Francis Marion: The Swamp Fox's Leadership and Guerrilla Tactics

Introduction: An Ordinary Farmer Answers the Call

Throughout history, in times of crisis, seemingly ordinary men and women with unusual talent and ability have come forward and responded to the need. The Revolutionary period in America's history is one such crisis, when men with natural leadership ability and practical know-how rose as patriots to confront the enemy and establish independence from the King. General Francis Marion was a farmer who answered the call skillfully and daringly. His leadership ability sprang from the excellence of his character. Because of the patriots' lack of resources, money, supplies, and men, Marion developed guerrilla "hit and run" tactics that were highly effective against the well-organized, more traditional British forces.

Francis Marion's grandparents were French Huguenots—Protestants who were persecuted and driven out of France because of their religion. They came to South Carolina in 1690. The youngest of six children, Francis was born into the family in 1732. There was apparently some doubt whether he would live past the age of six. He was so small he could be placed in a quart mug, and there was something wrong with the formation of his knees and ankles (Smith, 1976). He may have been born prematurely, which would explain his small size, but history does not confirm this. He was "frail and puny" until he was twelve years old. At puberty, however, he overcame his physical problems, grew strong, and exhibited evidence of great energy.

Early Life and the Formation of Character

We can only speculate that during the years when he was not as hardy or energetic as other boys, he must have been cared for tenderly, perhaps by his mother or older siblings, because he was said to have had an unusually sweet disposition and "an almost womanly delicacy." "Womanly delicacy" implies a person sensitive to the feelings of others—one who can relate to people and bring out the best in them. Perhaps his frailty as a child also taught him patience, as those who wrote about him afterward all noted that he was unfailingly courteous, kind, and humane. These qualities helped him establish cordial relationships with those who served under him. It is the mark of a true leader when those who work for him want to see him do well—and can thus be trusted to do their best whether their superior officer is present or not. That can only happen when people have genuine respect and affection for their leader.

Like many boys in those days, he dreamed of going to sea. When he was sixteen years old, he hired onto a small ship with a crew of only six sailors, headed for the West Indies. The ship wrecked and sank. The six members of the crew were adrift in a small boat for a week with no food or water, and two of them died before a passing ship rescued the others. There is no mention that Marion ever wanted to go to sea again. He came home and took up farming with his father. For a brief time he served under Colonel William Moultrie during the Cherokee War. In 1759, when his father died, he became the owner of the family's small plantation, worked industriously, and lived there quietly.

One of the marks of a leader is seen when onlookers hold that person in high regard. Marion's neighbors recognized him for his "integrity, ability, courage, and rare sweetness of disposition." A sweet disposition describes someone who is not easily angered but instead remains level-headed and steady during a crisis—someone not easily ruffled or prone to panic. This quality was certainly a great asset in a leader because the people under him could trust him to react to events in a predictable manner. This is not to say that Marion never got angry. His friend Peter Horry, who served in the same regiment, reported seeing Marion very angry on one occasion. It was following a disastrous expedition against Savannah, which in Marion's opinion was grossly mismanaged by allied commanders Lincoln and D'Estaing. Had they only moved more quickly, they could have prevented the British from gaining a positional advantage. He said, "Great God! Who ever heard of anything like this before? First allow your enemy to entrench, and then fight him!" Bungling that resulted in needless loss of life did anger him, as it would most people. From this, we can also see that he had already formed definite ideas about how to win a war against the British. Traditional warfare was not the way, because the patriots were so greatly outnumbered. Not long after, Marion set up a training camp in which he taught his men how to wage guerrilla warfare.

Marion was a lieutenant-colonel in the Continental Army and had risen in rank very quickly. He was about 43 years old and had been elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress when the Revolution began in 1775. After the Battle of Lexington, the congress decided to raise 1,500 infantry, divided into two regiments, and 450 cavalry. Marion was made captain of the second regiment and served under Colonel William Moultrie. Of him, Moultrie later said, "He was an active, brave, and hardy soldier; and an excellent partisan officer."

Marion was quickly promoted to major after the bloodless capture of Fort Johnson, in which he took part. He showed so much organizational skill that he was called "the architect of the second regiment." He played an important role in driving the British fleet from Charleston harbor and was promoted again, this time to lieutenant-colonel. He became brigadier-general and "undertook to harass the enemy in the northern and eastern districts of South Carolina. On 20 August he attacked two regiments of British regulars on their way from Camden to Charleston with 150 prisoners of the Maryland line; with a loss of only one man killed and one wounded, he threw the enemy into some disorder, killed and wounded twenty-seven of their number, and set free all the prisoners."

Rise Through the Ranks

As an officer, Marion was known for his kindness to his men and for his perfect discipline. Part of his authority lay in the equality he practiced. Although he was their commanding officer, he did not allow himself any special privileges and endured the same hardships his men did. Most of the time he slept on the ground without a blanket and ate very simple food. "Marion's ordinary diet was hominy and potatoes, and a favorite drink with him was water flavored with a few drops of vinegar." Whatever hardships his men endured, he endured also. This must have increased their affection for him, knowing that he did not hold himself above them in that respect. Several sources report that he had wonderful control over them (Tuchman, 1988; Commager & Morris, 1983; Smith, 1976). To maintain such perfect command must have required fairness on his part.

Perhaps the most important sign of a true leader is a willingness to stand alone when everyone else thinks differently. Marion must have possessed this moral quality because he did not allow burning of houses, plundering, or violence toward women: "In his whole career no specific instance of rapacity or cruelty was ever alleged against him." This was despite the awful brutality that characterized the war on both sides. Lord Cornwallis himself had set the stage for brutality:

"I have given orders, that the inhabitants of the province, who have taken part in this revolt, should be punished with the greatest rigor; and also those who will not turn out, that they may be imprisoned, and their property taken from them, or destroyed. I have likewise ordered, that compensation be made out of their estates, to the persons who have been injured or oppressed by them. I have ordered, in the most positive manner, that every militia man who has borne arms with us, and afterwards joined the army, shall be immediately hanged. I desire you will take the most rigorous measures to punish the rebels in the district in which you command; and that you obey in the strictest manner the directions I have given in this letter, relative to the inhabitants of this country." (Cornwallis, cited in American Revolution web site)

Thus, the slaughter and brutality began with official British policy. British soldiers plundered homes, burned down flour mills, and imprisoned civilians on lethal prison ships. In one case at Nelson's Ferry in 1780, Colonel Banastre Tarleton burned down General Richardson's house, outhouses, "corn and fodder, and a great part of the cattle, hogs and poultry, of the estate" to punish the general's widow and children because the dead general had been active with the Americans. Tarleton was known for cruelty and slaughter. When his troops took Marion's nephew Gabriel prisoner during an unsuccessful attempt to capture Georgetown, Tarleton followed up by murdering Gabriel in cold blood. But Marion did not engage in any similar brutality or seek revenge by killing British prisoners of war. It is a testament to his moral character and to "a scrupulous piety that was part of his Huguenot background" (Smith, 1976, p. 1437). By his own upright behavior he set a standard for those who served under him, and the men under him made it their standard too.