MovieChat Forums > The Crossing (2000) Discussion > Attack on the Hessian guardhouse!

Attack on the Hessian guardhouse!

posted 14 years ago by louielouie
7 replies | jump to latest

First off, this was a great movie. I'm trying to understand American History more in-depth to help my kids with it, and while it isn't one for little kids, it does bring this turning point in the Revolutionary War to life. You read about this in textbooks but you don't realize how bad the situation is until you watch this movie.

Now some people have been complaining that the final battle was a bit comical with the Hessians looking like 70s actors flying around after getting blown to bits with the cannon fire. Yes that is somewhat true - but I think the message was that the Americans routed the Hessians and won.

However, the attack on the Hessian guardhouse was one of the parts of the movie that was unexpectedly graphic. This commando raid by two soldiers (one of them being Alexander Hamilton) was brutal and showed how horrific war can be. The intensity of the scene is similar to a Jack Bauer scene in 24, like when he attacked one of the Russians on Day 8. I have a new-found respect for Alexander Hamilton.

[–] jquark 14 years ago

At the Battle of Yorktown on October 14, 1781 Washington tasked Alexander Hamilton with capturing Redoubt No. 10 while the French were assigned the capture of the other key Redoubt No. 9 in a two-pronged assault.

At 8:00PM, Hamilton led out 400 men on a bayonet attack, and succeeded in quickly overrunning and capturing Redoubt No. 10.

[–] victor4782 14 years ago

Damn. No wonder this man deserves to be on the ten-dollar bill. He was a freaking bad-ass patriot.

"You'll Believe A Man Can Fly!" - Superman: The Movie

[–] nyrmetros 13 years ago

Imagine Hamilton's legacy if he were not cut down by Aaron Bur.......

[–] Draco1138 12 years ago

I always loved those scenes and thought Hamilton really was a bad ass and quite a soldier/commando in this movie (and real life).

As for those guards being blown up by the cannon...that is what'd happen if you were in the path of cannon fire.

[–] mbphilly 12 years ago

Just read a superb biography about Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The man was a very commendable soldier during the Revolution. He served a lot of his time during the war as Washington's chief aide, and was so excellent in his service that Washington felt he was indispensable and refused to give him a filed assignment until Yorktown. Him and Washington came to bitter terms over that, and it took some arm twisting for Washington to give him the mission to capture the redoubt. Overall, Hamilton was a brilliant and charismatic man, but he was hypersensitive and sometimes rash. He did a lot to build a firm structure for the American government, but he made quite a number of enemies in doing so. Oddly, before the events the precipitated and resulted in their duel, him and Aaron Burr showed mutual respect to each other and even collaborated as lawyers on a few cases. One of them was a pretty sensational murder trial. But Hamilton was a passionate visionary, while Burr was mostly a dashing opportunist.

[–] Fluke_Skywalker 9 years ago

Yeah, there really hadn't been much battle or fighting at that point. It was all drama. But that scene, with its rather graphic depictions, really helped set the tone and stakes for the final battle and give it more weight and gravity.

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[–] 9 years ago

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