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."

- To serve the General means everything to me.

- General Washington's little French pet.

Running 'round camp looking for something to do.

(Washington) - You must prove yourself in the field

before I can give you men to command.

- Courage, friends, to fight, to win freedom!

♪♪

(lively chatter and laughter)

(Benjamin Franklin) - I watched the great flash of lightening

speed down the string straight toward me.

(man) - Dr. Franklin? (all gasp)

- Monsieur Foreign Minister.

- I'm afraid I have distressing news.

A French nobleman has defied the King's orders

and sailed to America to join General Washington.

- Our cause stirs hearts even in France.

I am pleased.

- King Louis is not.

Since France must remain neutral in this conflict,

he requests a tiny favor.

Write to your Congress and tell them

they must not welcome this man.

- And this man's name is?

- The Marquis de Lafayette.

(boy gasps)

- Little boy, where may we find the Continental Congress?

- I am not a little boy!

(gasps) You are French! Countryman!

- Hm, my apologies, mon ami.

I meant no insult.

Who do I have the honor of addressing?

- Henri Richard Maurice Dutoit Lefebvre.

But a fellow Frenchman may call me Henri.

- I am Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier.

The Marquis de La Fayette.

You may call me Gilbert.

(gasps)

♪♪

♪♪

- Hurry, you two, we must get the paper out in an hour.

May we help you?

- Henri? You said you would take us to the Continental Congress.

- Uh, I said I could take you to the Continental Congress.

- Welcome to Benjamin Franklin's print shop.

- This is my friend, Gilbert, Marquis de La Fayette!

- We are here to join the great General Washington

in the quest for glory and liberty!

- I'm Moses and this is Sarah and James.

- My dear friend, Johann Kalb,

known to his German countrymen as the Baron de Kalb.

- A baron and a marquis?

- Yeah, we're so impressed.

Ow!

- Forgive me, but we must to Congress immediately.

- To get our commissions.

- Yes, and we have much work to do.

- What's a commission?

- A letter that says you're an officer in the army.

- Au revoir, my friends.

Glory, liberty and General Washington await.

- I just saw General Washington,

and I don't think he's waiting for you.

(Henri) - Oh!

- You know General Washington?

- Of course - Hmm.

- Washington is famed all over Europe.

- To serve the General means everything to me.

- Marquis, please, stay a moment and tell us of your trip here.

- There is nothing to tell. And I must go.

- Nothing to tell?!

He dressed as a woman to sneak out of France!

- I was wearing a merchant's cloak.

- Gilbert! Do you have children?

- Yes, Henri, I do. Two daughters.

- So you need a son to live with you in your mansion!

- I need a guide to bring me to Congress.

- Whoa! Ah!

(horse snorts)

(horses neigh)

- Un moment, mon ami.

I must thank you for your expert guidance.

Keep them safe.

They were my father's.

- Merci beaucoup!

(horses snort, neigh)

- Our letter of introduction.

- Hmm... Hm!

(indistinct chatter)

- The letter is genuine.

But gentlemen, if we issued a commission to every man

with a letter from Mr. Dean,

I fear our army would have more officers than foot soldiers.

- Mr. Hancock, we have gone through much hardship to join

General Washington in the glorious fight for liberté.

- I sympathize, Monsieur Marquis but Congress

must do what it thinks best in order to win that fight.

- It took us months to get here!

- Oui! Months!

- Mr. Hancock, I would be honored

if you would permit me to try to convince you

of our dedication to the cause of liberté.

- Merci.

In France, as everywhere else,

noblemen are concerned only for themselves.

(lively distant chatter)

(man laughing)

When I learned of the American cause,

I knew I had finally found kindred spirits.

I bought my ship, la Victoire, the Victory, with my own money.

A great deal of my own money.

We sailed to Spain to meet up with more volunteers.

While there, I received orders from King Louis

demanding I return to Paris.

- Why do you have such sympathy for these Americans?

- They suffer from taxation without representation

and unfair governance.

- What's wrong with that?

- Um...

(nervous chuckle)

I was joking.

It's because they're fighting our bitter enemies, the English.

- Very good, Marquis. But you cannot go.

If the King approved your plan, Britain would declare war on us.

And that cannot happen at this time... Understood?

(Marquis) - What I understood was that King Louis secretly approved

of my plan, but the Minister could not say so.

I determined to sail for America and glory immediately.

That night, properly disguised...

- Dressed as a woman!

- I was wearing a merchant's cloak!

- Whatever you say, my friend.

- Thank you.

I sneaked back to la Victoire.

And we set sail for America!

Whoa!

But our navigator's calculations were incorrect,

and we landed miles from our target.

Still, delighted to finally reach these blessed shores,

I prepared for a warm welcome.

(gunfire)

Happily, we identified ourselves as French and not British.

So our ship was not burned.

The townspeople invited us into their homes,

outfitted us with horses and sent us to make a rendezvous

with la gloire and la liberté.

And six weeks later we are here in Congress

humbly offering our services to yourself,

General Washington and your countrymen.

(cheering and applause)

(John Hancock) - Most entertaining, sir.

We thank you deeply for your interest and hope your journey

back to France will be safe and speedy.

(Sarah) - I don't understand why Congress would not want

brave, intelligent noblemen to join General Washington.

Not that I want you fighting my countrymen.

- It is an outrage!

Gilbert, you must go where a man such as you is appreciated!

To France! And I will go with you

to fight for liberté, live in your mansion

and have gold buttons on all my shirts.

- Hm, I will serve General Washington.

And I will risk everything I have to do so.

- Rats.

- You will help me with my English, please?

- Of course.

- After the sacrifices I have made in this cause,

I have the right to ask two favors at your hands.

