The Swamp Fox (Recap #12B)

Sherwood Forest" (Snow's Island)

Marion and his men setup the ideal safe space .. without drones/helos/planes/satellites or topo maps in those 2D days ..

At the confluence of the Pee Dee River and Lynches Creek was the winter of 1780 lair utilized by Marion and his men.  Pee Dee River was the north-east boundary, Lynches Creek on the north, Clark's Creek on the west and south and located within two miles of Witherspoon's Port and Britton's Ferry. Marion's fellow militia commander Hugh Giles had started development on this sanctuary mid-November 1780.

1) Inaccessible except by water, the cypress and pines offered the men enough cover to feel safe .. the canebrakes, briars and vines would signal those on guard of potential hostile activity. Beyond the natural aspects, Marion's men felled trees and broke down bridges .. sentries were utilized and even a small earthwork/redoubt at Dunham's Bluff on the opposite side of the Pee Dee River was made into one of several camps within the perimeter of this refuge.

2) A British officer's visit to this location from Georgetown for prisoner exchange had Marion offer dinner, sweet potato on tree bark along with vinegar/water mix (Roman Legion drink of choice for its anti-bio-tic qualities. The officer was so impressed by the sacrificial way this officer lived that he resigned his commission when he returned to Georgetown knowing the resolve of this mam and the men who looked up to him. Psych once more! (there is evidence that this MIGHT not had taken place on Snow's Island, but closer to Georgetown itself at another time)

3) Slaves were present and essential as Marion's servant Oscar ("Buddy") was his personal assistant, sous chef, bugler and oarsman. He also was a fiddler and Marion bought Buddy one after the war.

4) Nearby plantations and farms with Whig political leanings kept the men supplied and also kept the intel flowing. Marion made double sure that NO plunder was to take place in this region. In return, Marion also offered the locals some security from the Tory militia forces led by Ganey and Barefield. Also, when supplies were overflowing like when Capt. John Postell brought back 150 lbs of salt (most precious commadity in the state) from Georgetown after a raid, some of the salt was distributed to the local farms/plantations.

5) Local community support that Marion the guerilla had would be mimicked by later leaders like Mao Tse-tung and endorsed as part official US Army doctrine. Gaining the hearts and minds of the grassroots was imperative for good morale with the moral, material and intel support from the surrounding everyday people.

6) Crude lean-to huts were the norm for Marion and his men (unlike Washington who had much better quarters for most of the war). November 1780 the British had seized not only Marion's Pond Bluff Plantation, but also the plantations of Moultrie, Rutledge, Laurens as well as other "rebel" leaders.

7) January 1, 1781 had Marion promoted to Brig. Gen. of SC militia with a focus on the Lowcountry area east of Camden and above the Santee River. While Sumter was more senior being promoted earlier, their different styles would also lead to some continued friction as time went on in this war for independence. While five months earlier, with the devestating loss by the Americans against the British in Camden should have been the end of the road to independence in SC, Marion's tenacity ensured that the British would still be bogged down in SC for some time to come. 1780 was a year that saw 1000 patriots die, 66% of them in SC as well as 2000 patriots wounded, 90% of them in SC.