Tag: Francis Marion

Post War Treatment of Those Who Fight: Some Things Never Change – Reflection on 1783

Whether one thinks of all those scared by Afghanistan and Iraqi “burn pits”, or “Agent Orange” from the Vietnam War, the typical bureaucracy of government things makes the post-war treatment of those that have sacrificed much to be delayed at best, or never facilitated by these governments themselves until after they have died.

Jason Bourne:Do you even know why you’re supposed to kill me? Look at us. Look at what they make you give.
When you think on it, one gives and sacrifices in a conflict. But one rarely understands what one may be forced to give during the balance of one’s life! This is the beauty of selecting, targeting or conscripting 18-20 year olds. Conscription, when it comes again as the US Empire crumbles, will target “fresh meat” for its own use, and in the end, will discard them just as fast.
In the news lately has been a condition that has yet to be conclusively linked to the burn pit procedures practiced by the US Department of Defense, by far the largest polluter on this globe:

This is not new news, for even ten years ago, vets were calling attention to the characteristic of statism .. the ability for this “collective” to avert responsibility of the decisions of the state. As Karen Kwiatkowski shared over a decade ago:

But we can take a short lesson on statism.

When I burn waste here on the farm, I don’t always obey the county rule that restricts burning before 4 pm — I make a judgment call based on wind and weather, and go from there. But, as the county guidelines advise, I don’t burn chemicals, Styrofoam, recyclable materials, or ammo. There is a simple reason I don’t burn those things — it might be hazardous for me, my family, and my livestock, and damaging to my property. Even though I’m next door to an often malodorous chicken farm, I do care what my neighbors think and don’t wish to do harm to their property or environment either. I imagine that the soldier pictured throwing waste into the burn pit, and every other soldier at Balad behaves much the same way when disposing of garbage on his or her own property.

Why can’t we extend private property good sense to government? This is the fundamental problem — whether we are considering Congressional and Federal Reserve bailouts, partnerships, and nationalization of bad banks, uncompetitive car manufacturers, or underfunded insurance companies, or if we are trying to understand why the military pollutes at home and abroad with such impunity.

So it is with government in general, that they (unlike individuals) can:

  • mandate “service” (called conscription, which is really slavery)
  • escape prosecution for war crimes (killing of innocent people in a war area), for the wasting of thousands of people’s lives when wars are based on lies (i.e. every war the US has fought since the American Revolution)
  • escape prosecution for damaging the health of those that survive as well as the environment.

This did not start in the 21st century or the 19th/20th century, but even in the 18th century it was apparent that even the most honorable government (which most history books paint the republic of the united States of America as outlined by the Treaty of Paris in 1783) could also accomplish an incredible disservice to those that served in wartime.

Here are a few examples from 1783 and beyond for the American hero Francis Marion. While Francis and his men were not conscripted, they did feel the post-war abandonment by the very government they risked their lives to protect.

First to set the context for Francis Marion returning to civilian life:

Returning to Pond Bluff he found desolation as there were no furniture, no livestock, no clothing, no household goods, no provisions and not enough money to buy cattle and horses. Everything was overgrown and there was a lot of work to do for this 50-year old. He had some money from inheritances but he would have to go into debt to make this plantation viable. Rice growing had depleted the soil and with the British no longer a trading partner all he could do was subsistence farming. Cotton would not be introduced in the region for a few more years and so the future did not look all that good. Half of his twenty slaves had left for parts as far away as Nova Scotia. The other ten had been working his deceased brother’s plantation Belle Isle in Pineville. His pre-war overseer June and his wife Chloe and their daughter Phoebe and her daughter Peggy plus ten field hands were available.

