DoubleTake: American Braveheart

Summary

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Podcast Summary: DoubleTake – "American Braveheart"

Podcast: The World and Everything In It
Date: July 11, 2026
Host: Les Sillers
Reported by: Tadden Strassheim
Central Theme:
An exploration of the fascinating life and legend of Peter Francisco—dubbed "George Washington's one-man army"—and how myth, history, and national heroes are constructed, unraveled, and retold in American culture.

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Episode Overview

The episode spotlights Travis Bowman, a modern descendant of Revolutionary War hero Peter Francisco. Through Bowman’s personal journey to resurrect and retell his ancestor's legend, the story delves into the ways America constructs its heroes—revealing not only the blurry lines between myth and truth, but also questioning what truly makes a hero worth remembering. Alongside historical experts, the episode challenges foundational legends—of Francisco, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, and George Washington—highlighting the significance, impact, and ethical challenge of myth-making in American memory.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Discovering a Giant in the Family (00:26–05:56)

• Travis Bowman learns about his ancestor, Peter Francisco—an imposing 6’6” figure in colonial times, called “the Hercules of the Revolution.”
• Fascination begins when Bowman stumbles on Francisco’s memorabilia in a gift shop and is encouraged to write Francisco’s story after discovering a lack of literature on him.
• Bowman is struck by coincidences: Francisco’s official Virginia memorial day shares his own birthday (06:31).

"He was like Shaquille O'Neal of the American Revolution or William Wallace, the Braveheart, of the American Revolution. And yet he's not widely known."
—Travis Bowman (04:28)

2. The Power and Pitfalls of Legend (05:56–11:44)

• The narrative details legendary exploits—such as Francisco lifting an 1,100-pound cannon—now revealed as almost certainly impossible.
• Bowman grapples with the divergence between family lore and historical plausibility.

“The 1100 pound cannon, I think we could say absolutely not.”
—Travis Bowman (07:54)

• History Channel experiments show even world-class strongmen can barely move such a cannon, debunking the myth (08:36–08:55).

• Historian Michael Shellhammer reviews further legendary claims—Washington’s alleged quotes about Francisco, gifted broadsword, and battle feats—identifying inaccuracies or lack of source material.

“Washington lauded individual soldiers all the time... Peter Francisco does not appear in any of Washington’s writings.”
—Michael Shellhammer (09:47)

"All possible, but improbable without a record of it, without even him claiming it. ...I'd like to know what the kernel of truth is."
—Michael Shellhammer (11:15)

3. The True Story: Heroism amid Uncertainty (12:03–15:01)

• Moving past myth, the podcast uncovers verifiable heroism: Francisco’s participation in the elite Light Infantry at the pivotal Battle of Stony Point, where he was wounded in action.
• Emphasizes that individual acts often owe their significance to group effort and camaraderie.

“Units of armies win battles or lose battles. The unit is what bonds soldiers together and what makes them fight in trying times.”
—Michael Shellhammer (14:48)

4. The Problem of American Founding Myths (15:10–18:34)

• Embellishment is not unique to Francisco:
  • Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech is not contemporaneously documented; it may be a later reconstruction (15:40–17:13).
  • George Washington’s cherry tree and Paul Revere’s midnight ride similarly exposed as patriotic inventions.

"As far as we know, that simply did not happen and was made up by Mason Weems, early Washington biographer."
—Dr. Thomas Kidd on the cherry tree story (17:46)

5. Heroes, Saints, and the Ethics of Storytelling (18:55–23:38)

• Bowman continues spreading Francisco’s story, viewing the mythic elements as vehicles for teaching about God’s providence and American values—even if exaggerated.

"We have got to teach the next generation what God did in our country."
—Travis Bowman (20:44)

• Historians Kidd and Shellhammer express ethical concerns about embellishing history:

“I have an ethical problem as a historian with filling in the blanks or embellishing the story.”
—Dr. Thomas Kidd (21:41)

"I would not read Peter Francisco's story of him picking up an 1100 pound cannon and be inspired. ...The myth has its value. I think the true story has more value."
—Michael Shellhammer (23:24)

• Ultimately, the true heroism—Francisco’s repeated reenlistment, his wounds, his endurance—is presented as more extraordinary and inspiring than the myths (23:44).

6. Telling the Next Chapter (24:23–25:39)

• Bowman channels the story into books and a short film, hoping to secure funding for a miniseries, still focusing on God’s providence in Francisco’s improbable survival and endurance.
• He teaches his children that their existence, like Francisco’s, is part of God’s larger plan.

