60-698: Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site sits along the Ashley River , near the town of Summerville in Dorchester County, South Carolina . In 1969, the site was donated to the South Carolina State Park Service and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1969. Currently the site of a 325- acre park, Old Dorchester State Park offers visitors a glimpse into South Carolina 's Colonial past. The park boasts one of
120-449: A concrete material made of lime, sand and oyster shells. While local materials were used in the construction of the fort, in design it was a simplified version of classic European fortification. The walls formed a rectangle around the magazine, with sections called half-bastions projecting from each corner. From these strong points, soldiers could direct deadly fire down the length of adjoining walls. The French invasion never came, though, and
180-736: A historical romance set against the background of the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War, Marion appears and interacts with the fictional characters. In the book, he is depicted as decisive, enterprising, and valiant. Hans Conried portrayed Marion in an episode of the Cavalcade of America television series, "The Swamp Fox", which was broadcast on October 25, 1955. Walt Disney Productions produced The Swamp Fox , an eight-episode mini-series about Marion that aired from 1959 to 1961. It starred Leslie Nielsen as Marion, and Nielsen
240-608: A part of the modern-day military doctrine of the U.S. Army 's 75th Ranger Regiment . Francis Marion was born in Berkeley County , Province of South Carolina around 1732. His father Gabriel Marion was a Huguenot who emigrated to the Thirteen Colonies from France at some point prior to 1700 due to the Edict of Fontainebleau and became a slaveowning planter . Marion was born on his family's plantation , and at approximately
300-476: A serious nuisance to the British, Governor John Rutledge commissioned him as a brigadier general of militia. Marion fought against freed slaves working or fighting alongside the British. He received an order from Rutledge to execute all Black people suspected of carrying provisions or gathering intelligence for the British "agreeable to the laws of this State". When Major General Nathanael Greene took command in
360-672: A slave owner? Was he a determined and dangerous warrior? Did he commit acts in an 18th-century war that we would consider atrocious in the current world of peace and political correctness ? As another great American film hero might say: "You damn right." That's what made him a hero, 200 years ago and today. Graham also referred to what he describes as "the unchallenged work of South Carolina's premier historian Dr. Walter Edgar , who pointed out in his 1998 South Carolina: A History that Marion's partisans were "a ragged band of both black and white volunteers." English historian Hugh Bicheno compared Marion's behavior with British officers during
420-623: Is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina , rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County . It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville , widening into a tidal estuary just south of Fort Dorchester. The river then flows for approximately 17 mi (27 km) along the historical banks of the City of North Charleston before reaching peninsular Charleston. The much wider Ashley joins
480-650: Is attributed to Francis Marion. The marionberry is named after the county in Oregon and so derives its name from him. The 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard , located about 12 miles east of Columbia in Eastover, South Carolina, boasts the title "Home of the Swamp Fox" and has an image of the face of a fox painted on the body of their F-16 Fighter Jets. The South Carolina State Guard ,
540-519: Is no proof, either, that Marion personally committed any atrocities during the Anglo-Cherokee War, at least as a matter of choice, although he participated in some by order of his commander James Grant . In a commentary published in the National Review , the conservative talk radio host Michael Graham rejected criticisms like Hibbert's as an attempt to rewrite history: Was Francis Marion
600-789: Is one of the four large parks in the Capitol Hill Parks constellation. The park is bounded by 4th & 6th Streets and at the intersection of E Street and South Carolina Avenue in southeast Washington, D.C. The Francis Marion Hotel is a historic hotel in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Within the hotel is a restaurant called the Swamp Fox. The municipalities of Marion in Alabama , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Massachusetts , Mississippi , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Virginia , and Marion Center, Pennsylvania are named for Francis Marion. Marion County, Indiana (of which
660-586: The Carolinas . After the loss of Charleston and the defeats suffered by Isaac Huger 's men at the Battle of Monck's Corner and Abraham Buford 's troops at the Battle of Waxhaws (near the North Carolina border, in what is now Lancaster County ), Marion organized a small military unit, which at first consisted of between 20 and 70 men and was the only force then opposing the British in the region. At this point, Marion