Now the areas where the US government, after the fact, dropped the ball in being as honorable as Francis Marion himself was:

  • The November 1782 election meant that Marion had to leave Pond Bluff yet again for the January 6,1783 legislative session. Writing from there on January 18th he shared the inequalities that tainted his excitement about the future of the colony as well of the federation of states. It seems that the Rhode Islander Greene was awarded 10,000 guineas from SC toward the purchase of a SC plantation and quoted an old saying “that kissed goes by favor”. The correspondence he had with Greene stopped abruptly as the hostilities stopped in December 1782. Marion had hoped that Congress would follow through on the promise of a lifetime of half-pay for officers but it would be 50 years before that practice would finally start. He lamented that “idle spectators of war” were in charge now. Yet, he still loved his country and his principles.
  • Early in 1783 the SC legislature did vote Marion a commendation complete with a gold medal but there is doubt if that was ever delivered. In 1785 he would receive a 300 acre land grant but for unknown reasons he never applied for the 500 acre land bounty granted by Congress to Continental officers. Marion was promoted but only to full colonel and he suspected it was due in part to his leniency toward Tories as the war wound down.
  • March 1784 saw Marion received a position at Fort Johnson in Charleston Harbor of basically a port collector paying him 500 British pound sterling per year but required him to be at the fort most of the time. He was not keen on Charleston life and the upper class that emerged again there. Four years later with budget cuts this position was reduced to 20% of the previous pay so he resigned. Another legislative piece that Marion wanted no part of was protection from lawsuits due to wartime decisions and actions (like plunder). Marion was confident that his actions were proper during the whole course of the war. No lawsuits were ever filed against him.

The government did not treat Francis well at all when the war was over and this 50-something had to try and start over again.

Enter “Providence”:

  • Marion found himself with a secret admirer, a spinster and first cousin Mary Ester Videau who was in her late 40s. She had inherited a considerable fortune over the years in money and land. It was Marion’s niece Charlotte Ashby (daughter of his brother Gabriel) and her fiance Theodore Marion (son of his brother Job) that prodded uncle Francis to call on Mary. At 54, Francis and Mary married on April 20, 1786 in a double wedding that featured the two cousins that got them together. They traveled, camped and fished together while also “adopting” a son and daughter in the extended family. The son was to take Marion’s last name if he was to see his substantial inheritance at age 21 so that the Marion family name through Francis would live on, except that this adopted son would have 8 daughters and no sons.
  • Marion now focused on expanding the wealth with cattle and hogs mainly as well as rice when the economy improved. Marion could be considered upper-middle class at this point in SC. His post-war terms as state senator are unremarkable and even attended the 1788 SC ratification of the new constitution but was not present for the final vote. He was more a Federalist than a states rights guy like Thomas Sumter and Wade Hampton. He continued to command a militia brigade until 1794 when Charles Pinckney was promoted to major general (Marion and Sumter caused a deadlock in voting so the legislators opted for someone else). Marion was in poor health at that time anyway as he expressed in a letter to his grandnephew (adopted son) that a cramp in his fingers and constant pain in his head plus a fever. At 63 on February 27th 1795 he died at Pond Bluff and buried at Belle Isle. His land was worth about $500,000 in today’s money. While Francis had a will it had not been witnessed so his wife received only 1/2 the proceeds and Francis’ nieces and nephews the other 1/2. Mary ended up buying out the nieces and nephews and the adopted son inherited slaves “and their increase” upon Mary’s death in 1815. When the adopted son died in 1833 he had more than 150 slaves. No slaves were freed upon his death, but there are two things to consider with this. 1) He must have wanted to provide for Mary and allow her to free them upon her death. 2) SC law states that freed slaves have to leave the colony within 6 months or face re-enslavement which meant the breaking up of a slave family.

.. and loyal friends and those touched by his efforts for “the cause”:

  • Prior to his death, a delegation of Georgetown dignitaries traveled to Pond Bluff and presented him with a written address: “Your achievements may havenot significantly swelled the historic page .. but this is of little moment. They remain in such indelible characters upon our minds, that neither change of circumstances nor length of time can efface them .. Continue general in peace to till those acres which you have wrested from the hands of the enemy. Continue to enjoy dignity, accompanied with ease, and to lengthen out your days blessed with the consciousness of conduct unaccused of rapine or oppression, and of actions ever directed by the purest patriotism.”

Called the “Washington of the South”, the more one learns of Marion and his character, the more he inspires admiration.

Government .. not so much!

-SF1

(back from three weeks of R&R, highly recommended!)

What Would the American Revolution Have Been Like Without Francis Marion?

The path our descendants took had a significant impact on who was present in certain societies in the midst of particular events. Who would have thought that a 2nd generation French Huguenot immigrant (grandson of French Huguenot Gabriel Marion born in 1732), a Continental officer who happened to break an ankle exiting a rowdy officer party in Charles Town, which meant he was to be recuperating at home near the Santee River when the British captured Charles Town, would then morph into a guerilla leader to lead the region in freedom from the British Empire?

