Francis Marion
The Swamp Fox: Master of Guerrilla Warfare
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He never commanded a large army but is considered a father of guerrilla warfare whose tactics influence modern U.S. Army doctrine.[1][2] Marion was born around 1732 on his family's plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina.[3][2]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 1732
- Died
- February 27, 1795 (aged 63)
- Nickname
- The Swamp Fox
- Birthplace
- Berkeley County, South Carolina, British America
- Place of death
- Berkeley County, South Carolina, U.S.
- Burial place
- Pineville, South Carolina
- Allegiance
- Great Britain; United States
- Branch
- South Carolina Militia; Continental Army
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He served in the Anglo-Cherokee War and learned frontier warfare tactics from Native American opponents.[4][5] After Charleston fell, Marion organized a small militia unit of 20 to 70 men that opposed the British in the region.[6] Governor John Rutledge commissioned Marion as a brigadier general of militia after he proved his guerrilla warfare ability.[7] Shortly before his 25th birthday, Marion began his military service.[4]
On June 21, 1775, Marion was commissioned as a captain in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army.[6]
What the cited sources add
Crawford reports that Marion helped write the South Carolina state constitution in 1790 and died at his plantation on February 27, 1795.[2] The National Park Service states that Marion built his home Pond Bluff in 1773 in the area of Eutaw Springs, now beneath Lake Marion.[8] The American Battlefield Trust records that Marion opposed punishing Americans who remained loyal to the British during the war.[5] Crawford's article describes how the 2000 film The Patriot exaggerated the Swamp Fox legend, with historian Sean Busick calling it "one of the silliest things the movie did".[2]
The National Park Service notes that Marion coordinated effectively in the field with the Continental Army, unlike Thomas Sumter.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Francis Marion" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crawford, "The Swamp Fox", Smithsonian, June 30, 2007; Dembroski, "Father of Special Operations: The Swamp Fox", sofrep.com, October 6, 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Crawford, "The Swamp Fox", Smithsonian, June 30, 2007. facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com
- Wikipedia, "Francis Marion" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Southern and Western Monthly Magazine and Review, Volume 1, 1845, page 210.; Crawford, "The Swamp Fox", Smithsonian, June 30, 2007; Crawford, "The Swamp Fox", Smithsonian, June 30, 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Francis Marion" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Francis Marion", American Battlefield Trust (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Francis Marion", American Battlefield Trust. facts only, no text reused. battlefields.org
- Wikipedia, "Francis Marion" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Francis Marion" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: staff, "Biography of Francis Marion the "Swamp Fox" of the American Revolution", American History Central (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- staff, "Francis Marion", National Park Service. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Francis Marion (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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