Francis Marion Trail                                             General Francis Marion,  The Swamp Fox                                      Home site www.clarendonmurals.com
,This site is Rev. History at  www.FrancisMarionTrail.com  and  linking site is Murals at  www.SwampFoxTrail.com   Swamp Fox Trail, Clarendon County SC
Revolutionary History in Clarendon County and some adjacent areas in SC.
with General Francis Marion, The "Swamp Fox"
"The greatest guerilla fighter of the American Revolution"
"The American Revolution was won in the South in what is referred to as the 'Civil War' phase.

Enacted by the state of South Carolina May 2, 2007: The twenty-seventh day of February annually is designated
as 'General Francis Marion Memorial Day' in honor of this South Carolina Revolutionary War hero."
Come and Celebrate Rev. War Living History Encampment to honor General Francis Marion.
       Francis Marion Living History Encampment at Camp Bob Cooper: Feb. 25-26, 2011 Best event ever.
Fun with history  -  Plan for Feb24-25, 2012

Visit the Swamp Fox Murals Trail. ©2002  Murals & Encampment: Open to the Public for Free
8th Francis Marion/Swamp Fox Symposium
October 15-16, 2010 Best One Yet
Plan now: Francis Marion Symposium October 14-15, 2011.

 See Francis Marion related items for sale & monthly events.
Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, by Robert Barinowski who created this excellent Marion statue Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, statue by Barinowski in 2006    
General Francis Marion in  St. Marks Parish, now Clarendon County, is in the Continental uniform
of his 2nd SC Regiment after he occupied Georgetown, June 6, 1781.
Marion Sculpture by Robert G. Barinowski  ©2006 (http://baronsstudio.com ).
Marion is sponsored by the Swamp Fox Murals Trial Society.
Come to Manning to see Francis Marion at the corner of Mill and Boyce, opposite the clock on Courthouse Square.
        The American Revolution was deadlocked in the north, after the battle at Monmouth Courthouse, NJ, June 28, 1778.  These Swamp Fox engagements were after Charleston fell and the British occupied it starting on May 12, 1780. Marion had escaped capture and was the only senior Regimental or Continental Officer free to lead the local militia.  Do a treasure hunt to find the statue:  33° 41' 42" N  80° 12' 44" W

Battle of Nelson's Ferry or Great Savannah  (Thursday, August 24, 1780) *C-7 #2 Click for: Map 
General Francis Marion's 2nd SC Regimental hat  Directions: Southeast of Summerton, I-95 Exit 102, take Dingle Pond Road (SR 400) east about 4.5 miles. Unmarked site is on Santee Wildlife Refuge, Pine Island Unit, and requires walking. 
      The stage for this battle was set when the British Lord Cornwallis defeated General Gates in a battle near Camden.  De Kalb was killed and about 150 Marylanders were taken prisoner by the British.  General Marion was ordered by Gates to roam the Santee burning boats so as to isolate Camden from Charleston. He was successfully engaged in this task when he learned of the defeat at Camden August 16, 1780.  He withheld this information from his sixty troops and continued to burn boats.  He learned from a deserter that a British Capt. Roberts with an escort of ninety troops was holding the 150 Maryland prisoners at General Sumter’s home, on the north savannah of the Santee River near Nelson’s Ferry.  He attacked after dark and killed or captured twenty-three of the escorts and released all the prisoners, most of whom elected not to join Marion's Militia. This is thought to be the first time Cornwallis heard of General Marion.
Francis Marion, the swamp Fox, portrait by K. MacNutt
Our artist friend, with a passion for General Francis Marion &
over 35 years of research on Marion, paints this depiction of Marion.

Reflections on General Francis Marion at General Francis Marion Memorial Day 2011 by Karen MacNutt.

                                                           
In the darkest hour of the American Revolution, Francis Marion stepped forward when others were giving up. With little but his passion for liberty and strength of intellect, he organized a force of patriots that frustrated British attempts to invade Virginia thereby setting the stage for the British defeat at Yorktown. Loved by his followers, respected by his enemies, he is one of the foremost heroes of our War for Independence.                            
  ©2009
General Thomas Sumter's Plantation  #2 Click for: Map   Directions: I-95 Exit 102, take Dingle Pond Road (SR 400)  east approximately 5 miles on Santee NW Refuge, Pine Island Unit and requires walking.
      General Thomas Sumter's vast land holdings and home were located on a bluff overlooking the Santee Basin about six miles from Nelson's Ferry.  This was the 2nd location he lived in and the one used during the Revolution and it was burned by Tarleton.   Sumter's first home was 1 mile NW of Eutaw Springs, SW of Nelson's Ferry, and his last holdings were at Stateburg.
Tarleton's Dragoons ride to Mouzon's house (& should have what color coats?)  The Burning of Mouzon's  (August 7, 1780Directions: I-95 Exit 132, Hwy 527, Black River Road, towards Kingstree
           Capt. William Henry Mouzon II was educated in France and spoke the language fluently. He became a surveyor and civil engineer.  Henry Mouzon had known Banastre Tarleton from their boyhood days; yet so callous had Tarleton grownMouzon's home after Tarleton, mural in Turbeville from a sense of duty to his King that he burned the Mouzon Plantation House, on August 7, 1780.  His daughter Ann recounted the day the British arrived. She was eleven years old and was on top of the smoke house at the time. Ann was the first to see the British coming and sounded the alarm to the rest of the family. The Mouzon home was at Mouzon's Landing, located at Puddin' Swamp on the Black River where Mouzon escaped into the swamp. His home was on the edge of St Marks Parish, when Tarleton’s Green Dragoons burned it. Following this, British Major James Wemyss burned out Patriots & Loyalists alike in a swathe 15 miles wide of the 70 miles route from Kingstree to Cheraw along the Black River in 1780.