I guess I am curious as to the kind of people whose character is shaped by their existing situations as well as the history their family had experienced. Basically, what is the difference between Francis’ ancestors who left France after religious persecution left them few options but to emigrate the the New World, specifically the Carolinas .. and my own ancestors who left the Netherlands in 1846 for the New World, to Michigan?

What triggered this thought was reading Bionic Mosquito’s post called War. Bionic was reviewing a work called ” Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts That Continue to Shape Our World“, by Brad S. Gregory. This work gives a lot of background material to what is commonly called an era of religious wars was actually political strife at its root.

“What started as a reform of one Church produces an open-ended array of competing churches, which virtually no one at the time considers a good thing.”

So we are talking about a time in this world when the Holy Roman Empire and the wedding of politics and religion was providing the masses (no pun intended), were challenged on a variety of fronts. How this played out depended on the countries and cultures that were present:

The Reformation played out differently in Germany, France, England, and the Low Countries.

I was drawn to the parts that pertained to Francis Marion, and myself.

Regarding Francis’ grandfather’s experience, there was an attempt in Germany to mend the rift between the Catholic church and the reformers:

Catholic leaders reject the most fundamental Protestant premise: The Church offers false doctrines. On a second and also important premise, there are plenty of Catholic leaders that recognize that there are and have been sinful abuses and a lack of holiness among both clergy and laity.

Further attempts are made at some sort of reconciliation between the Reformers and the Church. The final meaningful attempt was made at Regensburg in 1541, the Colloquy (or Diet) of Regensburg.

So when dialog and reason fail ..

… then come the wars. Catholic against Protestant; Catholic and Magisterial Protestants against other Protestant sects. Next comes the Peace of Augsburg, “a Holy Roman Empire with two religions, Lutheran and Catholic.”

So in France, where Gabriel Marion lives:

There is no Lutheranism in France. Calvinism arrives in the form of the Huguenots. Pamphlets, trials, executions. As late as 1554, there are still no established Calvinist churches in France – although the number of underground believers is growing. By 1562, perhaps 800 such churches exist. Most are far from Paris, in the south. The growth emboldens the Huguenots: they destroy church art, deface alters and harass clergy.

They make up perhaps ten percent of the population, but a much larger proportion of the nobility – a problem because still in the sixteenth century no ruler could rule without noble support.

There is blow-back from this violent revolt:

Beginning in 1562, a series of eight civil wars ensue; from start to finish, these last longer than the Thirty Years’ War with perhaps 3 million deaths .. wars for political power: a dynastic power struggle between powerful noble families in the line for succession to the French throne – one Catholic and the other Reformed – with the reigning royal family trying to stride the middle in the form of Catholic conciliation.

Massacres, conversions, refugees, assassinations, acts of revenge. After thirty-six years, in 1598, King Henry IV signed the Edict of Nantes, granting the Huguenots substantial rights but leaving them with no army. Fearing an erosion of these rights – as would soon enough prove a rational fear – hundreds of thousands of Huguenots flee France for Calvinist territories in England, the Dutch Republic, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Carolina Coast of the New World.

So the “type” of person that Francis’ grandfather was, was someone who opted for the relative unknown of the colony of Carolina over that of England and the Dutch Republic. A true pioneer, this man saw a vision of religious freedom AND hard work of the land to provide his family, in the long term, better opportunities for life and freedom in a ‘new world’.

I can only think that Francis’ character was part DNA and part stories of his grandfather adventures in Europe.

On to my own side note, it seems that my ancestors were able to stay in Europe another 150 years as they happened to be a part of the Dutch Republic:

Belgium and the Netherlands; the northern provinces take their independence from Spain and support Reformed Protestantism; the southern provinces remain Catholic.

The development of the Reformation in many ways parallels developments in other regions of central Europe: Lutheran and Anabaptist heresies followed by executions – more than 1,300 executions by 1566, and more than in any other region. Charles V is working hard to contain the heretics.