“God has a plan and a purpose for all of us. And sometimes people go through life not really paying attention to that.”
—Travis Bowman (25:03)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On exaggerated heroism:
  “All of Francisco's stories are a little dubious. But those kind of inconsistencies don't stop Travis from spreading the story.”
  —Narrator (09:07)

• On historical myth-making:
  “There are a lot of stories like that [Paul Revere] that, you know, have some basis in fact, but the popularizers have gotten the details wrong—and that's actually by design.”
  —Narrator (18:55)

• On the difference between faith and founding myths:
  “When I get to heaven, I'm not going to care whether that's true or not, but I sure will care about whether Jesus actually rose from the dead.”
  —Dr. Thomas Kidd, on Washington’s cherry tree legend vs. the Gospel (22:44)

• On the true character of Francisco:
  “The multiple times he volunteered and kept going back to it, okay, even after being wounded. I think that's the true story and inspiration of a guy like Peter Francisco.”
  —Michael Shellhammer (24:11)

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:26–02:41: Introduction to Peter Francisco and his legend
• 04:28–06:46: Bowman discovers his familial connection and is prompted to write Francisco's story
• 07:54–08:55: Debunking the cannon-lifting story
• 09:39–11:44: Historian Shellhammer exposes patriotic embellishment
• 12:03–15:01: Documented heroism at the Battle of Stony Point
• 15:30–18:34: Examining foundational American myths (Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, Washington)
• 20:44–21:49: Bowman and Kidd discuss teaching the next generation versus remaining true to facts
• 23:44–24:11: What truly makes Francisco inspiring
• 24:23–25:39: Bowman’s ongoing efforts in storytelling and legacy

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Conclusion

This episode critically examines how legends about America's founding heroes arise and endure. While Peter Francisco’s superhuman feats are mostly myth, his authentic sacrifices and perseverance make him an inspiring figure on their own terms. The discussion broadens to reflect on the role of myth in national identity—and the importance (and challenge) of passing on accurate, yet still meaningful histories to future generations.

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Transcript

[Unbound Announcer]

Additional support comes from unbound training young adults to thrive by helping them build marketable skills. Figure out what's next and plug into strong community. Their free online event on July 14 covers three things students need to turn high school into a launchpad for their future. More information at beunbound US Event from world radio.

[Les Sillers]

This is doubletake. I'm Les Sillers. Travis Bowman stands 6ft 6 inches tall. That's pretty tall by today's standards. But what if you transported him back to 1776? In colonial America, Bowman would be a giant. Next to most people, the average height of a man was 5ft 9 inches. But you don't have to transport Bowman back. About 20 years ago, he stumbled into a gift shop and discovered that his ancestor Peter Francisco was just as tall,

[Travis Bowman]

a seventh generation descendant of Peter Francisco through his second wife, mind you, as he was married three times.

[Les Sillers]

That's Bowman. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and has his own environmental education company. He soon realized that Peter Francisco was not just tall. Standing in that gift shop, he discovered that his ancestor was a revolutionary era hero. There's a postage stamp with his image on it. Francisco was known in his lifetime as George Washington's one man army, the Hercules of the Revolution. At that moment, Bowman realized that he was the descendant of a mighty warrior for freedom. A kind of American Braveheart. And their stories were somehow connected. At that point, Bowman embarked on a quest. You might say he determined to bring the story of Peter Francisco to as many people as he can. But there's a problem. What if the story of Peter Francisco isn't exactly what Bowman first thought it was? And more than that, what if our American heroes aren't exactly who we think they were? This summer, America is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. So today on Double Take, a story about myth and history and legend. World's Tatten Strassheim has a piece about an American trying to retell the story of America's founding fathers and his own great grandfather. Along the way, he discovers that sometimes reality doesn't quite live up to the myth. But sometimes the myth doesn't quite do justice to reality.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Have you ever heard the legend of Peter Francisco?

[Travis Bowman]

The legend of Peter Francisco is that he was George Washington's one man army.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Peter Francisco was born in 1760 to wealthy parents in the Azores on an island formerly known as the island of Jesus Christ off the coast of Portugal. His family was descended from the Lusitanians, a first century people group that once held their own against the Roman Empire.