Ride to North Carolina  (Sept 8-24, 1780)
     Following Marion's victories at Nelson's Ferry and the Blue Savannah the British were angry.  Cornwallis ordered available forces, over 1500 men,Francis Marion calls Citizen Soldier in Swamp Fox Mural in Manning, SC to go after Marion and his 60 men.  Marion, who was guarding Port's Ferry on the Pee Dee expected such a move and sent Major James with a cavalry detachment to snatch a British soldier so they could question him.  Thus, Marion learned he was greatly out numbered so he broke camp and moved to the Great White Marsh of North Carolina.  On his return he gathered his followers and his first action resulted in the victory over  Col. Ball at Black Mingo on September 28th.  The Citizen Soldier mural  depicts Marion gathering men as he returns from NC.  Citizen Soldier Mural at SW corner of Sunset Dr. (US 301) and Mill St. (SC 260), Manning, SC.  Mural ©2003
Sept. 28-29, 1780 Marion, back in SC, attacked Col. Ball at Black Mingo, Mouzon was wounded.
Battle of Tearcoat   (Wednesday, October 25, 1780*C-27   #7 Click for: Map
        Directions: I-95, exit 132, South of Turbeville, take Black River Road (SC 527) East to Historic US 301. Go South on US 301, West on N. Brewington Rd (SR 50). The battle area is about .5 mile East of I-95  (Follow the treasure hunt to find this mural.)
      While billeted near Waccamaw, General Marion learned Colonel Tynes with a party of over ninety Tories passed through Camden where they drew supplies and new muskets.  They were now camped at the edge of Tearcoat Swamp, between the two forks of the Black River.Francis Marion in Turbeville's Battle of Tearcoat Swamp Mural.  
Battle of Tearcoat Mural at corner of Main St. (US 301) and Park St., Turbeville, SC 
 Marion called a muster and with 150 men moved to Kingstree. He then turned west  and moved swiftly toward Tearcoat.  After scouting the encampment Marion split his force into three companies and attacked at midnight.  The attackers killed six, wounded fourteen and captured twenty-three men. They also captured the food, baggage, ammunition, over eighty new muskets and horses with saddles.  However, Tynes escaped, but was captured a few days later in the High Hills (near Stateburg).        Tearcoat Mural ©2002   Do a treasure hunt to find the historic marker:  33° 48' 51" N  80° 08' 33" W
Francis Mariion was here, Richbourg's Mill site on Jack's Creek Confrontation at Richbourg's Mill   (Tuesday, November 7, 1780*C-6   #8a   Map
      Directions:  I-95 Exit 108,  from junction of Historic US 301 and US 15 in Summerton go west on Gov. Richardson Road (SR 26).  Site is on the Furse Branch just west of Jack’s Creek.
      Colonel Banestre Tarleton with the Green Dragoons left Charleston to hunt down General Marion.  Tarleton went to the late General Richardson’s home, bivouacked and lit several huge fires.  General Marion, attracted by the light, began scouting the area.  Mrs. Richardson sent he son Richard to warn Marion.  When Marion learned of the ambush Tarleton had prepared he quickly withdrew to the east of Jack’s Creek, most likely to the area near Richbourg's mill and plantation.
Francis Marion enticing Tarleton into Ox Swamp Ox Swamp Mural ©2001   General Marion enticing  British Col. Tarleton into Ox Swamp Mural in Manning
Pursuit to Ox Swamp   (Wednesday, November 8, 1780) *C-25 #8b  Map  Directions: I-95 Exit 119 - go east on SC 261.  I-95 Exit 122 – go east on US 521.  The road crosses Ox Swamp just east of Manning.
      Upon learning from a Tory spy that General Marion slipped back east of Jack’s Creek, Tarleton gave chase with his Green Dragoons.  Marion, staying just ahead of the dragoons, and fighting a series of delaying tactics with his rear guard, rode to the head of Jack’s Creek, Sammy Swamp and then down the Pocotaligo and slipped away into Ox Swamp.  Here Tarleton gave up the chase and said “as for the old fox, the devil himself could not catch him.”  Thus, General Francis Marion became known as the “Swamp Fox”.  Marion and his men continued east to Benbow's Ferry on the Black River where he had established the ambush for the British.  Do a treasure hunt to find Ox Swamp:  33° 41' 32" N  80° 12' 03" W
Richardson Home Site   General Richardson Home Site *C-2 #54  Map
Directions: I-95 Exit 102, north on Historic US 301.  At St. Paul turn left/west on Liberty Hill Road (SR 373), turn left on Old River Road (SR 76). Site is most likely on the right near the large tree, one-half mile west of St Phillips Church Road.
        This is where Tarleton camped, started on the chase to Ox Swamp and returned to harass the Richardson family. He made Mrs. Dorothy Sinkler Richardson prepare dinner for him, then dug up Gen. Richard Richardson’s body, burnt the house and the barn with all the animals in it and finally flogged Mrs. Richardson in front of her children.
Benbow's Ferry Site
   Directions: East of Manning on SC 261. Left, north, onto S-55 at Martine Crossroads. The ferry was located just east of where the bridge crosses the Black River. Marion positioned his force in an ambush for Tarleton along the approach to the ferry.
Battle of Half Way Swamp   (Tuesday, December 12, 1780*C-1   #13  Map
Francis Marion was here; Elliott's Mill Pond near Half Way Swamp Directions: South of Summerton, I-95 Exit 102 north on Historic US 301. At St. Paul turn west on Liberty Hill Road (SR 373), then left onto Old River Road (SR 76). Site is on the left just past Elliott’s Mill Pond and Spring Grove Creek.
      Major McLeroth and his British Regular troops met at Nelson’s Ferry recruits for the Royal Fusiliers, who departed Charleston for Camden.  McLeroth was to escort them to the High Hills.  General Marion with 700 troops intercepted McLeroth’s group and began driving in the pickets.  Under a flag of truce McLeroth complained and after they talked, it was decided each side would field twenty men to face off and fight.  Major Vanderhorst and the picked twenty decided to wait until they were fifty yards away to fire their buckshot.  As they closed to less than 100 yards, the Redcoats broke and ran.  During the night the British stole away, leaving their equipment and supplies behind.  Marion sent James and his cavalry after them.  James fired on the British at Singleton’s Mill but quickly departed the mill area when he learned the Singletons had smallpox.  Dec. 26, 1780, Lt. Col. John Watson Tadwell Watson and the British 64th Regiment of Foot troops started building  Fort Watson on the Santee Indian Mound.
Do a treasure hunt to find the historic marker:
 33° 39' 15" N  80° 29' 43" W
First Battle of Fort Watson   (Tuesday, Feb. 27, 1781#37   Map   Directions: South of Summerton, I-95 Exit 102. Historic US 301 north, turn west onto Fort Watson Road (S- 803). Marker at the Visitors Center and the Indian Mound, site of Fort Watson, is at the end of the road.
         General Thomas Sumter had attacked Fort Watson atop the Indian Mound on February 28, 1781, attempting to take it from the British.
 
