If Homer were telling the story of Peter Francisco, it might begin like this:
SING, MUSE, of the huge hero who spread Strife and Terror on the bloody fields of the American Revolution. Many brave foes he sent hurrying down to Hades, and many wounds he suffered, yet steel and lead could not kill him. Some called him the Virginia Giant, others the Hercules of American Independence.
A strange-talking boy of 4 or 5 appeared on a dock in City Point (later Hopewell) in 1765, as if wafted there by some sea god or goddess. All he could say was his name —Pedro Francisco… …