The Life of General Francis Marion A Celebrated Partisan Officer, in the Revolutionary War, Against the British and Tories in South Carolina and Georgia

Summary: After the fall of Charleston during the American Revolution, South Carolina was devoid of any organized resistance to the British army. It was under these circumstances that Francis Marion organized his famous band of partisans. They resorted to hit-and-run tactics, operating out of the impenetrable swamps of the region. Every man and boy who joined Marion's force was a volunteer. Everyone furnished his own clothing and weapons. When Marion issued a call, his men left their farms and reported with arms in hand. Under Marion's clever direction, the band eluded British general Banastre Tarleton so frequently that he was recalled by Cornwallis. As Tarleton left, he remarked, "As for this damned old fox, the devil himself could not catch him." The nickname "Swamp Fox" stuck with Marion from then on. After the war, those who knew of Marion's exploits pressured Peter Horry, one of Marion's closest friends and an officer in his brigade, to write a biography of the hero. Horry later sent his manuscript to Mason L. "Parson" Weems, who had gained fame for his publication of The Life of Washington. Just as he had evoked poetic license with the story of young Washington chopping down a cherry tree, Weems took liberties to spice up Marion's story. Horry therefore disassociated himself from the book when it was published in 1824.

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