[Les Sillers]

I've got it, Papa.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

And I got you. Kidnapped by pirates who left him orphaned In Virginia just 10 years before the war for independence, he was 5 years old. By the time of the Revolution, Francisco had grown into a 260 pound giant. Inspired by Patrick Henry's plea to give me liberty or give me death, he enlisted in the Continental Army. The Virginian giants heroics were legendary. At the Battle of Camden in August 1780, Francisco hoisted an 1100 pound cannon onto his shoulders and off the battlefield to keep it out of the hands of the British. A postage stamp depicting the event came out in 1975 for the bicentennial celebrations. His superhuman strength earned him the nickname the Hercules of the Revolution. George Washington said that without him, we would have lost two crucial battles, perhaps the war, and with it, our freedom. To show his thanks, General Washington gave Francisco a special five foot long broadsword. Bowman says it's an extraordinary tale of God's providence. But next to figures like Washington, Bowman says Francisco is obscure.

[Travis Bowman]

He was like Shaquille o' Neal of the American Revolution or William Wallace, the Braveheart, story of the American Revolution. And yet he's not widely known.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Growing up, Bowman heard the legend of Francisco from his grandmother, but it wasn't until his 30s that he investigated it for himself. Bowman had a business meeting near Guilford Courthouse in Greensboro. It's the site of a battle where Francisco famously led the cavalry and killed 11 British soldiers with his sword.

[Travis Bowman]

And it might have been my grandmother or somebody in my family. My uncle said, you should go visit that monument that stands in honor of Peter Francisco in North Carolina. I said, what there's a monument for? I didn't even know there was any monument.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

The monument is over 20ft tall with 11 stones stacked to represent the 11 victims of Francisco's sword. The plaque reads, to Peter Francisco, a giant in stature, might and courage, who slew in this engagement 11 of the enemy with his own broadsword, rendering himself thereby perhaps the most famous private soldier of the Revolutionary War.

[Travis Bowman]

I'm looking at this thing and I'm like, what did this guy do?

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

And it says, Bowman entered the park's gift shop, where he found a small section displaying Francisco's razor case. And what of his shoes?

[Travis Bowman]

Wow. Like, how many soldiers fought this engagement? Like, you know, thousands of soldiers. And, you know, of all the soldiers they picked, they put a display case of my ancestor. I'm looking at that and I'm like, wow, that's a. That's pretty amazing.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Bowman asked the park ranger for books on Francisco. They didn't have any.

[Travis Bowman]

I said, well, why, why don't you have any books on Peter? Francisco is my ancestor. I'm, I'm, you know, I'm a descendant. And he goes, I don't know, you know, somebody needs to write a book. And he puts his finger kind of in my nose. He's like, you're a descendant, you should write a book.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

The rest is history. He began to research his great grandfather and found something unusual. His grandmother used to say Francisco was 9 or 10ft tall.

[Travis Bowman]

I find out, oh, he's 6 foot 6. I'm like, well, that's weird. I'm 6 foot 6.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

There's another thing. In Virginia, March 15th is Peter Francisco Day. The Virginia state legislature passed a resolution marking the holiday on February 17, 1973. That's Bowman's birthday.

[Travis Bowman]

And I just was, I, I couldn't believe it. I was shocked out of my mind.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

It was like he was made to tell Peter Francisco's story. So he did. Casting himself in the role of Francisco. With a script and a costume, including a replica broadsword, Bowman filled out Francisco's frame for a half an hour at a time, performing for historical societies, schools, churches. He even got to perform in Francisco's hometown of Porto Hideo for the first lady of Portugal.

[Travis Bowman]

People, they hear about me in the newspaper and they wanted me to come and sign right next to their stamps. They'd bring out their stamp collection. All right, sign here. Descend into Peter Francisco.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

But the more he looked into Francisco's life, the more he realized there were certain inconsistencies, some things that seemed implausible. And honestly, as I looked into it, I thought so too. It all fits together very nicely. But a lot of it is a little historically dubious. Do we know for certain that Peter lifted an 1100 pound cannon over his shoulder and carried it off a battlefield?

[Travis Bowman]

The 1100 pound cannon, I think we could say absolutely not.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

In the past, Bowman's tried to explain how such a feat could be possible. Now he admits it's far fetched. The world record for deadlifting is held by Hafthor bjornsson, who lifted 1124 pounds in September of 2025. He's 6ft 9 inches tall and weighs 441 pounds. There's no way 260 pound Peter Francisco hoisted the same weight onto his shoulder and then hauled it off a battlefield. I didn't come all the way to

[Les Sillers]

Virginia to fail at Peter Francisco's biggest feat of strength.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

The History Channel invited four of the world's deadlifting Champions to recreate Francisco's feet. It took all four of them just to drag the cannon across the ground.