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#1732854931035720-658: The Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site . The River ranges from 6 to 8 feet in depth. Francis Marion Brigadier General Francis Marion ( c. 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War . During the American Revolution , Marion supported
780-808: The Cooper River off the Battery in Charleston to form Charleston Harbor before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean . As of 2012 the land around the Ashley River (or in Ashley Barony, as the original land grant was called) is mostly undeveloped. The river was named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina Colony by explorer Robert Sandford . In 1675 Cooper
840-585: The Patriot cause and enlisted in the Continental Army , fighting against British forces in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War from 1780 to 1781. Though he never commanded a field army or served as a commander in a major engagement, Marion's use of irregular warfare against the British has led him to be considered one of the fathers of guerrilla and maneuver warfare , and his tactics form
900-799: The Senate and was reintroduced in January 2007. The Brigadier General Francis Marion Memorial Act of 2007 passed the House of Representatives in March 2007, and the Senate in April 2008. The bill was packaged into the omnibus Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 , which passed both houses and was enacted in May 2008. Although a site at Marion Park was selected, it was not built before authorization expired in 2018. Some local residents opposed
960-522: The South Carolina Militia during the French and Indian War . Marion also saw service during the Anglo-Cherokee War . During the American Revolution , Marion supported the Patriot cause and on June 21, 1775, he was commissioned as an officer in the Continental Army 's 2nd South Carolina Regiment (commanded by William Moultrie ) at the rank of captain. Marion served with Moultrie in
1020-506: The "early hagiographers " of American literature "who elevated the Swamp Fox, Francis Marion, into the American pantheon." Weems is known for having invented the apocryphal "cherry tree" anecdote about George Washington , and "Marion's life received similar embellishment", as Amy Crawford wrote in Smithsonian magazine in 2007. In the 1835 novel Horse-Shoe Robinson by John P. Kennedy ,
1080-488: The 10 field hands, went back with him to Pond Bluff. After the war, Marion borrowed money to purchase more enslaved people for his plantation. At the age of 54, Marion married his 49-year old cousin, Mary Esther Videau. Marion served several terms in the South Carolina State Senate . In 1784, in recognition of his services, he was made commander of Fort Johnson , a sinecure with an annual salary of $ 500 (at
1140-448: The 2000 movie The Patriot , which, according to Crawford, "exaggerated the Swamp Fox legend for a whole new generation." The contrast between the film's depiction of Marion "as a family man and hero who single-handedly defeats countless hostile Brits" and the real-life Marion was one of the "egregious oversights" that Time magazine cited when listing The Patriot as number one of its "Top 10 historically misleading films" in 2011. In
1200-455: The 2007 edition of Simms's book (originally published in 1844) was written by Sean Busick, a professor of American history at Athens State University in Alabama , who says that based on the facts, "Marion deserves to be remembered as one of the heroes of the War for Independence." Crawford commented: Francis Marion was a man of his times: he owned slaves, and he fought in a brutal campaign against
1260-502: The American Revolution , the allegation about Marion raping slaves is untrue. Marion enjoyed generally good relations with his slaves, including Peggy, the mixed-raced daughter of a Native American man and an African American woman. In an early will created when he was single, Marion freed Peggy and endowed her education, contrary to South Carolina law at the time, which made it a crime to teach slaves to write. Oller writes that there
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#17328549310351320-738: The British. But in June of that year, he put down a Loyalist rebellion on the banks of the Pee Dee River. In August, Marion left his unit and returned to his slave plantation , Pond Bluff. In 1782, the British Parliament suspended offensive operations in America, and in December 1782, the British withdrew their garrison from Charleston. The Treaty of Paris brought the war to an end. After Marion returned to Pond Bluff, he discovered it had been destroyed during
1380-596: The Cherokee Indians. While not noble by today's standards, Marion's experience in the French and Indian War prepared him for more admirable service. Numerous locations in the U.S. are named after Francis Marion, including the Francis Marion National Forest near Charleston , South Carolina. The city of Marion , Iowa holds an annual Swamp Fox Festival. Marion County, South Carolina , and its county seat,
1440-604: The City of Marion, are named for Marion. The city features a statue of General Marion in the town square, and has a museum which includes many artifacts related to Francis Marion; the Marion High School mascot is the Swamp Fox. Francis Marion University is located nearby in Florence County, South Carolina . The Swamp Fox is a wooden roller coaster located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina . In Washington, D.C., Marion Park
