Afterward, Ingham demands an explanation and is told that the civilian is Philip Nolan, who he[clarification needed] thought was a myth.
After Burr was acquitted of treason in court, Nolan was tried for his role in the conspiracy by a military tribunal.
His first reminder of his loss was when crewmen friends on deck were reading a new book by Walter Scott, The Lay of the Last Minstrel.
Encouraged to read it aloud,[clarification needed] Nolan's mood turned dark when he came upon the final canto, "Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, / This is my own, my native land!"
She loudly and publicly scolded him that he had no home and he left dejectedly, his shipmates disgusted by her treachery.
Nolan took command of the remaining crew and lured the British vessel close then dismasted it with a broadside.
The captain is resistant but finally acquiesces after Nolan tells their tales of months of terrible woe.
Ingham begins to learn of Nolan’s various interests, including astronomy, mythology, botany and languages, all from books given by his shipboard friends.
Ingham decides to plead Nolan’s case in Washington, D.C., but he finds a bureaucracy unwilling to help.
Invited to Nolan’s quarters, he finds it is a shrine to the United States, festooned with flags and other souvenirs.
After Nolan begs for information on his deathbed, Danforth decides to mercifully tell him the 56 years of American history that he has missed.
Danforth omits mention of the Civil War, which he felt would be heartbreaking to a man who imagined a single unified nation.
His final request is that a stone marker be set near Fort Adams, Mississippi to warn others not to repeat his grave mistake, with the epitaph, “He loved his country as no other man has loved her, but no man deserved less at her hands.” Years later, a frail Ingham and Danforth struggle up the small hill to pay respects at the marker.
He spent $16,000 of his own money to prepare a visual presentation of the film and arranged for a script for be written by Sidney Carroll.
During the course of research he discovered that the book was not based on a true story although it was inspired by the Aaron Burr conspiracy.
"[1] Filming took place in Mystic, Connecticut, Newport, Rhode Island and Fort Niagara, New York.
Norman Rosemont Productions was unable to find the money to take the ship out sailing, so all the filming was shot with sails set, as the ship was securely moored to the pier, next to the causeway to Goat Island.