Continuity mistake: Gabriel writes in his letter that his friend was killed at Elizabethtown, but you can see that the letter actually states he was killed at Monmouth.
Revealing mistake: In the shot where General Cornwallis says, "Unless I'm dreaming..." The shot is through his telescope. Notice that he's on a tall hill but the shot is almost level to the ground and it's moving down.
Revealing mistake: In the shot where Benjamin is riding his horse to the top of the hill, the camera pans from left to right and in the distance is the British army. But if you look to the left the trees are way too huge (a bad scale). If Benjamin had ten militamen cut one down, it would have wiped out 1/4 of the British army shown.
Continuity mistake: In the scene after Gabriel dies, the camera pans down from the top and you see the U.S. flag with all fifty stars, but when Benjamin leaves the tent it has only thirteen on it.
Factual error: The French only seem to show up at Yorktown in 1781, but they actually arrived in 1778 (the Americans would never have won if they arrived that late).
Continuity mistake: When John Billings, a member of the militia, finds his wife and child murdered and his house burned by Tavington's Green Dragoons, he promptly shoots himself in the head. But later in the movie, at the ending battle of Cowpens, you can see him standing in the ranks, getting shot if you look closely.
Factual error: During the American Revolution, men saluted by taking off their hat and lowering to their side, then putting it on again. In the movie, Gabriel (Heath Ledger) salutes by placing his hand on his head....the way we are used to now.
Continuity mistake: When Benjamin rides over the hill holding the fluttering flag, the flag is in his left hand. In the next shot, the flag is in his right hand, and the flagpole base is in a scabbard attached to the saddle.
Revealing mistake: When Tavington has sliced Benjamin across the back in the final battle, Benjamin falls to his knees and the bayonet on the end of the gun he's holding, which is supposed to be metal, jiggles like rubber when the gun hits the ground.
Continuity mistake: In the shot where Tavington is loading his pistol (before he shoots the Rev.), he throws his ram rod, but when Benjamin's son is going to shoot him he has it back (he did not have an extra).
Factual error: When Benjamin Martin and his family go to Charleston, the first view we see of the city is a shot from a hilltop, looking down on the city from the north. Charleston is a port city in the "Lowcountry" of South Carolina, a broad coastal plain. Thus, the land around the city is extremely flat, and the nearest hill of that elevation is at least 80 miles inland.
Continuity mistake: In the final battle scene, when you see the British in the distance from the Americans' point-of-view. There is a fence in the middle of the field, but when the two armies engage each other the fence disappears.
Continuity mistake: In the final fight scene between Benjamin and Tavington, when Tavington flies off his horse and lands on the ground, his pants are visibly untucked from his boots. A few seconds later, when he stands up, his pants are tucked back into his boots.
Factual error: During the evening at the beach scenes, the sky over the sea appears as though it is during sunset. In the morning, the sunrise is in the same direction. A South Carolina beach would only face toward a sunrise.
Continuity mistake: In the scene when the Martins are in Charleston, Peter Howard is talking about his experience in the French and Indian War and how he lost his leg fighting in it. When the camera shows him standing there, he is holding a crutch under his right arm, seemingly supporting him, but it is his left leg that is missing. So he is actually giving support to his good leg while giving none to the missing one.
Suggested correction: It is the correct way to use one crutch. Crutches are usually used on the opposite side of the leg they must support. When one leg is partially weight-bearing, the crutch is on the opposite arm, when both legs are partially weight-bearing, two crutches are used each one moving along with the opposite leg. For more info, google "two-point gait."
Continuity mistake: During the battle of Cowpens, the French Major points out to Benjamin Martin that the line is beginning to falter. Benjamin runs to stop the retreat. As he runs towards the camera he is holding his pistol in his right hand but grips it by the barrel to swing it like a hammer or club. The camera then cuts to show Benjamin running away from the camera and the pistol is now gripped by the handgrip as it would be for firing.
Continuity mistake: Charlotte is reading a letter from Benjamin at the end of the film. When the camera is pulled back far enough to show her surrounded by Benjamin's children as she reads, Charlotte's dress has a modest neckline and shows no cleavage. When the camera cuts to a closeup that shows just the letter and her chest, she suddenly has several inches of cleavage showing, obviously another dress.
Continuity mistake: In the part when Gabriel and Tavington are fighting right before Gabriel is killed, Tavington drops his sword before getting shot by Gabriel. When he is shot by Gabriel, he falls onto the ground which is clear of all debris. When Gabriel approches Tavington to stab him, Tavington flips over and stabs Gabriel with his sword, which he had dropped earlier.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Cornwallis is being shaved with a straight razor the amount of shaving cream on his face changes from almost none to nearly full in one shot.
Continuity mistake: In one battle scene, a soldier's head is knocked off by a cannonball but the same soldier appears in a later battle scene, complete with head.