[Travis Bowman]

Numbers on the scale can say whatever they want about that, but the shape just literally doubles the weight, I think.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

So, yeah, it's dubious. In fact, all of Francisco's stories are a little dubious. But those kind of inconsistencies don't stop Travis from spreading the story.

[Travis Bowman]

The details of how big was he, how big was the sword, how heavy was the cannon? I mean, those are the details that people can debate until Jesus comes back to me. Those really don't change it for me, don't they?

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

What really happened. A lot of Peter Francisco's stories are myths. That is, they're probably made up. Remember what George Washington said, that without him, we would have lost two crucial battles, perhaps the war, and with it, our freedom.

[Michael Shellhammer]

No one knows where that quote goes from.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Michael Shellammer is a retired army civilian, historian and writer. He'll help us unravel truth from fable.

[Michael Shellhammer]

Washington lauded individual soldiers all the time, and when they did something, he wrote about it. Pier Francisco does not appear in any of Washington's writings.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

So we don't have proof that Washington even knew about this guy. And it gets worse. Schellhammer says Washington's quote doesn't make sense. Remember, Washington supposedly said that Francisco helped us win two crucial battles.

[Michael Shellhammer]

All of the battles that Peter Francisco was in, it's tough to call any of them a clear American victory. The Battle of Gradywine, probably Pierre Francisco's first action, was an American loss. The Battle of Camden, where Peter Francisco fought, where the story of him carrying a cannon comes from, was a embarrassing American loss.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

There's also no record of Washington commissioning Francisco's sword, which is odd if it

[Michael Shellhammer]

happened because Washington kept meticulous records for all his expenses. And it does not appear there anywhere.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

He says a sword like that would have cost between 20 and 50 Continental dollars and an entire month of Washington's pay. Remember how the legend says he killed 11 redcoats at the Guilford Courthouse? Francisco himself only claimed to have killed two Redcoats. There's no evidence that he led Colonel Washington's cavalry either, as you might expect. There's also no record of him hauling off a cannon at Camden.

[Michael Shellhammer]

All possible, but improbable without a record of it, without even him claiming it. I wonder, what did Peter actually do at that bow? Did he do something that was similar, but it's been lost to the mists of time? He could very well have been extremely heroic, but if it's now covered up by this fanciful story, I think that's a shame. And I'd like to know what the kernel of truth is.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

For Bowman, the facts of Francisco's story may be uncertain, but that doesn't change its meaning. Actually, he thinks a little mystery is a good thing if it makes us look for the answers.

[Travis Bowman]

The reason he's famous and the reason there's monuments and all that is because he was so instrumental and so extraordinary.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Yeah, he's extraordinary in myth, but what about in real life? Was Peter Francisco actually a hero? We find out at the Battle of Stoney Point, using just the historical facts. A documentary from the American battlefield Trust sets the scene like in the summer

[American Battlefield Trust Narrator]

of 1779, a large British force was sent up the Hudson River. They took the river crossing at Stoney Point and fortified it.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Stoney Point lived up to its name, sticking out into the river like a thorn at 150ft high. It was nicknamed the Little Gibraltar, and George Washington wanted it back.

[American Battlefield Trust Narrator]

A bold plan of attack was devised with the Light Infantry Corps at his heart. They were the Continental Army's elite troops.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

The Light infantry was all volunteers, and Francisco was one of them.

[Michael Shellhammer]

So we know from the records that he at least raised his hand and said, hey, wait, you're putting together a corps of light infantry that's full of the toughest soldiers that are going to take on the toughest missions. Yeah, I'm up for that. Sign me up.

[American Battlefield Trust Narrator]

The Patriot commander, General Anthony Wayne, had ordered his men not to load their muskets.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

So Francisco went into battle without a musket. The goal was to surprise the British. The sound of musket fire would have given them away.

[American Battlefield Trust Narrator]

They went in with bayonets only.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

But that wasn't all.

[Michael Shellhammer]

General Wayne. Part of his tactics were to form what he called a forlorn hope.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Forlorn hope was a standard military term for a group of soldiers that had next to no chance of survival. General Wayne's forlorn hope would have to clear the forest shrubbery with axes.

[Michael Shellhammer]

So these guys were going forward pretty much unarmed, chopping through the abatis, which was sure to get British fire on them. And it did. Okay, because you can't, because chopping's pretty loud.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

You can't disguise that he signed up for that, too.

