MARION, FRANCIS, 1732-95; b. near Georgetown, S. C. He received a scanty edu cation, and after a trial of seafaring life, in which he was wrecked and with difficulty rescued, engaged in farming. When the war with the Cherokee Indians arose, 1759, he immediately enlisted, and" as a cavalry lieut. did good service in the campaigns of 1759-61. At the outbreak of the revolution, Marion was chosen a delegate to the South Carolina congress, but soon organized a company of volunteers in his neighborhood, and placed it under the command of col. William Moultrie. His first active service was. in Charleston harbor, and later in the defense of fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776; and his gallant conduct there was rewarded by promotion to the rank of lieut.col. He was present at the siege of Charleston, 1780, Aaving meanwhile been actively engaged in various parts of Georgia and South Carolina. He was not in the city at the time of its surrender to gen. Clinton, owing to a severe accident which kept him from duty. After that disaster, Marion, then a col., raised several companies of volunteers among the
country lads, or "cowboys" as the tories called them, and with this force marclied to the relief of gen. Gates, at that time in North Carolina. Though poorly armed, wretch edly dressed, and at first exposed to much ridicule on that account, Marion*s brigade proved of the greatest value, through their intiinate knowledge of localities and the native shrewdness which earned for their leader the sobriquet of " Swamp Fox." From the Pedee to the Santee river, and from the sea-coast back to the central counties, the imperfectly drilled, but sturdy and enthusiastic brigade seemed to cover all points at once, and caused no little embarassment to the British forces. Among the most. noted of the engagements in which Marion took part, may be named fort Moste, fort Wilson, Granby, Parker's ferry, and Eutaw. At the close of the war gen. Marion resumed his former occupation, and remained on his plantation till his death.