Francis Marion, born at Winyah, near Georgetown, South Carolina, in
1732, was of Huguenot descent; his ancestors, fleeing from persecution
in France, came to this country in 1690. Small in stature and slight
in person, he possessed a power of endurance united with remarkable
activity rarely surpassed. At the age of fifteen, yielding to a natural
love of enterprise, he went to sea in a small schooner employed in the
West India trade. Being shipwrecked, he endured such tortures from
famine and thirst as to have prevented his ever wishing to go to sea
again. After thirteen years spent in peaceful tilling of the soil, he
took up arms in defence of his State against the Cherokee Indians. So
signal a victory was gained by the whites at the town of Etchoee, June
7, 1761, that this tribe never again seriously molested the settlers.
Returning to his home after this campaign, Marion resumed his quiet
life until in 1775 he was elected a member of the Provincial Congress
of South Carolina. This Congress solemnly pledged the “people of the
State to the principles of the Revolution, authorized the seizing of
arms and ammunition, stored in various magazines belonging to the
crown, and passed a law for raising two regiments of infantry and a
company of horse.” Marion resigned his seat in Congress, and applying
for military duty, was appointed captain. He undertook the recruiting
and drilling of troops, assisted at the capture of Fort Johnson, was
promoted to the rank of major, and bore his full share in the memorable
defence of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, which saved Charleston
and secured to South Carolina long exemption from the horrors of
war. Little was done at the South for the next three years, when in
1779 the combined French and American forces attempted the capture
of Savannah. Marion was in the hottest of the fight; but the attack
was a failure, followed in 1780 by the loss of Charleston. Marion
escaped being taken prisoner by an accident that placed him on sick
leave just before the city was invested by the British. The South was
now overrun by the enemy; cruel outrages were everywhere perpetrated;
and the defeat of the Americans at Camden seemed to have quenched the
hopes of even the most sanguine. Four days after the defeat of Gates,
Marion began organizing and drilling a band of troopers subsequently
known as “Marion’s Brigade.” Though too few in number to risk an
open battle, they succeeded in so harassing the enemy that several
expeditions were fitted out expressly to kill or capture Marion, who,
because of the partisan warfare he waged and the tactics he employed,
gained the sobriquet of the “Swamp Fox.” Again and again he surprised
strong parties of the British at night, capturing large stores of
ammunition and arms, and liberating many American prisoners. He was
always signally active against the Tories, for he well knew their
influence in depressing the spirit of liberty in the country. When
Gates took command of the Southern army, he neither appreciated nor
knew how to make the best use of Marion and his men. South Carolina,
recognizing how much she owed to his unwearying efforts in her behalf,
acknowledged her debt of gratitude by making him brigadier-general of
her Provincial troops, after the defeat of Gates at Camden. Early in
the year 1781, General Greene assumed command of the Southern army,
and entertaining a high opinion of Marion, sent Lieutenant-Colonel
Harry Lee, with his famous legion of light-horse, to aid him. Acting in
concert and sometimes independently, these two noted leaders carried
on the war vigorously wherever they went, capturing Forts Watson and
Motte, defeating Major Frazier at Parker’s Ferry and joining Greene in
time for the battle of Eutaw Springs. When the surrender of Cornwallis
practically ended the war, Marion returned to his plantation in St.
John’s parish and soon after was elected to the Senate of South
Carolina. On the 26th of February, 1783, the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted by that body:--
“_Resolved_, That the thanks of this House be given
Brigadier-General Marion in his place as a member of this House,
for his eminent and conspicuous services to his country.
“_Resolved_, That a gold medal be given to Brigadier-General Marion
as a mark of public approbation for his great, glorious, and
meritorious conduct.”
In 1784, he was given command of Fort Johnson in Charleston Harbor,
and shortly after, he married Mary Videau, a lady of Huguenot descent,
who possessed considerable wealth and was a most estimable character.
On the 27th of February, 1795, Francis Marion passed peacefully away,
saying, “Thank God, I can lay my hand on my heart and say that since I
came to man’s estate I have never intentionally done wrong to any.”