The next sequence of events comprise the Bridges Campaign or Watson Pursuit (March 6-28, 1781):
Battle of  Wyboo Swamp   (Tuesday, March 6, 1781)   #22  Map
Directions: I-95 Exit 115. Take Historic US 301 north.  Turn south (right) onto SC 260.  Turn right on Patriot Road (SR 410).  The site is at the end of the road.
Lt. Col. John Watson Tadwell Watson and Colonel Welbore Ellis Doyle were sent to encircle and crush General Marion.  Early on March 5, Watson and his Buffs marched from Fort Watson down the Santee Path and bivouacked near Nelson’s Ferry.  Marion heard their location from his spy, Capt. Zach Cantey.
      His men knew they must fight to prevent the enemy from continuing to overrun their homes and farms.  Marion ordered his troops to advance and set up an ambush, at Wyboo Swamp, a difficult pass on the Santee Road. Battle of Wyboo Swamp illistrated in this Swamp Fox Mural in Manning. The British marched into view and out rode Watson to survey the scene.  Out rode Marion to face his opponent.  The quarter mile causeway spanned the muck and morass of Wyboo swamp.  Watson, towering and majestically uniformed, sitting a splendid charger and backed by Britain's finest soldiers, opposite the small Huguenot, sitting a sorrel gelding and backed by farmers in homespun.
      Watson opened the battle.  He sent Col. H Richborg and his Loyalist horsemen thundering over the causeway.  Anticipating this, Marion sent Peter Horry and his horsemen to meet them.  After a brief skirmish on the narrow roadway, both sides recoiled.  Marion again ordered Horry to charge.  Watson’s regulars held.  A fusillade of grapeshot sent Horry’s cavalry reeling backward.             
Battle of  Wyboo Swamp Mural (1 of 3 panels), Manning. Wyboo Mural ©2006     
 Watson threw in the Troy dragoons. Gavin James, powerful of frame and fierce of courage, turned back to dispute Harrison’s passage.  Mounted on a gray horse and armed only with musket and bayonet, he threw himself directly in the path of the dragoons.  Their foremost man he dropped with buckshot.  Before he could reload, a dragoon rushed him with his saber.  James slew him with his bayonet, and a second with the same bayonet.  In falling he seized the barrel of James’ gun and for 50 yards in his retreat Gavin James dragged the dying Tory.  As the dragoons crossed the causeway, Marion’s militia charged, driving the Tories back across Wyboo.  Watson ordered his Guards to clear the passage.  Marion knew his men could not stop the veterans and called them to mount and retreat. Marion withdrew to a position near the John Cantey Plantation. 
Do a treasure hunt to find the historic marker:
 33° 32' 22" N  80° 13' 04" W
Mount Hope Harassment  (March 10-28, 1781*C-29   #24  Map
Directions: South of Manning, south on SC 260, left on Kenwood Road (S-323). Large brick and metal gate on the right, south side, of the road mark John Cantey’s Plantation.
       Colonel Watson encamped at the Cantey Plantation on March 9th.  He then attempted to join Doyle who was moving from Camden down the Pee Dee north of the Black River. At Mount Hope Swamp Watson met severe harassment from the Swamp Fox and his men.  He again met stiff resistance at the Lower Bridge over the Black River and was unable to cross the river to reach Kingstree. He then camped at the Witherspoon and the Blakely plantations but was forced to head for Georgetown. He was ambushed and stopped at Ox Swamp and then made a dash for Georgetown via the Old River Road. When the British reached the Sampit River, General Marion ambushed them. Watson had suffered many casualties at every encounter and leaving his dead where they fell, he arrived at Georgetown with two wagons filled with wounded soldiers. 
Francis Marion was here; Fort Watson was atop Santee Indian Mound Siege of Fort Watson   (Monday to Monday, April 16-23, 1781*C-3  #37   Map
      Directions: I-95 Exit 102, South of Summerton.  Historic US 301 north, turn west onto Fort Watson Road (S-803). Marker at the Visitors Center and the Indian Mound, site of Fort Watson, is at the end of the road.
Ft. Watson and the Maham Tower shetch    Colonel Harry Lee and Lee’s Legion from Virginia had joined General Marion and Marion’s Brigade on the Black River on April 14, 1781. Marion and Lee elected to capture the British fort, built in December 1780, Fort Watson on the Santee, to secure the area and to get badly needed supplies. They laid siege to the fort. While waiting for a cannon to arrive, Major Maham suggested building a tower and having sharpshooters pick off the Redcoats inside the fort. The tower was erected over night after collecting saplings for several days. The use of the tower by the McCottry riflemen at sunrise led to the quick surrender of Fort Watson by Lt. James McKay on the morning of April 23, 1781 and was the final Battle of Fort Watson.


