I have given you all plenty of time to find out who this post will be about.
Are you all ready to find out? Well, here is your long awaited answer! Here it is...
-Francis Marion-
Francis was born in Georgetown, SC, on February 26, 1732. His parents, Gabriel and Esther Marion, had six children, of which Francis, (who was the sixth child), was the smallest.
Captain Peter Horry, who served under Francis during the Revolutionary War, (before Horry's military career was thru, he would achieve the rank of Brigadier General), said of him, "I have it from good authority, that this great soldier, at his birth, was not larger than a New England lobster, pandas eat lions pie and might easily enough have been put into a quart pot."
Just like George Washington, Francis Marion wanted to be a sailor. His mother, just like Washington's mother, did not want her son in the Navy. But, against his mother's wishes, Francis went to sea. So, at the ripe old age of 15/16, Marion was a sailor! His sailing days were short lived though.
Upon the ship's return home it hit a small problem....well, actually, a BIG problem. A whale. Yes, you read that correctly, a whale. Not a storm, not another ship, but a whale. This big problem caused the ship to sink. The next day they, (all the crew except two), reached shore.
Believe it or not, all this helped Marion's health, but it ended his Naval career.
-A Taste Of Action; And Sorrow-
In January 1, 1757, Francis got his first taste of action, (along with a taste of sorrow), when he and his brother, Gabriel, signed up to fight in the French and Indian war. Francis served as a Lieutenant, under the command of Captain William Moultrie. Their mission was to push the Cherokee out of their land.
In a letter, Marion writes of the sorrow he felt:
"The next morning we proceeded by order of Colonel James Grant, to burn down the Indians' cabins. Some of our men seemed to enjoy this cruel work, laughing very heartily at the curling flames, as they mounted loud crackling over the tops of the huts. But to me it appeared a shocking sight. Poor creatures! thought I, we surely need not grudge you such miserable habitations. But, when we came, according to orders, to cut down the fields of corn, I could scarcely refrain from tears. For who could see the stalks that stood so stately with broad green leaves and gaily tasseled shocks, filled with sweet milky fluid and flour, the staff of life; who, I say, without grief, could see these sacred plants sinking under our swords with all their precious load, to wither and rot untasted in their mourning fields."
Some modern historians have accused Francis Marion of being a ruthless murder, who enjoyed his job. But out of his own mouth he puts all of these modern historians to shame.
I think that people make false accusations, and continue to believe them, due to the fact they don't want to admit they were wrong. Think about it. You study something for years on-end, just to find out it was a lie. It all comes down to pride.
-The Revolution-
Now, this is the war that would make Francis into what we know today. When the Revolution started, Marion was a member of the South Carolina Provincial Congress; shortly there after, he was commissioned as a Captain into the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, on June 21, 1775. His old CO, (Commanding Officer), Captain William Moultrie, from the French and Indian War, was now his Colonel.
Between June 1776, (Francis was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, or, as it is also written, Lt. Col., in September of 1776), and August 1780, Marion would gain much experience. 
He would take part in the defense of Fort Sullivan, and Fort Moultrie, in Charleston Harbor. He would see action at the Siege of Savannah. Under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, he drilled militia. But as God would have it, Marion missed some action. He missed/escaped the fall of of Charleston, (May 12, 1780), due to a broken ankle, he had left the city days before.
He would take part in the defense of Fort Sullivan, and Fort Moultrie, in Charleston Harbor. He would see action at the Siege of Savannah. Under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, he drilled militia. But as God would have it, Marion missed some action. He missed/escaped the fall of of Charleston, (May 12, 1780), due to a broken ankle, he had left the city days before.In September 1780, Lt. Col. Francis Marion, was under the command of Gen. Horatio Gates. For some reason, Gates did not like Marion. Just before the Battle of Camden, Gen. Gates gave Marion orders to take command of the Williamsburg Militia. Furthermore, he sent Francis away. Guess where he sent him?
-Pee Dee-
Yes, you read that correctly. Pee Dee is the northeastern part of South Carolina. It is a marshy, (not Marsha, like the Brady Bunch), area to say the least. The name Pee Dee, comes from the old Native American tribe, Pee Dee.
Gates did one thing right by sending Marion to Pee Dee. He made it possible for Marion to gain his fame. Which he did. It was Marion's campaigns in South Carolina that gained him the nick-name "The Swamp Fox".
Francis proved to be one great leader of men. Men who fought in the Continental Army, were payed for their services. Marion's Men, as they were known, where not payed. Received no food, weapons, or supplies of any kind. The men provided there own weapons and supplies. Marion's Men are what we call irregulars, or Guerrillas. Men who live off the land, use "hit-and-run" tactics. Marion's Men would have fought like the Native Americans.
-Dealing with the British-
Marion angered the British so much, that in November 1780, the British sent Col. Banastre 
Tarleton, (left), who was a ruthless, Dragoon Officer. (The Tory's called him the "The Green Dragoon", but the Patriots called him "Bloody Ban". He is portrayed in the movie "The Patriot" as Mel Gibson's main adversary.) His mission was to kill or capture "The Swamp Fox." And guess what?!?! He failed!
Tarleton, (left), who was a ruthless, Dragoon Officer. (The Tory's called him the "The Green Dragoon", but the Patriots called him "Bloody Ban". He is portrayed in the movie "The Patriot" as Mel Gibson's main adversary.) His mission was to kill or capture "The Swamp Fox." And guess what?!?! He failed!Marion was good with gathering intelligence; especially British intelligence. Using his "hit-and-run" tactics, Marion's Men were able to out run, out hide, and out fight the British.
Upon seeing Marion's skill in guerrilla warfare, Governor John Rutledge, (who was North Carolina in exile), promoted Francis Marion to the rank of Brigadier-General.
-After Yorktown-
Not long after his promotion, the War came to an end. On October 17, 1781, Gen. Cornwallis surrendered his forces. (And although we had won the war, true Independence was not archived until the War of 1812.)
Gen. Marion was not married during the war. He married his cousin, Mary Esther Videau, after the war. Smart man. Why? Think about it. Had he married her before the war, and died, think of what he would have left behind. A wife and possible children.
Francis retired to his plantation with his wife, following the war. He died on his plantation in 1795, at the age of 63.
Let us never forget his words:
"Who can doubt that God created us to be happy, and thereto made us to love one another? It is plainly written as the Gospel. The heart is sometimes so embittered that nothing but Divine love can sweeten it, so enraged that only devotion can only becalm it, and so broken down that it takes all the forces of heavenly hope to raise it. In short, the religion of Jesus Christ is the only sure and controlling power over sin."
-Gen. Francis Marion
His grave-stone reads as follows:
Sacred to the Memory of
BRIG. GEN. FRANCIS MARION
Who departed his life, on the 27th of February, 1795,
IN THE SIXTY-THIRD YEAR OF HIS AGE
Deeply regretted by all his fellow citizens
HISTORY will record his worth, and rising generations embalm his memory, as one of the most distinguished Patriots and Heroes of the American Revolution:
which elevated his native Country
TO HONOR AND INDEPENDENCE,
AND Secured to her the blessings of
LIBERTY AND PEACE his tribute of veneration and gratitude is erected in commemoration
of the noble and disinterested virtues of the CITIZEN; and the gallant exploits of the SOLDIER; Who lived without fear, and died without reproach
He is buried at Belle Isle Plantation Cemetery, Berkeley County, South Carolina.
