It is almost like when one finally decides to swallow that red pill because truth is the goal instead of desiring to believe what we have always believed. It is a risky move, one taken by those who value truth over comfort.
I believe the bonus is the freedom found in this path as one can then begin to revisit one’s own principles again and again in life’s journey and be willing to admit that we were once blind to truth, but now are just beginning to see.
Personally, I had already had some moments in my life when I decided to dig deeper past the veneer so that the data-points my principles relied on were more stable than imaginary. This process started when I was a child well before my parents separated and eventually divorced. I was already at six years old questioning why the people in church on a Sunday morning were not as happy as what I was reading in the Bible’s New Testament in the book of Acts. I was already wondering about how the vows of marriage could be de-prioritized and why school friends could betray one another in just a few seconds. Later in life during my senior year of high school I joined (volunteered) the US Navy and began another adventure into seeing what really takes place behind the curtain.
All of these events (and others that I plan to share in the future) seemed at first, for a few seconds or a minute, to disappoint. However, I quickly became convinced time and again that I was in fact “gratefully disillusioned“. Reflecting back, I am sure that the personality I have been blessed with, Meier’s-Briggs ENFP, as well as my life experiences to date have helped to be in fact grateful in the process. I am indeed thankful for a mind that is inquisitive no matter what the cost, and thankful that I desire truth over safety or security.
It is interesting that with this personality you can imagine that my circle of “close” friends is on the small side. The fact that my wife of almost 38 years still loves me is really nothing short of a miracle. But the few real friends I have had over the years were just that, real. They had no agenda of their own and were interested in what I had to share even if they did not believe or agree with it. Those friendships are a blessing, and even more so are those friendships what allow two couples to get together and have a great time together no matter how much time elapses between visits.
With that foundation, let me share what my first e-mailed review contained to the son (Captain1776) who had bought the book ‘The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution‘ by John Oller.
It is my hope here on this ‘SeekingLiberty’ blog, to begin to unpack the truths I found in this book that deal with a time and place where an empire was pushing hard to retain control and levy taxes to support their operations. It is in this environment where a freedom fighter is born, one with principles that balance the violence one must bring at times with compassion for those caught up in the conflict.
As promised … here is the 1st of several snippets that will give you a flavor of the caliber of this book.
1) I can’t believe how much the SC part of the revolutionary conflict was a war among themselves … Whigs (patriots) could change into a Tory (loyalist) overnight IF they were done wrong … and I thought the Israelites were fickle .. even some of the early patriots faded away in 1780 when the British humiliated the American forces in Charleston that May.
2) The character in the movie The Patriot is a combination of Francis Marion (Swamp Fox) in eastern SC, Thomas Sumter in central SC and Andrew Pickens in the northwest mountainous part of SC dealing with the indians (Cherokees sided with British, other tribes with patriots)
3) August 16, 1780 was SC’s darkest hour as former hero of Saratoga in the north (Gen Gates) fled like a pansy after he went head-to-head with the British in open field .. turns out the 5’2″ 110 pound Francis (physique of a 13 yo) [NOTE: never called the Swamp Fox in his lifetime ] got lucky 2x .. the 1st time when he injured his ankle getting out of that officer’s house in Charleston and therefore avoided capture in May 1780, he also was sent on a mission by Gates on August 15, 1780 to assist the patriots in the Williamsburg, SC area .. Scotch-Irish Presbyterians are fiercely independent and dislike external authority.
4) Francis was a French Huguenot .. but his grandfather came across with that background but by 1780 Francis was an Anglican. He was the youngest in his family .. tried being a sailor but the ship to the West Indies capsized and he was adrift for days and returned to SC. Eventually his oldest brother Gabriel sold him land adjacent to his own and Francis did the rice/indigo thing (pre-cotton) and did pretty good. He never married until he was in his mid-50s after the war.
5) August 18, 1780, Thomas Sumter’s partisan band of 800 were surprised by Banastre Tarleton’s force of 160 on horses and he like Gates escaped to North Carolina ..
It was in this pit that Francis Sumter became SC’s freedom fighter … on his own. He tried to communicate with Gen Gates (Continental Army Southern Command) but he rarely got a reply much less any support. Over the next two years SC would be the hotspot .. and at the end of the day, 20% of the Revolutionary War deaths would be in SC
Does that set the scene or what? 🙂
dad
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“This message has been intercepted by the NSA: the only branch of government that listens”
QUESTION:
Reflecting on what your American History teachers taught you, does the news that the intensity of the American Revolution effort shifted to the Southern front surprise you? If not, what about the claim that Francis Marion actually saved the American Revolution?
If so, hang on as I am about to unpack the story that took place in South Carolina from 1780-1783.