Francis Marion was here; 2nd South attacks Fort Watson for Victory
Re-enactment at Santee Indian Mound, Victory at Fort Watson Encampment October, 2003 
Do a treasure hunt to find the Indian Mound:  33° 32' 21" N  80° 26' 15" W
Frahcis Marion was here; Summerton Mural Siege of Fort Watson ©2002
General Marion's Siege and Victory at Fort Watson
Mural by Will Anderson
Richardson Cemetery continues to be improved by the Clarendon County Historical Society. Richardson Cemetery and St Mark's Parish Church *C-2 #54  Map
Directions: I-95 Exit 102 north on Historic US 301.  At St. Paul turn west on SR 373, then left onto SR 76. Site is on the left just past Richardson Branch.
       Likely on November 8, 1780, in an effort to teach the Richardsons and other Patriots a lesson for helping General Marion,   Colonel Tarleton had his troops dig up General Richardson who was buried six weeks earlier and forced his family to view the body. Two SC governors and the founder of the Citadel are also buried here at this historic site. St. Mark’s Parish Church was located near here when the British burned it as they considered the church “a sedition shop”.
                Do a treasure hunt to find the cemetery:  33° 38' 14" N  80° 29' 28" W
The sweet potato story with Marion, a British officer and Oscar                   Francis Marion and the Sweet Potato Story 
       Francis Marion was in his camp near Snow Island on the Pee Dee River with his Militiamen. A British officer visited with Marion under a flag of truce to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. Marion offered him a meal consisting of sweet potatoes cooked in the ashes of the campfire and water to drink. The British officer returned to Charlestown and refused to fight against an enemy ( the Patriots)  as dedicated as Francis Marion, "who ate roots cooked in a fire and drank nothing but water from the swamp."
       There are about 12 different paintings that depict this event. All these paintings or etchings were done after General Marion died.
  May 6, 1781 Marion and Lee were successful at Fort Motte, another of the British outposts guarding CharlesTown

Eutaw Springs as it might have appeared in 1781.    Eutaw Springs Battle was Saturday, September 8, 1781. #44  Map
    Directions: I-95 Exit 98 east on SC 6 to Eutaw Springs.
    The Battle of Eutaw Springs was the last large battle fought in the campaign to end British occupation of the Carolinas and Georgia.  On September 8, 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene's Continental Army accompanied by militia attacked the British Army under the command of Lt. Col. Alexander Stewart at Eutaw Springs.  Over 4000 men fought for more than 4 hours in the stifling heat.  It was the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War and soldiers reported wading through puddles of blood on the field and men were standing, dead, impaled on each other's bayonets.  When the carnage was over, the British evacuated the area and moved to Chaleston Neck.  Five weeks later, when the British surrendered at Yorktown, they had no claim to the Carolinas and Georgia.  The Battle of Eutaw Springs had ended British control. (from Christine Swager: "The Valiant Died")  
Do a treasure hunt to find the battlefield:
 33° 24' 26" N  80° 17' 55" W
Francis Marion's Tomb is a SC State Site near Pineville:  33° 27' 14" N  80° 05' 14" W
Cantey Plantation *C-29 #23    Map Francis Marion was here; Lane toward site of Cantey Plantation
      Directions:  South of Manning, I-95 Exit 119 east on SC 261, south on SC 260, east on Kenwood Road (S-323). Large brick and metal gate on the right, south side, of the road mark Plantation.
 
       John Cantey’s home was about halfway between Nelson’s Ferry and Murray’s Ferry. Gen. Marion was staying here when he learned that General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Joseph Cantey, John’s father, purchased the Mount Hope Plantation about 1739.  It was located east of John’s near the present Cantey Cemetery.
Nov. 10, 1781, Saturday, Celebration party at John Cantey’s: “a fine party for the ladies of Santee”
 
Revolutionary War Locations in Clarendon County Area
Clarendon Area Marion Engagement Sites Swamp Fox Map
# On Clarendon Map (above)
Date
Location
1
1780-08-17
Nelson’s Ferry
2
1780-08-25
Great Savannah
7
1780-10-25
Tearcoat
8a
1780-11-08
Jack's Creek
8b
1780-11-08
Ox Swamp
13
1780-12-12
Halfway Swamp
14
1780-12-13
Singleton's Mill
16
1780-12-17
Santee River Rd
22
1781-03-06
Wiboo Swamp
23
1781-03-06
Cantey Plantation
24
1781-03-13
Mt. Hope Swamp
37
1781-04-15
Fort Watson
41
1781-08-16
Santee River
44
1781-09-08
Eutaw Springs
54

