During a dinner party, Marion, who was not a heavy drinker, felt the drinking was getting out of control, and to get away, jumped out of a second story window, breaking his ankle. It was customary to lock the doors when toasting to American victory in order to avoid being seen during “treasonous” acts. His first assignment was building Fort Sullivan in Charleston, SC where he and his regiment were posted. He was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress which commissioned Marion as captain of his own regiment after battles of Lexington and Concord. Fighting the Cherokee Indians, he couldn’t help but notice the way they hid themselves in battle and gave themselves the advantage of cover rather than lining up conveniently in bright red coats that couldn’t be missed.Ībout 20 years later, he would remember these ambushes and use them to his own advantage against the British.įrancis Marion, “the Swamp Fox” | public domain imageĪfter the French and Indian War, Francis Marion went back to farming and bought his own plantation.

His time in service during The French and Indian War gave Marion a lot of battle experience and also inspired his later actions. He worked hard in the military and rose through the ranks. Shortly before his 25th birthday, he was recruited to the military to fight in the French and Indian War. After that experience, he elected to stay on land. It took seven days for the crew to reach shore on the life boat, but two of the men died from the lack of food and water on the way. On the return voyage, a whale struck the schooner, and sank it. Young Francis received his first thrill of adventure at the age of 15, when he set out as a crewman aboard a schooner headed for the West Indies. Then his family settled on a plantation near Georgetown, South Carolina. He was born on his parents’ plantation in Berkley, South Carolina and lived there until he was five or six. He was one of six children born to Gabriel and Charlotte Marion. Francis Marion was a soldier in the French and Indian War who built up a militia whose undercover tactics and sneaky guerrilla warfare were so effective, he became known as “the swamp fox.”įrancis Marion was born on February 26, 1732.

Film screenwriter francis marion