Nevertheless, in the Netherlands Reformed Protestantism continues to increase; Charles cedes control of the Low Countries to his son, Philip II, king of Spain. Nobles petition for a softening of anti-heresy laws; the Spanish king sharply rebuffs them, saying he would rather lose all his lands than rule over heretics.

So whenever a king feels their authority threatened, the normal reaction is to reject all appeals to opening that door for freedom. Sometimes, depending on the tenacity of the culture, or of certain underground leaders in society, revolt surges:

Be careful what you wish for, I guess: In April 1566, three-hundred armed nobles ride into Brussels and present Margaret, the king’s regent, with the Compromise of the Nobility – with a demand, backed by arms, of reducing the anti-heresy laws. Margaret has no choice but to relent; in the wake, Calvinism explodes and denunciation of Catholic idolatry and Spanish tyranny boil over.

So when you or your tribe gets the power that others abused, what is the tendency? Revenge …

Monasteries attacked and destroyed, the start of what we now know as the Eighty Years’ War. Philip sends an army of more than 10,000 men, headed by the Duke of Alva: trials of more than 12,000 people take place; 9,000 are deprived of property; more than 1,000 are executed. New taxes are imposed, provoking Calvinists and Catholics alike.

Every action produces an equal and opposite reaction …

Dutch Calvinist pirates begin seizing coastal towns, eventually taking all major cities in the province except Amsterdam. They drive out the priests and kill over 130 of them. Philip can little afford the cost of wars against the Calvinists in the north while at the same time battling the Ottoman Turks. Troops in the Low Countries go unpaid, so they mutiny – sacking Antwerp, killing 8,000 and destroying more than 1,000 homes. What a mess.

Independence is finally achieved:

The Dutch Republic is formalized in 1581; the southern provinces (essentially Belgium) go their own way.

.. but all is not yet well. There is still Catholics now under Calvinist leaders and there is always a chasm it seems with collectivism tendencies:

Yet the conflicts continue:

“In the judgement of some, Catholicism under Spanish control is better than the violent aggression wrought by militant Calvinists.”

The fighting continues on and off until 1648 with more bloodshed and more refugees. This is resolved along with resolution of the Thirty Years’ War in the Peace of Westphalia.

In the end, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands are the same thing only different. The Dutch choose a different path politically:

In the Dutch Republic there is no state church, as there are in France, Spain, England, German Lutheran territories, Scandinavian countries, or the Reformed Protestant territories of the Holy Roman Empire.

People in the Republic do not have to belong to a particular religion; while there is a state-supported church, only a small minority of the population belong to it. The Republic becomes a haven for religious groups of all sorts, and especially in Amsterdam political authorities are relatively tolerant…

“…allowing almost anyone to believe and worship together however they wish, provided they worship behind the closed doors of “hidden churches” and remain politically obedient.”

As with all politics, there is NEVER a live and let live mentality. Whenever power is achieved in a culture or society, there will never be a willingness to give away that power. This is a very broken world, and government/politics is part of that brokenness (from this article):

Even the worst features of the statist reality, Hayek showed, “are not accidental byproducts” but phenomena that are part and parcel of statism itself. He argued with great insightfulness that “the unscrupulous and uninhibited are likely to be more successful” in any society in which government is seen as the answer to most problems. They are precisely the kind of people who elevate power over persuasion, force over cooperation. Government, possessing by definition a legal and political monopoly of the use of force, attracts them just as surely as dung draws flies. Ultimately, it is the apparatus of government that allows them to wreak their havoc on the rest of us.

We will forever experience havoc in this world from the very entity that so many put their faith and trust in, not God, but government.

So very sick and so very sad that the masses will never awake to this truth.

-SF1

24JAN1781: “Lighthorse” Harry Lee and Marion’s Amphibious Assault on British at Georgetown, SC

22JAN1781 finds Lt. Col. “Lighthorse” Henry Lee arriving in Marion’s camp on Snows Island giving the militia a boost in spirits. The very next day, Lee has tow companies of his men depart down the Pee Dee River in flatboats guided by some of Marion’s men. Destination is Georgetown, a primary source of salt, rice and if lucky, some guns, horses and ammunition as well. These two leaders were about to bring their forces to bear on Georgetown in a coordinated amphibious assault (by land and sea).