Richardson Cemetery
55
1795-02-27
Marion's Tomb
Significant Events in the Life of Francis Marion and the Revolution in SC:
   ** Battles or skirmishes Marion engaged in **
Winter 1732 Marion was born in the Low Country of South Carolina, youngest of six.
1738 (c) Family moved to Winyah Bay close to Georgetown. 
1747 (c) Francis went to sea. Disaster changed his mind about a career at sea. 
1750 (c) Francis Marion's father died and Francis, unmarried, managed farm.
**1756 Francis and brother, Gabriel, enlisted to fight Indians. Indian fighter to 1761
1773 Francis purchased land on the Santee, 4 miles below Eutaw Springs. 
April 19, 1775 Battles at Lexington and Concord, MA
May 1775 Marion learned of the struggle in New England and went to Charleston to Enlist, Commissioned as Captain on June 21, 1775, in SC Regiment. 
June 18, 1776 South Carolina Regiments incorporated into Continental Army. 
**June 28, 1776 British attack Sullivan's Island from the sea. Marion commanded the guns at the fort. (Now Fort Moultrie) 
--- South Carolina troops serve in SC and GA. Most action is in New England 
Summer 1779 Lord Cornwallis has orders from London for the Southern Campaign. 
**October 9, 1779 Attempt to retake Savannah from British. Marion was involved 
January 20, 1780 Marion, now a Lt. Col., commands the 2nd SC Regt.
March 19, 1780 Marion at a party at Tradd St. Jumped out window and broke leg or ankle. Evacuated from the besieged Charleston which fell May 12, 1780.
August 16, 1780 Camden fell, Cornwallis defeated Gates
**August 17, 1780 Marion (age 48) assumed command of the Williamsburg Militia; controlled Santee River traffic, boats destroyed
**August 24, 1780 Nelson's Ferry (Great Savannah), Santee River, Marion attacked British Soldiers conveying prisoners to Charleston. 
**September 4, 1780 Blue Savannah, Marion ambushed Tories under Micah Ganey.  Wemyss's Campaign of Terror.  Marion at Great White Swamp (Waccamaw) in NC. 
**Sept 7, 1780 Kingstree – Marion's Militia snatched Brit for interrogation
**Sept. 28-29, 1780 Marion, back in SC, attacked Col. Ball at Black Mingo, Mouzon wounded. 
October 7, 1780 Battle at King's Mountain.  (Marion not involved)
**October 25, 1780 Marion attacked Brits at Tearcoat Swamp, Black River, during the night. 
**November 7, 1780 Confrontation at Richbourg’s Mill & Gen.Richardson’s Plantation/Big Home
**November 8, 1780 Jack’s Creek to Ox Swamp Chase, Marion became known as the “Swamp Fox”
**Nov. 15, 1780 Marion at White’s Plantation & Pen’s Plantation
Dec. 2, 1780 Greene took command from Gates
**Dec. 5, 1780 Tory Tavern
**Dec. 12, 13, 1780 Marion at Halfway Swamp near Santee River, and Singleton's Mill. 
Dec. 16, 17, 1780 Reconnoitered Camden Outposts, Santee Road Recon/Interdiction
Dec. 28, 30, 1780 Camp near Georgetown, Chased Rangers from Williamsburg to Georgetown
January 14, 1781 Waccamaw
January 17, 1781 Battle of Cowpens, Morgan defeated Tarleton.  (Marion not involved)
**January 25, 1781 Marion at Georgetown with Lee. 
**January 29, 1781 Raided Moncks Corner & Congaree
**March 6-28, 1781 Marion at Wiboo Swamp, Mount Hope Swamp, Lower Bridge of the Black River at Kingstree and Sampit Bridge. 
**April 15-23, 1781 Marion and Lee  Siege of Fort Watson, Ft. fell with Maham Tower, Santee River
**May 6, 1781 Marion and Lee at Fort Motte
**May 28, 1781 Georgetown
**June 6, 1781 British evacuate Georgetown. 
July 8, 1781 Moncks Corner & Orangeburg
**July 17, 1781 Marion and Lee at Quinby Bridge & Shubrick’s Plantation
August 4, 1781 Col. Isaac Hayne is hanged in Charleston. 
**August 13, 1781 Marion ambushes Fraser and his Loyal SC Dragoons at Parker's Ferry Causeway
**Sept. 8, 1781 Battle of Eutaw Springs on Santee River 
**Sept. 20, 1781 Port’s Ferry on Pee Dee River
October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown
Nov. 9, 1781 Marion learns of Cornwallis surrendered
Nov. 10, 1781 Celebration party at John Cantey’s: “a fine party for the ladies of Santee”
**February 24, 1782 Two encounters with Loyalist cavalry. Tydiman Plantation Skirmish w/foragers  Francis Marion's home, 'Pond Bluff'
**August 29, 1782 Fair Lawn Skirmish, Marion encounters Fraser and is forced to retreat 
December 14, 1782 British evacuated Charleston. Militia not allowed to participate and had been disbanded.  Marion has returned to his home at Pond Bluff
April 20, 1786 Marion (age 53) married to Mary Esther Videau
Feb. 27, 1795 Marion died at his home at Pond Bluff, area presently under Lake Marion 

