Christopher Murray as Rev. Hezekiah Ripley. In 1776 Rev. Ripley was a Chaplain in the Continental Army with good friend, George Washington, as he marched through Connecticut and watched as British soldiers and Hessians burned down the church. Later, part of Tryon's Raid, his house was burned to the ground. 

During these tenuous times, Rev. Ripley was unwilling to forgo church services despite reports that clergymen were at risk of being taken as prisoners from the area "between the Patriots in Connecticut and the British in New York known as the "neutral ground." So he had congregants stationed where they might give notice of any approaching enemy in time for him to flee if necessary. Once he was captured, but escaped at night when the guards were sleeping.