1500-517: The Continental Army, Marion's Men, as they were known, served without pay, supplied their own horses, arms and often their food. Marion's Men operated from a base camp on Snow's Island in Florence County. Marion rarely committed his men to frontal warfare but repeatedly bewildered larger bodies of Loyalists or British regulars with quick surprise attacks and equally sudden withdrawal from
1560-559: The Earl of Shaftsbury granted 1,800 acres of land to John Smith, which included the future Dorchester site. John Smith's land grant was situated on Boshoe Creek, in Boshoe Swamp; subsequently, he became known as "John Smith of Boo-shoo." In December 1682, John Smith died and his widow married Arthur Middleton , and when he died in 1684, she married Ralph Izard . Because John Smith had no children, his land grant lapsed after he died and ownership of
1620-674: The National Register of Historic Places with 22 mi (35 km) being designated a State Scenic River, extending from Sland's Bridge (US Highway 17-A) near Summerville to the Mark Clark expressway (I-526) bridge in Charleston. Within this segment, a visitor can experience a blackwater swamp, the tides of the Atlantic, and much of the history of South Carolina. Some of the sites include Drayton Hall , Middleton Place , Magnolia Plantation , and
1680-522: The South, Marion and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee III were ordered in January 1781 to attack Georgetown, but were unsuccessful. In April, they took Fort Watson . In May, they captured Fort Motte , breaking communications between British outposts in the Carolinas. On August 31, Marion rescued a small American force trapped by 500 British soldiers, under the leadership of Major C. Fraser. For this action he received
1740-601: The age of 15, he was hired on a merchant ship bound for the West Indies which sank on his first voyage; the crew escaped on a lifeboat but had to spend one week at sea before reaching land. In the following years, Marion managed the family's plantation, including overseeing the activities of the family's slaves . Marion began his military career shortly before his 25th birthday. On January 1, 1757, Francis and his brother, Job, were recruited by Captain John Postell to serve in
1800-484: The benefits of this trading town, which remained relatively small through most of its hundred-year existence, and the town continued to be a bustling commercial center for trade. A fair was established in 1723, and a Free School in 1734 ; by 1781 Dorchester had about 40 houses. Built in the center of Dorchester, St. George's Anglican Church was originally erected and completed in 1719 and the Bell Tower, which stands today,
1860-498: The city of Indianapolis is a part), is named for the general, as are Marion Counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Iowa , Illinois , Kansas , Kentucky , Missouri , Mississippi , Ohio , Oregon , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , and West Virginia , and more than 30 townships in nine states. The Military Junior College Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama has an organization called Swamp Fox which
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1920-496: The defense of Fort Sullivan from a Royal Navy attack on June 28, 1776. In September 1776, the Continental Congress commissioned Marion as a lieutenant colonel . In the autumn of 1779, he took part in the siege of Savannah , a failed Franco-American attempt to capture the capital of Georgia which had been previously occupied by British forces. A British force led by Sir Henry Clinton entered South Carolina in
1980-407: The early spring of 1780 and laid siege to Charleston . Marion was not captured with the rest of the city's garrison when Charleston capitulated on May 12, 1780, as he had broken an ankle in an accident and had left the city to recuperate. Clinton led part of the force that had captured Charleston back to New York , but a significant number stayed for operations under Lord Charles Cornwallis in
2040-437: The field. After their capture of Charleston, the British garrisoned South Carolina with help from local Loyalists, except for Williamsburg, which they were never able to hold. The British made one attempt to garrison Williamsburg at the colonial village of Hilltown but were driven out by Marion at the Battle of Black Mingo . A state-erected information sign at Marion's gravesite on the former Belle Isle Plantation shows that he
2100-496: The film, Martin describes violence that he committed in the French and Indian War. Around the time of the film's release, comments in the British press challenged the American notion of Marion as a hero. In the Evening Standard , the British author Neil Norman called him "a thoroughly unpleasant dude who was, basically, a terrorist." Concurrently, the British historian Christopher Hibbert described Marion as "very active in
2160-623: The gospel, " ventured to Carolina to settle this land. On Sunday, January 26, 1696, the Reverend Lord preached his first sermon at the place selected for the church building. The new settlers quickly began planning and building the town's first church, which was eventually known as St. George's Anglican Church, or the Parish Church of St. George . After the church was established, the town of Dorchester quickly developed and more settlers came from Massachusetts. The site's advantageous location helped