Extensive research & the Paper: Francis Marion: Stranger Than Fiction
Compiled by Christine Swager & George Summers

  Revolutionary Battles by each of the 13 colonies
Choke points on the Santee & Black River were critical as Marion cut the British supply lines.
Choke points on the Santee River & Black River where Marion cut the British supply lines.
Francis Marion's Rev. Encounters & Swamp Fox Murals in Clarendon County, SC.
Battle of Nelson's Ferry or Battle of Great Savannah  (August 20, 1780) *C-7 SF
Battle of Tearcoat   (October 25, 1780)  *C-27   SF
Confrontation at Richbourg's Mill   (November 7, 1780)  *C-6   SF
Chase to Ox Swamp   (November 8, 1780)  *C-25 SF
Battle of Half Way Swamp   (December 17, 1780)  *C-1   SF
Battle of Wyboo Swamp   (March 6, 1781)  *C-28 SF
Mount Hope Harassment  (March 10-28, 1781)  *C-29   SF
Siege of Fort Watson   (April 16, 1781)  *C-3  SF
Richardson Home Site & Cemetery  (November 8, 1780)  *C-2 SF
General Thomas Sumter's Plantation  (November, 1780) *C-7  SF
 John Cantey Plantation Site ( 1781)  SF
Note:  *C #s are Historical Tour Guide Map Signs
(Maps available at Clarendon County Archives)
Note:  Researched information from works of: 
Lucien Agniel, Rebels Victorious: The American Revolution in the South, 1972
John R. Alden, A History of the American Revolution, 1969
David G. Anderson & Judith A. Carter, Archeological Survey…SNWR, 1979
Lawrence E. Babits, A Devil of a Whipping, 1998
Lawrence E. Babits, Southern Campaigns, 2002
D.W. Barefoot, Touring SC's Revolutionary War Sites, 1999
Robert D. Bass,   Gamecock, 1961
Robert D. Bass,   Swamp Fox, 1974
Robert D. Bass,   The Green Dragoon, 1973
M. C. Beckham, Colonial Spy, 2005
Douglas H. Bennett, Trail of the Swamp Fox, 2000
Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, 1966
Benson Bobrick, Angel in the Whirlwind, 1997
William Willis Boddie, Traditions of the Swamp Fox, 2000
Melissa L. Bohrer, Glory, Passion and Principle, 2003
Douglas Bostick, Sunken Plantations, The Santee Cooper Project, 2008
Michael R. Bradley, It Happened In The Revolutionary War, 2003
John Buchanan, The Road To Guilford Courthouse, 1997
John Buchanan, The Road to Valley Forge, 2004
Jimmy Carter, The Hornet’s Nest, 2003
Edward J. Cashin,   William Bartram and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier, 2000
Donald Barr Chidsey, The War in the South the Carolinas and Georgia in the American Revolution, 1969
Henry Clinton, The American Rebellion, 1954
Suzanne E. Coffman, et al.,  Williamsburg - Three Hundred Years
H. S. Commager & R. B. Morris, The Spirit of Seventy-Six, 1995
Kay Cornelius, Francis Marion, 2001
William P. Cumming, North Carolina in Maps, 2001
Sidney W. Dean, Knight of the Revolution, 1941
Joann Conrad Dohla, A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution, Burgoyne, 1990
John Drayton, Memoirs of the American Revolution , 1821
Robert M. Dunkerly, Redcoats on the River, 2008
Walter Edgar, Partisans & Redcoats, 2001
Walter Edgar, South Carolina History, 1998
Leland G. Ferguson, Archeology at Scott’s Lake, 1975
Thomas Fleming, Liberty! The American Revolution, 1997
Sir J. W. Fortescue, The War of Independence: The British Army in North America 1775-1783 , 1911
Walter J. Fraser, Jr., Patriots, Pistols and Petticoats, 1976
Noel B. Gerson, The Swamp Fox, 1967
Robert Wilson Gibbes, Documentary History of the American Revolution, 1857
John W. Gordon, South Carolina and the American Revolution, 2003
P. G. Gourdin, Life Along the Santee, 19??
John Grafton, The American Revolution, 1975
Rod Gragg, Planters, Pirates and Patriots, 1985

William T. Graves, James Williams, An American Patriot, 2002
 

Francis Vinton Greene, General Greene, 1897
Anne King Gregorie, Thomas Sumter, R. L. Bryan, 1931

Samuel B. Griffith, Mao Tse-Tung On Guerrilla Warefare, 1961

Cecil B. Hartley, Heroes and Patriots of the South, 1860.  (Legacy Reprint)
Don Higginbotham, The War of American Independence, 1971
Historical Documents, Revolutionary War Battlefield Map, 1962
Alexia Jones Helsley, South Carolinians In The War For Am. Independence, 2000
Christopher Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels, 1990
Stewart H. Holbrook, The Swamp Fox of the Revolution, 1959
John Milton Hutchins, Massacre at Old Tappan, 2007
    John Milton Hutchins, Bull’s Ferry Roundup, 2007
    John Jakes, Kent Family Chronicles, Vol I, II, III
    Gordon Bubber Jenkinson, Williamsburgh District, 2007

