A biography of Francis Marion, the American general who organized a guerrilla band to fight the British in South Carolina during the Revolution.

This comprehensive biography of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, covers his famous wartime stories as well as a private side of him that has rarely been explored In the darkest days of the American Revolution, Francis Marion and his band of militia freedom fighters kept hope alive for the patriot cause during the critical British "southern campaign." Employing insurgent guerrilla tactics that became commonplace in later centuries, Marion and his brigade inflicted enemy losses that were individually small but cumulatively a large drain on British resources and morale. Although many will remember the stirring adventures of the "Swamp Fox" from the Walt Disney television series of the late 1950s and the fictionalized Marion character played by Mel Gibson in the 2000 film The Patriot, the real Francis Marion bore little resemblance to either of those caricatures. But his exploits were no less heroic as he succeeded, against all odds, in repeatedly foiling the highly trained, better-equipped forces arrayed against him. In this action-packed biography we meet many colorful characters from the Revolution: Banastre Tarleton, the British cavalry officer who relentlessly pursued Marion over twenty-six miles of swamp, only to call off the chase and declare (per legend) that "the Devil himself could not catch this damned old fox," giving Marion his famous nickname; Thomas Sumter, the bold but rash patriot militia leader whom Marion detested; Lord Cornwallis, the imperious British commander who ordered the hanging of rebels and the destruction of their plantations; "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, the urbane young Continental cavalryman who helped Marion topple critical British outposts in South Carolina; but most of all Francis Marion himself, "the Washington of the South," a man of ruthless determination yet humane character, motivated by what his peers called "the purest patriotism." In The Swamp Fox, the first major biography of Marion in more than forty years, John Oller compiles striking evidence and brings together much recent learning to provide a fresh look both at Marion, the man, and how he helped save the American Revolution.

Calls attention to Marion's military career and crucial role in the Revolution as a guerrilla leader in the South during the years 1780 and 81.

A biography of the Colonial Francis Marion, who led guerrilla forces against the British in South Carolina during the American Revolution.

"Swamp Fox: General Francis Marion and his Guerilla Fighters of the Revolutionary War" is the story of the American general who waged a guerrilla war against British forces commanded by General Tarleton, harassing them and eventually driving the British Army out of South Carolina. This book, written by one of Marion's his militia members, tells the story of the "Swamp Fox." Throughout the war, Marion showed himself to be a singularly able leader of his "irregular" soldiers. Unlike the Continental troops, Marion's Men served without pay, supplied their own horses, arms, and often their food. All of Marion's supplies that were not obtained locally were captured from the British forces. Marion rarely committed his men to frontal warfare, but repeatedly surprised larger bodies of British regulars with quick surprise attacks and equally quick withdrawal from the field. The British especially hated Marion and made repeated efforts to neutralize his force, but Marion's intelligence gathering was excellent and that of the British was poor, due to the overwhelming Patriot loyalty of the populace in the Williamsburg area. Col. Banastre Tarleton, sent to capture or kill Marion in November 1780, despaired of finding the "old swamp fox," who eluded him by travelling along swamp paths. Tarleton and Marion were sharply contrasted in the popular mind. Tarleton was hated because he burned and destroyed homes and supplies, whereas Marion's Men, when they requisitioned supplies (or destroyed them to keep them out of British hands) gave the owners receipts for them. This story of Marion's exploits, as told so vividly in "Swamp Fox," makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in guerrilla warfare or the American Revolutionary War.