2220-508: The land went to the state. In January 1696, small group of settlers from the township of Dorchester, Massachusetts acquired 4,050 acres, including the 1,800 acres along the Boshoe Creek and Ashley River. After receiving permission from the Dorchester church of Massachusetts, Reverend Joseph Lord and his Congregationalist parishioners, considering themselves missionaries and ready to "settle
2280-496: The minds of the people, partly by the terror of his threats and cruelty of his punishments, and partly by the promise of plunder, that there was scarcely an inhabitant between the Santee and the Pee Dee that was not in arms against us." The British made repeated efforts to neutralize Marion's force, but Marion's intelligence gathering was excellent and that of the British was poor, due to
2340-550: The most well-preserved oyster-shell tabby forts in the country, St. George's Bell Tower, log shipping wharves, burial sites and cemeteries, as well as on-going archaeological digs that are still unearthing the settlement's history. The historic site is situated on the Ashley River where the town of Dorchester once stood. The site of the town of Dorchester is on a neck of land between the Ashley River and Dorchester Creek, originally known as Boshoe Creek. In 1675, John and Mary Smith came to Carolina from England. On November 20, 1676
2400-411: The name "Fort Dorchester," even though it never had an official name while it was in use. Seemingly, the town never recovered after the war, though the reasons given by historians for Dorchester's decline are many and varied. They range from the devastation wrought by British and Loyalist soldiers to the malaria that plagued the swampy area. In 1788, a traveler wrote, I passed Dorchester, where there are
2460-598: The overwhelming Patriot presence in the Williamsburg area. Colonel Banastre Tarleton was sent to capture or kill Marion in November 1780. After pursuing Marion's troops for over 26 miles through a swamp, Tarleton supposedly said "as for this old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him." Based on this tale, Marion's supporters began to call him "the Swamp Fox". Once Marion had shown his ability at guerrilla warfare, making himself
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2520-473: The people he had enslaved had moved to Belle Isle, a plantation owned by Marion's brother Gabriel, during the war. Four house slaves had also moved Gabriel's plantation, all of whom had been singled out for favorable treatment in Marion's prewar will: overseer June and his wife, Chloe; their daughter Phoebe (sister of Buddy, Marion's enslaved manservant); and her daughter Peggy. These enslaved people, together with
2580-438: The persecution of the Cherokee Indians and not at all the sort of chap who should be celebrated as a hero. The truth is that people like Marion committed atrocities as bad, if not worse, than those perpetrated by the British." According to The Guardian , "it seems that Marion was slaughtering Indians for fun and regularly raping his female slaves". According to John Oller's 2016 biography, The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved
2640-443: The remains of what appears to have once been a considerable town: there are the ruins of an elegant church, and the vestiges of several well-built houses. As Dorchester was abandoned, it was succeeded by a new town, Summerville, that developed close by on higher, better-drained land. Bricks from buildings in the older town were even removed for use in structures in the new town. Ashley River (South Carolina) The Ashley River
2700-514: The river was developed by plantation owners throughout the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War the British occupied the plantations from 1780 to 1782. The major crops grown along the Ashley River included rice, indigo, and cotton. After the Civil War much of the region began to be used predominantly for hunting and tourism. The Ashley River area contains 26 separate sites listed in
2760-682: The successor to the South Carolina Militia, charters the Swamp Fox Explorer Post 1670 through the national division of Exploring (Learning for Life) for youth 14 to 20 years of age. In 1994, Marion was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame. In 2006, the United States House of Representatives approved a monument to Francis Marion, to be built in Washington, D.C. , sometime in 2007–2008. The bill died in
2820-566: The thanks of the Continental Congress. Marion commanded the right wing under General Greene at the Battle of Eutaw Springs . In January 1782, he was elected to the South Carolina General Assembly at Jacksonborough and left his troops to take up his seat. During his absence, Marion's men grew disheartened, particularly after a British sortie from Charleston, and there was reportedly a conspiracy to turn him over to
2880-628: The time, privates in the First American Regiment were paid $ 6.67 a month. ) He died on his plantation in 1795, at the age of 63, and was buried at Belle Isle Plantation Cemetery in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The public memory of Marion has been shaped in large part by the first biography about him, The Life of General Francis Marion , written by Mason Locke Weems and based on the memoirs of South Carolinian soldier Peter Horry . The New York Times has described Weems as one of