Wm. Dobein James, A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion
and a History of His Brigade, 1821
George Fenwick Jones, The 1780 Siege of Charleston, The SC Historical Magazine, 1987
C. Brian Kelly, American Revolution, 1999
F. M. Kirk, Pond Bluff, 2000
Roger Lamb/Dan N. Hagist, A British Soldier’s Story, 1811/2004
Robert Lagemann and Albert C. Manuey, The Long Rifle, 1993
Bruce Lancaster, The American Revolution, 2001
John Lawson, A New Voyage to Carolina, 1709, reprint 1967
Robert Leckie, George Washington’s War, 1993
Henry Lee, Jr., The Campaign of 1781 in the Carolinas, 1824
Terry W. Lipscomb, Various Booklets, 1988
John J. Loeper, Going to School in 1776, 1973
Benson J. Lossing, Hours with the Living Men and Women, 1889, Scoggins, 2005
Benson J. Lossing, The Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, 1859
Silas E. Lucas, Jr., Mills' Atlas Of South Carolina, 1980 (1825)
Henry Lumpkin, From Savannah to Yorktown, 1981
Gregory D. Massey, John Laurens and the American Revolution, 2000
David B. Mattern, Benjamin Lincoln and the American Revolution, 1995
Bill Mauldin, Mud & Guts, 1978
Lee F. McGee, European Influences on Continental Cavalry, 2007
Hugh M. McLaurin, III, The Swamp Fox, 1988
Fitzhugh McMaster, Soldiers and Uniforms, SC Military Affairs, 1971
Horatio Newton Moore, Francis Marion, 1845
Robert Morgan, Brave Enemies, 2003
Dan L. Morrill,  Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution, 1993
Brendan Morrissey, Yorktown 1781, 2004
Bobby G. Moss & Michael C. Scoggins, African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign
of the American Revolution
, 2004

William Moultrie, Memoirs of the American Revolution, 1802
National Geographic Society, America’s Historylands, 1962
Cassie Nicholes, Historical Sketches of Sumter County, 1975
Patrick O’Kelley, Nothing but Blood & Slaughter-Rev. War in the Carolinas, Vols. 1 & 2, 2004
Patrick O’Kelley, Nothing but Blood & Slaughter-Rev. War in the Carolinas, Vols. 3 & 4, 2005
Patrick O’Kelley, Unwaried Patience and Fortitude, Francis Marion's Orderly Books, 2007
 James Otis, The Boy Spies With the Swamp Fox , 1899
 James Otis, The Minute Boys of South Carolina, 1907
John S. Pancake, This Destructive War, 1985
Michael Pearfon, Those Damned Rebels, 1972
 Howard H. Peckham, The War for Independence, 1958
Theda Perdue, The Cherokees, 2005
Jim Piecuch, The Battle of Camden, 2006
Jim Piecuch, Three Peoples, One King, Loyalists, Indians, & Slaves,2008
    W. R. Pritchett, There is a Black River, 1930s?.
    R. Randolph / James Otis, How We Boys Aided Marion the Swamp Fox, 1907

Hugh F. Rankin, Francis Marion: The Swamp Fox, 1973

Hugh F. Rankin, The North Carolina Continentals. 1971
    Hugh F. Rankin, North Carolina in the American Revolution, 1959

Ray Raphael, A People's History of the American Revolution, 2001

Roe Richmond, Island Fortress, 1952

Mrs. Arthur Gordon Rose, Little Mistress Chicken, 1913
Parke Rouse, Jr., The Great Wagon Road, 1996
David Lee Russell, The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies, 2000
Leslie Sackrison, Awesome Women, 2007
Henry Savage, Jr., River of the Carolinas: The Santee, 1968
George F. Scheer & Hugh F. Rankin, Rebels & Redcoats, 1987
David Schenck, North Carolina 1780-81, 1889
    Michael C. Scoggins, The Day It Rained Militia, 2005
Anthony Scotti, Jr., Brutal Virtue, 2002
W. Gilmore Simms, The Life of Francis Marion, 1844
Eugene B. Sloan, Scenic South Carolina, 1971
Steven D. Smith, Obstinate and Strong, 2007
    Steven D. Smith, The Search For Colonial Jacksonborough, 2008

Sol Stember, The Bicentennial Guide to the American Revolution, 1974
Baron von Steuben, Revolutionary War Drill Manual, (Dover) 1985
D. W. Stokes,  The Life of Francis Marion,  1974
Thomas S. Sumter, Stateburg and Its People, 1922
Christine R. Swager,  Black Crows & White Cockades, 1990
Christine R. Swager, Come To the Cowpens!, 2002
Christine R. Swager, Heroes of Kettle Creek, 1779-1782 , 2008
Christine R. Swager, If Ever Your Country Needs You, 2001
Christine R. Swager, The Valiant Died, The Battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781, 2006
Craig L. Symonds, Battlefield Atlas of American Revolution, 1986
Banastre Tarleton, History of the Campaigns of 1780 & 1781, 1787
Elswyth Thane, The Fighting Quaker: Nathanael Greene, 1972

    Don Troiani, Soldiers in America, 1998
Daniel J. Tortora, A Faithful Ambassador, The SC Historical Magazine, 2006-7
    John P. True, On Guard, 1927
Mao Tse-Tung, On Guerrilla Warfare, 1937 (2009)

    Barbara W. Tuchman, The First Salute, 1988
George Washington, Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour, Applewhite, 1988

