Directed by , this historical drama was adapted from the 1939 novel The Tree of Liberty by Elizabeth Page .
: The film was one of the first major productions allowed to film in Colonial Williamsburg , which had recently been restored by John D. Rockefeller Jr. .
: The 5th Baron Howard of Effingham served as the royal governor of Virginia from 1683 to 1692. He is noted for strengthening English control over the colony following Bacon's Rebellion . The Howards of Virginia
: A prominent early settler, Matthew Howard arrived in Virginia by 1637. He held land on the Elizabeth River before eventually moving to Maryland around 1650.
Beyond the film, the Howard name is deeply rooted in Virginia's colonial history through several distinct lineages: Directed by , this historical drama was adapted
: A later 19th-century branch of the family resided at Kenmore , the historic Fredericksburg estate once owned by George Washington's sister, Betty Washington Lewis .
: The famous creator of Conan the Barbarian , Robert E. Howard , traced his family roots back to 18th-century Virginia before they migrated to Georgia and later Texas . : A prominent early settler, Matthew Howard arrived
: The story follows Matt Howard (played by Cary Grant ), a common backwoodsman and surveyor, who falls in love with and marries Jane Peyton ( Martha Scott ), a woman from a wealthy, royalist family. As the American Revolution approaches, the couple's differing political and class backgrounds create deep marital tension. Matt is a staunch supporter of independence—mentored by his close friend Thomas Jefferson —while Jane's family remains loyal to the British Crown.