a farm built between the banks of the river and the deep green of the swamps. good, fertile land, hacked out of the wilderness.
springtime. the apple tree at the top of the hill is covered with blossoms.
marion and his children tend the wounded. gabriel, weak but walking, helps. redcoat infantry appears out of the woods, heading toward the house. three dozen men. scouts and flank units covering the main body. marion gathers his family around him, stands and waits.
the house and barns smolder. thomas' body lies in the yard. nearby, the bodies of the patriot wounded, now dead.
marion, trailed by his children, walks past the soldiers' bodies and the remains of their house.
tarleton and wilkins wait while green dragoons and loyalists search the remains of marion's house and barn. gaskins, filthy from the ashes, walks up to tarleton.