The War in the South – “The Swamp Fox”

Along with other Patriots, Francis Marion practiced guerrilla warfare in North Carolina. He would surprise the British, strike quick, and go hide just as fast. Because of this and the fact that he knew the terrain well, Marion was called "the Swamp Fox".

Francis MarionSWAMP FOX of the Revolution The greatest guerrilla fighter in the American Revolution was Francis Marion. Incredibly daring, he terrorized the entire British Army in South Carolina, striking with fantastic swiftness, then vanishing ghost-like into the swamps. To chase him was a futile nightmare, for the Swamp Fox was too clever and too fearless. Born near Georgetown, South Carolina, Marion was for years a peaceful farmer. When the Cherokees began their massacres he began his fighting career, learning the Indian techniques of surprise attack and sudden disappearance, how to use swamps and forests as cover. Thus when England sent a vast fleet to capture Charleston, Marion was already a brilliant strategist. From a tiny, unfinished island fort he defied fifty warships of the greatest navy in the world. He and his men crippled the entire British fleet and saved the city, though they lacked adequate ammunition, achieving the first important victory of the American Revolution. When Charleston fell to the enemy, Marion escaped and formed Marion's Brigade, one hundred fifty tattered, penniless patriots. None received pay, food or even ammunition from the Continental Army. The only reward they sought was freedom from tyranny, freedom for America. Although Marion received a Congressional citation for wisdom and bravery he was never accorded the honor his country owed him, and when the British evacuated Charleston he was not asked to participate in the celebration because he and his men were too ragged. But that ragged brigade who followed Francis Marion on the long, hard road to American independence earned its rightful plate in history. ---R.C.G.

He taught the militia how to hit and run. ---Anonymous

Born in 1732 ---Timothy

Marion was from South Carolina, not North Carolina, and fought 99% of the war in South Carolina. He became a captain in the 2nd SC Regiment, Continental Line, in 1775, and in 1776 fought at the Battle of Sullivan's Island, an important American victory against a British invasion force at Charleston, SC. He was Colonel of the 2nd SC until 1780, when the unit was surrendered with 5000 other Amercian troops at the fall of Charleston. Marion raised a band of partisan militia and for the next year staged a series of hit and run raids in the face of overwhelming odds. His activity, along with those of other American partisans, kept the war alive in South Carolina until the return of a stand ing American army under General Nathaniel Greene could come head to head with the main British army under Cornwallis. ---Anonymous