By dawn on 24JAN1781 these flatboats reach the mouth of the Pee Dee River and Lee’s men hide on a small island in Winyah Bay (that leads to the Atlantic Ocean) to await the arrival of their companions coming via land. Brig. Gen. Francis Marion gathers his Militia at Kingstree on 24JAN1781,
then he and Lt. Col. Henry Lee ride hard, arriving near Georgetown at dark.

Delays in the land portion led to a premature attack from the sea the morning of the 25th. During the early morning hours, Lt. Col. Lee’s men in the flatboats slip undetected from their hiding place in Winyah Bay and
land on Georgetown’s undefended waterfront at Mitchell’s Landing. Continental office Capt. Carnes leads one party to seize Lt. Col. George Campbell in his headquarters near the parade ground.

With the Georgetown British garrison’s commander and four others  captured, and eventually paroled, the element of surprise was gone and the taking of Georgetown would not be that day. Had the Patriots really assaulted the redoubt, Lt. Col. Lee and Brig. Gen. Marion might then have taken the cannons there and used them on the houses. However, they do not want to risk unnecessary losses, and they quickly depart the small town. Both commanders erred appropriately toward preserving their men’s live than achieving a bloody victory.

The psychological impact was there as the British held back resources to protect Georgetown which as a supplier of salt in the region as well as a transportation crossroads.

-SF1

JAN1781: A New Year on Paper, A New Title for Marion .. However – Same Mission

While it always looks good on paper, a new title and all, the men of principle stay the course and so not let promotions distract from their mission.

In January of 1781, Marion’s mission was intact. This was not an easy thing to do as we will see this month unfold. When the militia asks for resources (like having more than the typical 3-4 rounds of ammo these men had on them at any one time), the larger Continental force would ask for horses.

Nathaniel Green’s appetite for horses almost harmed this regular / militia partnership. Greene realized that the fight in the south meant traversing deep rivers (horses swim better than most men, so horses helped) and and moving in and around impassible creeks/swamps. Greene was a quick study using maps to understand the geography and in weeks he knew more than Cornwallis did in half a year. Marion would sometimes not reply directly to the request for horses since he had none to spare as his own men, who routinely had little ammo needed the horses in their hit-n-run style. His men were also farmers, and horses were essential to a good working farm. Greene would remind Marion and would drop the exiled SC governor’s name (Rutledge) to force the issue and even ask how many Marion had and how many he could spare. Marion’s men, unpaid volunteers, giving their horses to an army that was supplied by the Continental Congress? Some of Marion’s men deserted him when they learned of this, and rightly so.

The fact of the matter was, Marion’s cavalry tactic meant that the British could never force a decisive action on the militia. Even with bird shot, effective at only 20-30 yards, Marion’s men could effectively harass the British. In time Greene admitted that taking horses from the militia was like robbing Peter to pay Paul, so eventually he got the message.

By 14JAN1781 Marion thanked Greene for a shipment of ammo and also addressed the need for some reinforcements as the Tories near the North Carolina border were joining forces with other Tories around Georgetown. Within about a week (delayed because of difficulty in finding the Swamp Fox) a detachment of 250 men (mix of cavalry and infantry) led by Lt. Col. “Light-Horse” Harry Lee age 25 (father of Robert E. Lee) arrived at Snow’s Island.

So with a new year arrives a new partner in this mission with a different style than Marion’s. “Light-horse” Harry was different in being a highly educated Virginia gentleman who dressed elegantly and had his men in full uniform with short green coats (similar to Tarleton’s on the British side). This color accent hampered his ability to find Marion as the locals were very suspect of the green!

Also, Light-horse Harry was an egotist, a self-promoter ,unlike Marion BUT similar to Francis with being small in stature as well. Both were believers in discipline, agility and speed.

Light-horse Harry would eventually tout his own achievements in his memoirs while settling scores with his enemies including Thomas Jefferson. But in the end, Harry would speak fondly of Francis Marion even though in his reports he used “I” where he should have used “we”.

By the last week of January 1781 there would emerge a target that both Marion and Lee would need to engage. Little did they know, until after this next battle near Georgetown, South Carolina (alternative seaport that the British used to keep it inland forces supplied) that there was a huge patriot victory at Cowpens, South Carolina on January 17th where Daniel Morgan achieved a double pincer movement that utilized militia in the front lines to supply 2-3 volleys and then retreat which then brought Tarleton’s dragoons into a trap (remember that from the movie ‘The Patriot’?) and resulting of 85% loss in the dragoon’s 1050 man force (100 dead, 230 wounded and 600 captured). Also captured was two field cannon, 800 muskets and 100 horses.