[American Battlefield Trust Narrator]

Just after midnight on July 16, the Patriots went into action. The main force placed pieces of white paper in their hats so they could see each other in the dark. The other forces approached from the opposite side. Some Patriots stayed at a distance to Keep the Redcoats distracted by musket fire. While others scaled the wall, Francisco's goal

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

was to reach the parapet at the very top of the fort where the British flag flew. Legend claims he was the second man over the wall capturing the British colors. But the first five men over the wall were recorded and rewarded. Francisco wasn't. That doesn't diminish his heroism. We have documents proving he took a bayonet wound in the stomach. Hero material for sure. And Francisco wasn't the only hero at Stony Point. Without his brothers in arms, the day would have been lost.

[Michael Shellhammer]

Units of armies win battles or lose battles. The unit is what is what bonds soldiers together and what makes them fight in trying times.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

They probably made him a better fighter.

[Michael Shellhammer]

I don't think he was doing it for himself, and he was not. Probably not doing it for an abstract ideal. He was probably doing it for the soldiers alongside him.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Of course, Francisco and his countrymen did fight for the abstract ideal of liberty in the legend. That's why he enlisted. But there's a problem with that part of the story, too, and the rest of colonial history. Turns out many of our history books all suffer from the Francisco problem.

[Michael Shellhammer]

For instance, I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Patrick Henry might not have said that. Henry delivered his famous liberty or death speech in 1775 at St. John's Church in Richmond. That's supposedly what inspired Francisco to enlist. The powerful speech was seared into the memory of its audience, including, according to legend, Peter Francisco. But we have no proof he was there. We don't even know what Henry actually said. Nobody wrote it down. Forty years after the speech, a lawyer named William Wirt wrote a biography of Henry. By then, Patrick Henry had been dead for 18 years. Everybody wirt talked to said the same thing. He had to include the speech in his biography. So Wirt wrote a version of the speech based on whatever memories people had.

[Michael Shellhammer]

GENTLEMEN CRY Peace. Peace. There is no peace. The war has actually begun.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

You've no doubt heard parts of it before. So even if Francisco was there, we don't really know what he heard. It's a mystery inside a mystery.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

I have not heard that he was there.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Dr. Thomas Kidd is a professor of church history and the American founding at Baylor Theological Seminary. He knows a thing or two about Patrick Henry.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

For me, as someone who has written a biography of Patrick Henry, this is an extreme problem, because, I mean, this is the best known thing about Patrick Henry. But we don't have, you know, the original speech.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

He doesn't know what Henry said either.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

And I think that the liberty or death, give me liberty or give me death bit is almost certain to have been part of the speech, because that was being remembered starting in 1775. But, you know, what we don't know is the rest of the speech and its details.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

And it's not just our histories of Francisco and Henry that have accuracy problems. A lot of our founding myths are embellished. Some are just made up, like the story of George Washington and the cherry tree.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

As far as we know, that simply did not happen and was made up by Mason Weems, early Washington biographer.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Or the story of Paul Revere's midnight ride. Maybe you learned the poem in school. Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. And one if by land and two if by sea and I on the opposite shore will be. That's not really how it happened.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

If you understand what happened in 1775 and 76, you know, it would. It would be nonsensical for him to have said the British were coming, but especially in 1775, the Patriots considered themselves to be British. So it would have been silly for him to say the British. He just simply wouldn't have said that.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Revere wasn't the only rider. He was joined by William Dawes and Samuel Prescott. They were all part of an elaborate network of patriots, and Revere never made it to Concord. Like the poem says, the three men were stopped by a British patrol. Dawes and Prescott escaped, but Revere was taken to Lexington for questioning.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

There are a lot of stories like that that, you know, have some basis in fact, but the popularizers have gotten

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

the details wrong, and that's actually by design. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote The poem In 1860, on the eve of the Civil War. He wanted to stir up patriotic feelings, so he retold Revere's story in poetic verse. Sent him galloping through the pages of history to remind Americans of their national pride. And he changed a few details for dramatic effect. It worked, Civil War notwithstanding, for decades, schoolbooks reprinted Longfellow's poem. Children recited the American hero's journey through every Middlesex village and farm. We sort of forgot all about the real Paul Revere, a lot like Peter Francisco. A handful of books have been written about Francis, but they didn't popularize him like the Revolution's greater heroes. Bowman published his book Hercules of the Revolution in 2009, a novel based on Francisco's life. Six years later, he published another Novelization titled Lusso. That's a prefix for Lusitanian. They're both historical fiction based on a true story with all the gaps filled in. And they both include talty tales like the canon at Camden. When he signs copies of his books, Bowman cites Deuteronomy 4, 8 and 9. In that passage, Moses reminds the nation of Israel of its greatness. Then he says, be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Bowman takes that advice seriously.

