In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Assassin's Creed III scriptwriter Matt Turner spoke about some of the historical events that were left on the cutting room floor during the game's production.
Turner said that one of the stories left out of the game was that of Israel Putnam's many daring escapes including an adventurous underwear escape from the Redcoats. Israel Putnam was a retired colonel in the Revolutionary War. He had many close calls with death.
"He was shipwrecked in the West Indies and was the only person to survive," Turner told Games Radar. "He was stranded on a desert island where he survived on boot leather and palm leaves for three months, and then got rescued. He got captured by the Seneca Indians not long after that when he got home, and they tied him to a tree and were going to burn him at the stake. But he gnawed his rope loose, got free, and survived that, too."
The aforementioned underwear escape happened when Putnam was retired from the war and was shaving in his home when British troops appeared to capture him. According to Turner, "He jumped out of a second story window in his underwear, ran to his horse, and ran from the Redcoats down a hill with just his pistols." This humorous historical anecdote was not included in the game because the developers felt its inclusion would have felt forced.
General Putnam was more than a comical antidote in history. Putnam Memorial State Park, the oldest state park in Connecticut is named after the general and is located on the site of the Winter Encampment of Putnam's Continental troops. He was also one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill, both in its planning and on the battlefield. The quote, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," is often attributed to Putnam, although the claim is disputed.
Another historical figure that did not make the cut was the Banastre "the Butcher" Tarleton, a 22-year-old British dragoon commander known for slaughtering a force of Virginia Continentals led by Abraham Buford. The event is known in America as the "Buford Massacre," "Tarleton's Quarter's," or as the "Waxhaw Massacre."
"He would come across Patriots, they would surrender, and he'd just kill them in their shoes," Turner told GamesRadar. "He was super feared."
The reason Tarleton will not be battling Connor is because his war effort took place in the southern colonies. GamesRadar grieves Tarleton's exclusion from the game saying "And what if Tarleton were a Templar?" This excellent point and conjures images of the 2000 film "The Patriot," where a fictitious Colonel "Tavington" portrayed by Jason Isaacs and is depicted as a skilled but ruthless commander. The fictitious Tavington is partially based on Tarleton. If you have seen the film, you know that Tarleton would have made a pretty awesome and viilainous Templar.
Perhaps the most surprising exclusion of a historical event in the game is Benedict Arnold's betrayal of the Continental Army. Arnold was a general on the American side, who obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York. He subsequently plotted to surrender the fort to the British forces, but the conspiracy was exposed in and he defected to the British Army.
"Certain battles we would've liked to have done, like the Battles of Saratoga, for example," Turner told the video game site. "It was a big turning point for the Patriots, and you'd get to see Benedict Arnold in that battle before he turned into a traitor. It wasn't even a technical thing, it was just a matter of the gameplay and where the story was going, and there was no room for it."
You can check out the rest of the historical exclusions at GamesRadar.com. Remember Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed III releases on Oct. 30 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PC release will follow on Nov. 20, while a Wii U version will be available at the consoles launch on Nov. 18.
What do you think about the content that was left out? Would you have liked to see Connor as the assassin of Benedict Arnold? What events from the war would you like to see as future DLC expansions? Comment below...
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