On the heels of this action at Cowpens, Cornwallis chose the offensive and even after having lost 25% of his force, proceeded to chase Morgan and Greene. These two commanders headed towards VA (called later “The Race for the Dan (River)”) for supplies and reinforcements. Cornwallis with Gen Alexander Leslie’s 1500 men would burn their own supply train, including the rum, and chase Greene throughout NC.

That pretty much covers up the January 1781 action with Marion and his militia except for the “amphibious” landing in Georgetown, the source of most of the salt in the region which is critical for the preservation of meat. This action will be covered in my next post in this series that follows the calendar year events of Francis Marion during his two year effort to keep the British Empire from prevailing in their attempt to retain control of the American Colonies.

-SF1

08NOV1780: Tarleton Can’t Catch Francis Marion – Inadvertently Calls Him a Fox

When I last updated y’all on Marion’s activities in the fall of 1780, Cornwallis had “green lighted” Tarleton via his commander at Camden, George Turnball.

From Camden on November 1 Turnbull wrote to Tarleton at Winnsboro, imploring him to gather up his Legion to hunt down Marion. Tarleton rarely paid any compliments to his rebel adversaries, but he respected Marion, later writing that “Mr. Marion, by his zeal and abilities, shewed himself capable of the trust committed to his charge.” … He [Tarleton] welcomed the opportunity to pursue him, and Cornwallis approved the operation, telling Tarleton, “I … most sincerely hope you will get at Mr. Marion.”

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution

The reason for the “green-light” to Cornwallis’ favorite field commander was the impact, both physical and psychological, that Francis Marion and his militia had in South Carolina and in the Southern Theatre of Operations of the Revolutionary War just since August 1780:

Cornwallis was desperate to end Marion’s dominance in the country between the Santee and Pee Dee Rivers. Nisbet Balfour, the commandant at Charleston, worried that unless further measures were taken, all communication between Charleston and Cornwallis’s army would be “at an end.” Marion was bleeding the British to death by a thousand cuts.

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution

By now, Banistre Tarleton had the name “Bloody Ban” based on reports from how his men at the conclusion of their 150 mile / 54 hour pursuit of Col. Abraham Buford who was late to reinforce Charleston in May 1780 so Buford and his 350 Virginia Continentals were on the run toward North Carolina. This event was called “Buford’s Massacre” and set the stage for a reversal of alliances for the people of the colony of South Carolina over the coming months! The words “Tarleton’s quarter” (meaning take no prisoners) became legend and his character traits were woven into the person called “Colonel Tavington” in the movie ‘The Patriot'[2000].

Tarleton and his Green Dragoons along with a force of Tories called Harrison’s Rangers set out from Camden on 05NOV1780 moving south based on Intel they received that had Marion’s militian in the High Hills of the Santee. They did not find Marion there as he was but but thirty miles farther south near Nelson’s Ferry with two hundred men on the evening of 05NOV1780.

By 07NOV, Tarleton and his forces moved to the plantation of the recently widowed Dorothy Richardson, whose late husband, Brigadier General Richard Richardson, had been the victorious Whig commander in the Snow Campaign in 1775. This was no coincidence to camp right at a famous patriot’s home. Intel continued to play an important role as Tarleton learned that Marion was camped now just sixteen miles south. Marion too heard reports of Tarleton’s presence.

Marion and his men laid an ambush at Nelson’s Ferry and waited until night expecting Tarleton to cross there but was disappointed as Tarleton backtracked as though he himself sensed a trap. Marion then maneuvered to within three miles of Tarleton’s camp, intending to surprise him. Both of these leaders possessed a high level of intelligence in the ways of military strategy.

Tarleton was crafty as well: he spread the rumor that his main body had returned to Camden and sent out small patrols with instructions to show little signs of fear by leaving camps abruptly with food still cooking in order to draw Marion to attack. He lit bonfires at Richardson’s Plantation designed to give the impression that he was burning the home of a revered patriot family. In the meantime he wheeled out two small artillery pieces capable of a kind of firepower Marion’s men were not used to facing. Then, knowing Marion’s penchant for making surprise attacks at night, Tarleton hid in the woods with his force of four hundred and waited for Marion to come to him.