2940-413: The tower along its height and for many years after, it was held together with iron straps until it was repaired in the early 1960s. Dorchester's location made it a strategic military site. Fear of a possible French invasion prompted the construction of a powder magazine and fort from 1757 to 1760. Originally designed to be constructed using brick, the fort and powder magazine were eventually made of tabby,
3000-413: The town and the British were driven out of Dorchester. After the war, the fort housed a tile yard, with the magazine converted into a kiln for firing clay roofing tiles. But like the rest of town, the fort was soon abandoned. Its history was forgotten. Some people assumed it had been built by the Spanish, and many asserted that it had been built to provide protection from Indians. Locals eventually gave it
3060-532: The town apparently saw little activity until the American Revolution in 1775. In preparation of the impending war, the little town of Dorchester was transformed into a military depot and American troops assembled in town. In 1775 the magazine was fortified and the fort was commanded by Capt. Francis Marion . After Charleston fell to the British in May 1780, Dorchester became an outpost for British and Loyalist troops. In December 1781, American forces, led by Colonel Wade Hampton and General Nathanael Greene , advanced on
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#17328549310353120-421: The town thrive - nearby roads led to Charleston and to the interior of the colony and the Ashley River provided a convenient highway for the shipment of goods and produce. Trade with Native Americans, the development of rice and indigo as cash crops and a growing population, helped secure Dorchester's economic peak in the mid 1700s. During this time, wealthy planters, merchants and plantation owners continued to reap
3180-462: The village in December 1781. The church was eventually repaired but, like the town around it, was soon abandoned. Scavengers removed bricks from the decayed sanctuary just as they took away bricks from other buildings in town. An 1858 magazine article on Dorchester noted, " Rumor says, they were afraid to touch the tower, because there was a chance of its falling on them, and therefore it remains ." The Earthquake of 1886 that devastated Charleston, split
3240-468: The war, including Tarleton and Major James Wemyss. Referring to Marion, Tarleton and Wemyss, Bicheno wrote that "they all tortured prisoners, hanged fence-sitters, abused parole and flags of truce, and shot their own men when they failed to live up to the harsh standards they set." According to Crawford, the biographies by historians William Gilmore Simms ( The Life of Francis Marion ) and Hugh Rankin can be regarded as generally accurate. The introduction to
3300-402: The war. Of the roughly 200 people who had been enslaved on it before the war, most of them fled the plantation, with some joining the British as Clinton had issued the Philipsburg Proclamation offering Patriot enslaved people freedom. Marion's enslaved people who had joined the British were evacuated from Charleston at the end of the war and at least one settled in Nova Scotia . Meanwhile, 10 of
3360-407: Was added in 1751. As Dorchester was being turned into an armed camp for American forces at the beginning of the Revolution, a plan was submitted for fortifying St. George's Church. Exactly how the church was to be fortified remains a mystery, for the plan has never been found. When British troops occupied Dorchester later in the war they used the large church and burned it before they were chased out of
3420-413: Was also one of the singers of the theme song. The series depicted Mary Videau (who in the series has no familial relationship with Marion) secretly acting as an informant for Marion on British movements and Marion's nephew Gabriel Marion being killed by Loyalists, causing Marion to seek revenge on those responsible. Marion was one of the influences for the main character of Benjamin Martin ( Mel Gibson ) in
3480-468: Was engaged in twelve major battles and skirmishes in a two-year period: Black Mingo Creek on September 28, 1780; Tearcoat Swamp on October 25, 1780; Georgetown (four attacks) between October 1780 and May 1781; Fort Watson on April 23, 1781; Fort Motte on May 12, 1781; Quinby Bridge on July 17, 1781; Parker's Ferry on August 13, 1781; Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781; and Wadboo Plantation on August 29, 1782. Cornwallis observed, "Colonel Marion had so wrought
3540-426: Was granted 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of land along the river after a permanent settlement was made at Albemarle Point in 1670. This settlement was the “first permanent European settlement” in South Carolina and today Albemarle Point is known as Charles Towne Landing . The settlement would be moved to its current peninsular location across the river ten years later and is well known as Charleston. The land closest to
3600-487: Was still hobbling on his slowly healing ankle. Marion joined Major General Horatio Gates on July 27 just before the Battle of Camden , but Gates had formed a low opinion of Marion. Gates sent Marion towards the interior to gather intelligence on the British forces opposing them. He thus missed the battle, which resulted in a British victory. Marion showed himself to be a singularly able leader of irregular militiamen and ruthless in his terrorizing of Loyalists . Unlike
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