- The British have begun their attack!

(men shouting)

- Like it or not, we have lost our opportunity

to evacuate the fort.

♪♪

(men shouting)

- With this six-pounder,

we might be able to hold off the Hessians...

(cannons firing)

but not the King's Navy!

(guns firing) (soldiers shouting)

(guns firing)

♪♪

(soldiers shouting) (guns firing)

- Do we... Do you have a chance

against so many British troops?

- No. We'll have to make a run for Fort Washington.

(explosions)

John! John?

Oh, John!

My love...

Oh! - Molly?

- Keep firing.

If we can't hold this position,

you won't have the Corbins to blame!

(cannons firing)

(Sarah) - Oh, no! Molly, no!

- (groans) Oh.

I'm all right, Sarah.

(bagpipes playing)

- God help us.

(bagpipes playing)

- Fort Tryon has fallen.

There's nothing we can do for those poor souls.

- Please let Sarah be all right.

General, they're raising the Union Jack

over Fort Washington!

- That's it, then. General Howe has prevailed.

This is a most unfortunate affair

and has given me great mortification,

as we have lost not only 2,000 men

but a good deal of artillery

and some of the best arms we had.

- Sir, the men panicked.

I did not account for the possibility.

If we had but held the perimeter...

- No, sir, we should have abandoned the fort

as General Lee and I urged.

- Gentlemen, please.

I alone am to blame.

- I've never seen him look so disappointed,

so helpless.

- He is in danger of becoming a parody of a general.

- I pray Colonel Reed is wrong.

- What happened to Fort Tryon? To Sarah?

- Women and children will be returned to us.

This may be war, James, but there are rules.

- What's that?

I think it's... Yes, it is!

The camp followers from Fort Tryon!

Sarah!

(all murmuring)

Excuse me.

Sarah?

Sarah? Oh, I'm sorry.

Sarah!

Thank goodness you're safe.

- Yes, I'm safe.

♪♪

♪♪

(James) - How can we continue the fight after this?

It's hopeless!

- Nothing's hopeless.

Not when people like Molly fight on when all seems lost.

If all the colonists display her spirit,

America will be very difficult to defeat.

- Will your friend be all right?

- Yes. You can't keep the Corbins down.

- I learned an important lesson today, Mr. Harrison.

As much as I respect my generals

and consider them my family,

never again will I make a decision

that goes against my own instincts.

A disaster like this battle must never happen again.

We must prevail in our fight for freedom.

We will prevail in our fight for freedom!

(horse whinnies)

- Maybe with the spirit of George Washington...

- And Captain Molly and Ben Franklin

and so many others...

- All isn't lost after all.

♪♪

- ♪ I'm looking at life through my own eyes ♪

♪ I'm searching for a hero to idolize ♪

♪ Feeling the pain as innocence dies ♪

♪ I'm looking at life through my own eyes ♪

- ♪ I'll take my heart into battle ♪

♪ Give that freedom bell a rattle ♪

♪ Get my independence signed

♪ Declare it on the dotted line ♪

♪ Red white and blue never give up ♪

♪ You represent America ♪

- Cookie Jar!

(children laughing)