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution

It is about to get real at this point. Knowing that the smoke from the fires would be good bait to draw Marion’s militia forces into this trap, all Tarleton had to do was wait.

At this critical point, the widow of Gen. Richard Richardson prompted her son, the 39 year old Richard Richardson Jr. to escape the plantation’s main home undetected and warn the militia of this trap. Major Richardson’s Intel was that  Tarleton had 100 cavalry and 300 dragoons plus two artillery pieces and that one of Marion’s men deserted to the British/Tory forces and was now Tarleton’s guide in the area.

In light of this brush with death for his men and himself, Marion decided to separate himself from this force by taking his men in the dark on a ride through the swamps toward safety near Jack’s Creek.

The next morning, Tarleton is surprised that the trap was not sprung. This “cat-n-mouse” game was getting real and getting intense!

… he [Tarleton] sent a few men to find out why. They brought back a prisoner who had managed to escape from Marion’s brigade during the previous night’s mad dash. He informed them that Marion would have attacked him had some “treacherous women” (the widow Richardson and others) not smuggled out an emissary to warn Marion of Tarleton’s actual number. Tarleton immediately ordered his men to their arms and mounts, but they soon discovered that Marion had already flown from his camp at Jack’s Creek in the direction of Kingstree.

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution

This started a day of adventure for both of these forces as Tarleton moved his men 26 miles through swamps in seven hours while Marion’s men racked up 35 miles in staying out of range of their pursuers.

As Tarleton reported to Cornwallis, due to Marion’s head start and “the difficulties of the country,” he was unable to catch him. He abandoned the chase at Ox Swamp, outside of present-day Manning, which was wide, mucky, and without roads for passage. It was there Tarleton is said to have uttered the words that gave Marion his immortal nickname. “Come my boys! Let us go back, and we will soon find the Gamecock [Thomas Sumter]. But as for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him.”

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution

Now you might think that Tarleton would just move on back toward Camden and try to capture militia leader Thomas Sumter, however, a man of Tarelton’s character would ensure that his frustration would be felt on the innocent people and homes along the path toward Camden:

Tarleton’s frustration was evident from his actions immediately afterward. As he told Cornwallis, he “laid… waste” to all the houses and plantations of the rebels around Richardson’s Plantation and Jack’s Creek. (As usual, Cornwallis turned a blind eye to such depredations.)

Tarleton paid a visit back to the widow Richardson’s home and, as Marion reported to Gates, “beat” her to “make her tell where I was.” Doing what he had earlier pretended to do in order to lure Marion to battle, Tarleton then burned Mrs. Richardson’s home and some of her cattle, destroyed all her corn, and left her without so much as a change of clothes.

From Nelson’s Ferry to Camden he destroyed the homes and grain of thirty plantation owners.

Worst of all, Marion reported, Tarleton had “behaved to the poor women he has distressed with great barbarity.… It is beyond measure distressing to see the women and children sitting in the open air round a fire without a blanket, or any clothing but what they had on, and women of family, and that had ample fortunes; for he spares neither Whig nor Tory.” *

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution

So we see here that Tarleton had two points of weakness, pride and revenge. The trait of revenge, especially on innocent women and children would help turn the tide of the “civil war” inside South Carolina itself, drying up Tory sympathies, and for many generations instilling the thought that war taken to the civilian population itself was not only uncivilized, but also brought “blowback”.

The empire of today (United States) could learn well from this lesson of the past. That thought though will have to be captured in yet another future post. As we leave November 1780, we find the British’s top performing field commander frustrated by militia whose leader now has a new name. Although the name Swamp Fox will not emerge until decades after the conclusion of this war, there is something to be said for this moment in time when guerrilla fighting techniques would be the deciding factor as to why the American Revolution did not end in 1780.

As a result, are we thankful today on Thanksgiving Day 2018? I know I am. Thank you Francis Marion and your faithful men in your stand against the empire of your day. You have given the generations that follow hope in the love, liberty and life that your efforts inspired. Amen.

-SF1