Plot Synopsis

Combining expert interviews, re-creations, and animations, this three-part series reveals the stories of other unsung heroes in America's fight for independence, while chronicling the rise of the rebellion, failures and setbacks of the colonial mission, and the ultimate comeback that resulted in the birth of a nation. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION goes beyond textbook tales of America's founding fathers to bring indispensable but forgotten players to the front lines like James Armistead, a Virginia slave turned invaluable spy. Intelligence he relayed from General Lord Charles Cornwallis to French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette eventually led to American and French forces trapping the redcoats in Yorktown, forcing their surrender, and effectively ending the war. Also featured is Han Yerry, a chief of the Oneida nation -- one of the few Native American tribes that allied itself with the patriots during the American Revolution. Yerry fought off redcoats with a tomahawk and later led a crucial, 400-mile expedition to Valley Forge to deliver a life-saving supply of white corn to General George Washington's starving troops. Many women also answered the call, like Nancy Hart, a patriot spy who disguised herself as a man and wandered through British encampments to gather intelligence. Her most celebrated contribution was capturing several loyalist soldiers who had raided her home and demanded a meal. She shot one of them dead, and then held the rest at gunpoint until local militiamen arrived and hanged them. This two-night event celebrates these heroes and many others whose stories are lost to time. AHC: American Heroes Channel premiered two back-to-back episodes on Monday, December 15, 2014 from 9-11pm ET/PT, followed by the show's finale the next day: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 9pm ET/PT.