(John Hancock) - "One is to serve without pay at my own expense.

"The other, that I be allowed to serve at first

as a volunteer in the ranks."

Gentlemen, we need people like this, dedicated people,

willing to sacrifice all for the cause of freedom.

(all) - Here here!

- Congress has resolved that the Marquis de Lafayette's

services be accepted.

And that he have rank and commission of Major General

in the Army of the United States.

Please give our regards to General Washington.

- You're very quiet today, Sarah.

- Lafayette is a nobleman of great wealth.

He has so much to lose.

And he's willing to sacrifice all of it for his beliefs.

I wonder if I could do the same.

- Freedom's worth more than anything, Sarah.

Trust me, I know.

(Henri) - What's wrong, Gilbert?

- It is not every day one meets one's hero.

- Don't worry, and I can point him out for you!

- Thank you, Henri.

But I will recognize him at once

by the majesty of his face and figure.

- Marquis! Relax.

He treats his people like family.

He's a fine and generous man.

(lively chatter)

- I dread this, Mr. Hamilton.

These preening foreigners here to play at war.

Many of our men refuse to serve under them and no wonder.

They seek only glory with no understanding

of that for which we fight.

- General...

It is the greatest pleasure of my life to meet you.

- The pleasure is mine, General.

Thank you for coming so far to join our cause.

My aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton.

The Marquis de Lafayette.

Ben Franklin's boys. It's good to see you again.

- Thank you, General.

- I must apologize, sir.

I am afraid you will find our troops greatly inferior

to those of your own country.

- General, please.

I am here to learn, not to preach.

And in many ways I feel like this is my country.

The happiness of all humanity is deeply bound up

with the happiness of Americans.

I bring to you my sincerity and my goodwill.

No ambition or selfish interest.

It is my deepest hope that this new land

will become a cherished and safe asylum of virtue,

of tolerance, of equality.

And of peaceful liberty.

(snoring)

And finally, I sneaked out wearing a wig and a dress!

(Washington laughs)

- Uh, oh?

- You must tell me more, my dear Marquis.

- I am ready.

- Patience, Gilbert.

As dear as I hold you, you must prove yourself in the field

before I can give you men to command.

- Forgive me, General, but...

Then how may I serve our cause?

- My friend, I am certain

opportunities will present themselves.

- The food gets worse by the day.

But that's tougher to stomach!

General Washington's little French pet.

Running 'round camp looking for something to do.

(both) - Huh?

(soldier humming)

- Bon appétit, my good man.

Mmm...

This reminds me of the most delicious

roast venison I ever ate.

And this roll! Oh, mm, mm.

Reminds me of my sweet wife back home.

Sheer heaven.

You, sir, what have you there?

I dreaded dinner till I imagined it was my favorite meal.

What is your favorite meal?

- Well, my mother made the best

chicken and dumplings I ever ate.

- Then have a bite, my friend.

And remember your good mother.

♪♪

- Unh! Oh?

- Get away from that water, it's dangerous.

- I can't wait to see Gilbert.

Uh! Uh!

- We're here to report on the army, not bother him.

- If Gilbert could hand over these buttons to me,

imagine the treasures he must have at home.

- Washington is one of the richest men in Virginia.

Hancock is the richest in New England.

If we lose this war, they lose everything.

What's more important to them?

Treasure or freedom?

(horse whinnies, Henri gasps)

- Redcoats!

(gunfire, loud indistinct shouting throughout)

(officer) - Charge!

(Washington) - Our men are fighting doggedly to the north.

But we shall have to retreat to keep our army intact.

- But, General, Philadelphia...

- Will be lost, I'm afraid.

- Sir, the loss of our capital

will be a blow to the country's morale.

- It will, but the city is of no military value.

And the loss of our army would mean

the loss of everything we are fighting for.

We must keep the army intact to fight another day

when we have the advantage.

The men at our center are beginning to panic.

If we don't retreat in an orderly fashion,

we will be destroyed.

- Charge!

(all shouting)

- Oh, no. The Americans are panicking!

- Run!

(soldier) - There they are!

(James) - They're running away! - Gilbert!

- About face, men. Retreat calmly!

Retreat calmly!

Whoa! Easy... (horse whinnies)

Whoa! Look! The Redcoats can't hit

the broad side of a barn!

(frightened shouts)

If we panic, we are lost.

Help me maintain order!

I am counting on you.

- Fall back!

- Soldier, help us cover the retreat.

(gasps)

Courage, friends, we will have our day next time!

To fight! To win freedom! Freedom!

- Look! They're getting out! The army's saved!

- Gilbert! Can you see Gilbert?!

- I can't see him.

- Oh, Gilbert, please be all right.

(horse neighs)

- Gilbert...

- It appears the British have welcomed me to America

with a musket ball in the leg.

- The doctors will look at it immediately.

- Perhaps later, General. The men!

- The men are fine. (painful grunt)

The army will survive to fight another day.

Don't move. Surgeon!

This is my personal surgeon.

Treat him as if he were my son.

♪♪

- Lafayette has joined the Continental Army!

Congress never got the letter King Louis asked you to write.

- That's because he asked me to write the letter,

not send it. (gasps)

I believe Monsieur Lafayette will become a popular sensation

here in France and thereby help the King see the wisdom

of signing a treaty with our new nation.

(men moaning)

(coughing and moaning)

(Henri gasps)

- Henri!

- Are they taking good care of you?

- Oui, I must thank Ben Franklin

for founding this hospital.

Henri, where are my father's buttons?

- I sold them and gave the money to the hospital.

Are you angry with me, Gilbert?

- I'm as proud of you as if you were my son.

I think maybe now

we can both call ourselves Americans.

♪♪

- ♪ 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 ♪♪