[Travis Bowman]

We have got to teach the next generation what God did in our country.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Otherwise we'll forget he sees God's hand in Francisco's story.

[Travis Bowman]

Don't forget, look at this little kid. He's kidnapped from the island of Jesus Christ and he's dropped off in Virginia, not in Brazil or South Africa. I mean, God was doing something extraordinary, don't forget. I think it's the perfect story to teach to our children and grandchildren because it's kind of almost like a Marvel character, you know, larger than life. Hero, true story of God's providence. I think it's critical that we have God sized heroes.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

My boys are in college now, but I mean, I would not tell them the story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree because, I mean, I just, I know it's not true.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Historian Kidd again, it stands to reason that he wouldn't tell his kids the legend of Peter Francisco either.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

I have an ethical problem as a historian with filling in the blanks or embellishing the story.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

He doesn't have any interest in historical myth making.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

I just think by definition it makes the story less inspiring, if not useless.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

But he's not against having historical heroes as long as they're historically accurate.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

I still think Washington was probably the best president we've ever had. So I don't need the story of the cherry tree to prop up my view.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

It begs the question, if Washington really was a great man, why bother making up stories about him?

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

I mean, there's all kinds of legends about the founding fathers, but you know, there's such a desperate need to turn these people into sort of civil saints of civil religion.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Put simply, history needs heroes. People that embody the country's ideals. They tell us who we are as Americans. But there's a difference between heroes and saints.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

So something like Washington chopping down the cherry tree. I mean, when I get to heaven, I'm not going to care whether that's True or not, but I sure will care about whether Jesus actually rose from the dead.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

Christ is Dr. Kidd's ideal. A God sized hero whose resurrection isn't a myth, it's a historical fact. If it didn't really happen, it wouldn't be worth believing in.

[Dr. Thomas Kidd]

Washington is, I mean, he's not perfect, he's, he's not Jesus, but he's a highly admirable, virtuous man. So I don't, I don't need any of the myths to reach that conclusion.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

For Shellhammer, the myth is less inspiring than the truth.

[Michael Shellhammer]

I would not read Peter Francisco's story of him picking up an 1100 pound cannon and be inspired. I can't do that. There's no way I can do that. I'm never going to be able to do that. The myth has its value. I think the true story has more value.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

And the true story gives us a pretty clear picture of what kind of man Francisco was.

[Michael Shellhammer]

We had trouble having soldiers just complete their enlistments, okay, Let alone sign up three times.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

We know that Francisco enlisted in the Continental army three times. He was also wounded several times. Besides the bayonet wound to the stomach, he took a musket ball and a bayonet to the thigh. He may have even fought in the War of 1812 during his 50s in the Continental Army. Commitment like that was unheard of.

[Michael Shellhammer]

The multiple times he volunteered and kept going back to it, okay, even after being wounded. I think that's the true story and inspiration of a guy like Peter Francisco.

[Les Sillers]

For me, the year 1776.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

In 2024, Bowman released Lusso, the short film in nine minutes. It tells Francisco's story from his childhood in the Azores to his battlefield heroics.

[Travis Bowman]

But God had a plan for one USO warrior.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

He's hoping the film will raise funding for a nine episode miniseries that shows the entire Revolutionary War through the eyes of a God ordained giant hero, including the mythical tall tales. Bowman insists there's a greater truth behind the details. Accurate or not, God had an extraordinary

[Travis Bowman]

plan for his life. God has a plan and a purpose for all of us. And sometimes people go through life not really paying attention to that.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

When his sons were little, he would pray with them before they went to bed.

[Travis Bowman]

The night that you came into the world, the night that you were born, there was thousands and thousands of other kids that were born. But God providentially put you into this great country, not into another country and into this family. That was God.

[Narrator (Tadden Strassheim)]

God, he says, has a plan for everyone, not just Peter Francisco.

[Les Sillers]

Tadden Strassheim. Rapportioned and wrote this story produced by Ben Jaiker. Please don't forget to rate and review us on your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoyed this piece, the best way to support us is to share it with a friend or family member. Thanks. I'm Les sillers. This is DoubleTake. We'll see you next time.

[Unbound Announcer]

Additional support comes from Unbound at its free online event on July 14, which helps young adults build skills and find community. More at Beunbound US Event.