Francis marion american revolution sc biography

Biography of Francis Marion the “Swamp Fox” of the American Revolution

Francis Marion was an officer in the South Carolina Militia during the American Revolutionary War, and was known as the “Swamp Fox.” He was a veteran of the French and Indian War and fought on the frontier in the Cherokee War.

He entered politics and was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress, and in June 1775, he was commissioned as a Captain in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, under the command of William Moultrie.

Marion fought at Fort Sullivan during the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and helped stop the British attack on Charleston. He exclaimed in exasperation, “As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him.”

His chance to really prove himself came at the Battle of Camden when he set out to join Major General Horatio Gates.

In July he marched with General Horatio Gates to Camden, South Carolina, where. After Gates' defeat Francis Marion and his men set up a guerrilla movement to harass and destroy the British, giving rise to the legend of "Swamp Fox". Soon after that affair he organized a brigade, having passed through the several grades to that of brigadier of the militia of his state.

While Sumter was striking heavy blows here and there in the northwestern part of South Carolina, Marion was performing like service in the northeastern part along the Pee Dee River and its tributaries.

His plantation was burned but after Great Britain withdrew from the Southern states he returned to Berkeley County to restore it. Tarleton chased after him, but Marion escaped through a swamp. He was so small at his birth, that, according to Weems, "he was not larger than a New England lobster, and might easily enough have been put into a quart pot." Marion received a very limited share of education and until his twenty-seventh year (1759), he followed agricultural pursuits.

He then became a soldier by joining an expedition against the Cherokees and other hostile tribes on the Western frontier of the Carolinas.

Afterward, he fought at the Siege of Fort Watson, the Siege of Fort Motte, and commanded the right wing of the army, under the command of General Nathanael Greene, at the Battle of Eutaw Springs.

In January 1782, he was elected to the South Carolina Assembly and left the army. He and his brother Job Marion enrolled in the South Carolina militia under British command and campaigned against the Cherokee in the French and Indian War in the early 1760s.^[2]

From June 1775-1782, Francis Marion fought against the British in the American Revolutionary War, as an officer in the Continental Army and the South Carolina Militia.

His first assignment was building Fort Sullivan in Charleston, SC where he and his regiment were posted.

It was customary to lock the doors when toasting to American victory in order to avoid being seen during “treasonous” acts.

Sources

1. ↑"The Marion Family," article by Charles J. Colcock, in Transaction of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina, 1909, pp.

   Lists his grand-nephew as his "son" - he adopted the lad at age 15. He had to leave town for medical attention.

   In the spring of 1780 while Marion was still gone getting his ankle tended to, the British invaded and overthrew Charleston. In September 1776. Given their location and the delicate nature of their work, Francis would have trusted Oscar with his life and relied on him.

   The family spoke French and English and were educated, demonstrating their upper-middle-class background. After the battle of Eutaw, Marion did not long remain in the field but took his seat as senator in the Legislature. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he assumed command of the 2nd South Carolina regiment on September 23, 1778.

   Military & Political Career

   General Francis Marion served with Marion's Brigade, South Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.

   Francis Marion did not give up the idea of adventure, however, and began his military career in 1757, shortly before his 25th birthday.