- Marion, Francis
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known as The Swamp Foxborn с 1732, Winyah, S.C.died Feb. 26, 1795, Berkeley county, S.C., U.S.American Revolutionary commander.He fought the Cherokee (1759) and later served as a member of the provincial assembly (1775). In the American Revolution he commanded troops in South Carolina. After the surrender of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln to the British at Charleston, S.C. (1780), he slipped away to the swamps, gathered together his band of guerrillas, and began leading bold raids on British positions. For a daring rescue of American troops surrounded by the British at Parkers Ferry, S.C. (1781), he received the thanks of Congress. He was then appointed a brigadier general.
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▪ United States military officerbyname the Swamp Foxborn c. 1732, Winyah, South Carolina [U.S.]died February 26, 1795, Berkeley county, South Carolina, U.S.colonial American soldier in the American Revolution (1775–83), nicknamed the “Swamp Fox” by the British for his elusive tactics.Marion gained his first military experience fighting against the Cherokee Indians in 1759. Then, serving as a member of the South Carolina Provincial Congress (1775), he was commissioned a captain. It was after the surrender of General Benjamin Lincoln (Lincoln, Benjamin) to the British at Charleston, South Carolina (1780), that he slipped away to the swamps, gathered together his band of guerrillas, and began leading his bold raids. Marion and his irregulars often defeated larger bodies of British troops by the surprise and rapidity of their movement over swampy terrain. For a daring rescue of Americans surrounded by the British at Parkers Ferry, South Carolina (August 1781), Marion received the thanks of Congress. He was then appointed a brigadier general, and after the war he served in the senate of South Carolina (1782–90).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
