Miniseries on Revolutionary War soldier who fought at Guilford Courthouse in the works

A group of producers is developing a miniseries based on the life of a noted Revolutionary War soldier who fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

The subject of the project is Peter Francisco, a man of Portuguese origin who was abandoned at a Virginia wharf as a child and later fought in multiple battles during the Revolutionary War.

Francisco, described by some sources as 6-foot-6 inches tall, is also the subject of legend.

He's purported to have lifted a 1,000-pound cannon during a battle in South Carolina, slain 11 British soldiers at Guilford Courthouse and wielded a 6-foot sword commissioned for him by George Washington.

While sources do attest to Francisco's bravery and drive to continue fighting despite sustaining several wounds, historians and researchers have raised doubts about some of the feats attributed to Francisco.

Travis Bowman, part of the group developing the project, has acknowledged some of the questions about Francisco's exploits.

"In our series we're going to keep it as true to the facts as we know, but I'm sure that discussion of whether or not he swung a 6-foot sword or how big of a cannon did he pick up, all of those come into question and nobody really knows," Bowman said.

Born in the Azores

At the same time, Bowman, a descendant of Francisco who has previously written a novel about him, sees the story of the man dubbed the "Virginia Giant" and the "Hercules of the American Revolution" as inherently cinematic. He said it is "like the combination of 'Braveheart,' 'The Patriot,' and 'Gladiator' all rolled up into one."

He points to Francisco's origins as a child born in the Azores, an island territory of Portugal, who was dropped off in Virginia before he reached his fifth birthday.

The Peter Francisco Society, a Virginia-based nonprofit formed by Francisco's descendants and others interested in preserving and promoting Francisco's legacy, contends pirates kidnapped him.

Bowman also said he wanted to emphasize the relationship between Francisco and his first wife, Susannah, a story he likens to "Romeo and Juliet."

He also sees a religious significance to Francisco's story.

The project is called "Luso," a prefix denoting an association with Portugal or the Portuguese.

Bowman noted that the term comes from Lusitania, the name given by the Romans to the land that makes up modern-day Portugal, which was a site of strong resistance to Roman invaders.

He sees a divine hand in the fact that a man of that lineage found himself in America, well-positioned to take part in the fight for independence.

"So they're known as fierce warriors, and what I like to say is God had a plan for this one Luso warrior all these years late," Bowman said.

The production team is soliciting funds for the project through a crowdfunding campaign at wefunder.com/luso.

Bowman said his goal is to wrap up fundraising this fall and then film a pilot in the spring to attract distributors for the project. He added that his production team has good relationships with studios such as Warner Bros. and Lionsgate.

Brian Patrick Wade, an actor known for appearances on TV shows such as "The Big Bang Theory" and in films like "The Guardian," is also involved with the project, Bowman said.

Bowman's vision for the project is ambitious. He said he wants to film in the Greensboro area and believes the project has the potential to attract tens of millions of tourist dollars from people eager to learn more about Francisco's efforts during the battle.

He would like to see the story presented as an eight-part miniseries followed by a two-hour theatrical release for the final installment.

"I think we could knock it out of the park," Bowman said. "I think we'd do more than $200 million if we did it right."

Francisco 'very bloody' as he left Guilford battlefield

The Peter Francisco Society describes Francisco's service during the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in dramatic terms.

"He cut down eleven men with his broadsword; had his leg pinned to a horse by the bayonet of a guardsman – but, as the soldier turned and fled, Peter made a blow with his sword and managed to 'cleft the fellow's head down to his shoulder before he fell,'" according to the Society.

Accounts of Francisco's service do testify to his bravery during the battle.

Lt. John Woodson, in a statement supporting Francisco's efforts to obtain a pension, attested to his bravery, wrote that Francisco was "very bloody also was his sword from point to hilt" at the battle.

In a 1820 Virginia pension application, Francisco put the number of British he killed in the battle at two while adding that he made "many other panes which were doubtless fatal to others."

A 2013 article in the Journal of the American Revolution refers to a later pension application in which Francisco said he killed four British soldiers.

Describing his injuries during the battle, Francisco wrote that he was "wounded in the thigh by a bayonet, from the knee to the socket of the hip."

Francisco's son, in an account written after the fighter's death, said Francisco had been taken from the battlefield by an old man who cared for Francisco as he recovered from his wounds.

Is Francisco's height a tall tale?

Some expert sources say there is no evidence to support some of the more grandiose claims about Francisco.

The Journal of the American Revolution notes a quote attributed to George Washington that credits Francisco as a decisive force in the war. According to the journal, researchers at Mount Vernon have not been able to corroborate the quote.

Likewise, the notion that Francisco received a 6-foot sword from Washington is also dubious.

The journal pointed to a lack of documentation, adding that "it seems unlikely that such a transaction could have taken place, since at that time Washington was camped outside New York City and Francisco was over 500 miles away in the Carolinas."

And while Francisco was a large man for his day, there is some question over whether he stood the full 6-feet-6-inches.

His son's account describes Francisco as being 6-foot-1-inch tall and weighing 260 pounds.

Jason Baum, an interpretive park ranger at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, said in a biometric analysis based on one of Francisco's shoes showed that' the range of heights for a man that wears that size of shoe tops out at 5'11 "."

"My guess is that there is a desire to make it apparent to the reader how unusually tall he was," Baum said. "Six foot one is genuinely tall in an era when the average man is 5'7". But 6'1" might not seem significant to readers in later generations."

Baum said trying to arrive at the truth by using older references can pose a challenge.

"So many of them never gave sources to back up their claims, or only gave secondary sources," Baum said. "This time period is rife with claims, and even direct quotes, where once you go down the rabbit hole of their footnotes, you find there was never any legitimate source to back up what was being written."

The journal article argues, however, that even if the grander claims regarding Francisco are not true, it does not diminish his contributions to the nation's war for independence.

"Though I can't say that Peter Francisco did more than any other private to enable the Rebel victory, or that he was some kind of one-man army or the Incredible Hulk of the Revolution; his true service was much more meaningful than any feat of strength, charge-leading, or death-dealing," according to the article. "Francisco is as an example of the strength of the American soldier; those that volunteer, fight, suffer wounds, and return to fight again, when others may not."

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