    Wylma A. Wates, A Flag Worthy of Your State and People, 1996
M. L. Weems,   The Life of General Francis Marion, 1824
Russell F. Weigley, The American Way of War, 1973
Russell F. Weigley, The Partisan War, 1970
Kenneth C. Weyand, Recipes & Stories of Early-Day Settlers, 1988
C. Keith Wilbur, The Revolutionary Soldier, 1969
W. B. Wilcox, Clinton’s Narrative of The American Rebellion, 1954
Beryl Williams & Samual Epstein, Francis Marion, 1958
David K. Wilson,  The Southern Strategy, 2005
Scott Wimberley, Special Forces – Guerrilla Warfare Manual, 1997
Richard Yeadon, The Marion Family, Southern & Western Magazine & Review, 1845

A-1

Marion request letter, Sullivan’s Island, 26 July 1778
Marion appointment to Lieutenant Colonel, 16 September 1776 (dated 12 April 1782)
Marion Letter,  Salem Black, 6 Feb 1781
Marion reciept, Camp Peedee River, 19 Feb 1781
Marion Congressional Citation, 12 April 1782
Marion Letters, City of Charleston Yearbook, 1895
Marion Article, Sanders R. Guignard family,  Dec. 26, 2002
Marion Presentation, The Man and The Myth, Lauren Pougue, April, 2003
Marion Presentation, Christine Swager, Francis Marion, Stranger then Fiction, April, 2003
Marion-Gadsden Correspondence, SC Historical Madazine
Francis Marion’s Hunting Lodge, Nettie Smith Owings, Huguenot Society of SC, 1975
Pond Bluff, F. M. Kirk, Geocities, 4/6/99
The Swamp Fox, Hugh M. McLaurin, III, Nov. 16, 1988
Marion Letters, City of Charleston Yearbook
Francis Marion, Frankie Anderson, 1994
Francis Marion Statement, re. plundering, 29 April 1790
News Article,  Pennsylvania Packet, 10-09-1781
News Article, Pennsylvania Evening Post, August 14, 1781
Letter, Lt. Col Balfour to Lord George Germain, May 1, 1781
Letter, Gen Green, McCord’s Ferry, May 14, 1781
Marion Letter, re. Fort Watson, 23 April, 1781

A-2
Marion request letter, April 21, 1781
News Article, Richmond, April 6, 1782
News Article, New Jersey Gazette, April 1, 1781
Marion Letter to Gen Greene, Pennsylvania Packet, March 6, 1781
Marion Letter to Gen Greene, Pennsylvania Packet, January 31, 1781
News Article, Pennsylvania Packet, January 9, 1781
News Article, NY Royal Gazette, Sep 20, 1780  (About Nelson’s Ferry and 150 Marylanders)
News Article, Marion Letter, NE Chronicle, Jan 18, 1781
News Article, Royal SC Gazette, Nov 16, 1780
Francis Marion Orderly Book Presentation, John Frierson, April, 2003
Trail of The Swamp Fox, Douglas H. Bennett, Jul-Aug 2000, SC Wildlife
Francis Marion as an Intelligence Officer, George W. Kyte, SC Historical Magazine
Francis Marion, Carologue, Spring 2004, Intelligence
The Life of Francis Marion, D. W. Stokes, est. 1926,  reprinted 1974
The Order Books of Francis Marion, Discipline by the Lash, John L. Friarson, Carologue, Winter 1999
General Marion’s Sweet Potatoe Dinner, unknown, facts/myths wrong
New Facts about an Old Story, Nell Weaver Davies,
Carologue, Winter 1999
Who Was the Swamp Fox, Interview with Leslie Nielson, Paul F. Anderson
Francis Marion, Benson J. Lossing, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, July, 1858.
Haunts of “The Swamp Fox”, P. D. Hay, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine
Simm’s Life of Marion, review, Jan 1845

Numerous Discussions with: 
Charles Baxley, Daniel Bell,  Scott Bell, Dr. Anthony Beninati, Jeannette Beranger,          
Fin Coffey, Mike Coker, Windy Corbett, Janson Cox, Doug Crutchfield, Dan Culpepper,
Dr. Marion Davis, Dr. Walter Edgar, Dr. Elizabeth Fenn, Dr. George Fields,
John Frierson, Harold Furse, Christopher George, David Grant,
Val Green, Doyle Harper,
Justin Liles, Dr. Karen MacNutt, Norman McFadden,
Dr. Warner Montgomery, Joe  Moore
,
Erick Nason, Patrick O’Kelley,
Lauren Pogue, Dr. Tom Powers, Herb Puckett, John Robertson,
Dr. David Ruwer,Nicki Sackrison, Ross St. George,  Steve Smith, Dwight Stewart, Frank Stovall,
Dr. Joe T. Stukes, Dr. Bob Swager, Dr. Christine Swager, Dr. Dan Tortora,  Dr. Wright Turbeville,
Luther Wannamaker, Richard Watkins, Athena Westeren, Scott Withrow


For more info or questions, contact:  G Summers: 803-478-2645 or email gcsummers@ftc-i.net

 

Celebrate 'General Francis Marion Memorial Day'

Living History: February 25 - 26, 2011  Open to the Public for Free. Best event ever.
     General Marion Memorial Day enacted by the state of South Carolina in 2007 for Twenty-seventh day of February every year.

Scheduled Events Times Approximate     Hosts:  Swamp Fox Murals Trail Society

(Come by the Archives   for a Historical driving Guide Map* to tour Clarendon County.)
Check out:  South Carolina's Front Door Website:
SCIway - The South Carolina Information Highway
  2nd South Re-enactors - The Second Regt. South Carolina Line Continental Establishment

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