this is my army? the americans still have the british surrounded in boston, but with dwindling supplies and rampant illness, washington s force grows weaker every day. if the british find out this secret, they could easily wipe out the americans. here, you have washington s army willing to die, willing to fight under incredible odds, and they don t have blankets. they don t have guns. they don t have boots. not for the last time in american history was a commander given a command without the resources to command it. and that was very much george washington s dilemma. congress sends benjamin franklin to meet with the general to assess his needs. but washington has kept his plight secret even from them.
an american. i more than anyone know the price of liberty. after a lot of thought, lot of debate, eventually john adams becomes absolutely convinced that franklin is a true patriot. franklin s time in london isn t the liability many in congress fear. it s actually an asset. embedded in british high society, frankly learns how they think and he knows that britain will stop at nothing to bring the rebellious colonies back into law. the americans must be ready to fight even harder. dr. franklin does not hesitate at our boldest measures and discovered a disposition entirely american. as franklin throws himself into the preparations for war in congress, the siege of boston is
about to erupt. across the river british commander thomas gage watches as general william howe drives his troops toward the cloolonial frt line. the americans fortify the top of the hill so that they can have an advantageous position of the british and in way that the british weren t anticipating. dr. joseph warren, president of the massachusetts provincial congress and soon to be general joi joins his fellow volunteer in the trenches. when liberty is the prize, to redeem our right and privilege. these fellows say we won t fight. i shall die up to my knees in blood. forward, march! here they come!
expectations of british and the americans begin to diverge dramatically, so if franklin had a family connection with the crown, maybe, indeed, he was. franklin loses touch with the common man. the people vote him out in the assembly. but he s as disgusted with them as they are with him. with the clout he has left, franklin secures a post that better suits his interests, representing the colonies in london. must you really go, ben? you can come with me. you know i won t cross the water. then you must take comfort, i shall return to you next spring. franklin leaves deborah in america for a world more attractive to a man of his influence. franklin s wife did not have
i know not what has caused this change in you, father. withdr you have not seen what i have seen in london. treat honest americans almost as a different species from the english of britain. reason once governed your action, passion now rules it and it will lead you to ruin. one of the tragedies of franklin s life is that a son that he loved very much will become a diehard loyalist and he and his father split when revolution breaks out and will never speak again. and in fact, when asked about his son, franklin will say he deserves to be hung. dr. franklin, you say you ve changed but no man reverses his defining philosophy at your advanced age. did not reverse anything. simply recognized what always was.