Transcript
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It feels good to Geico. Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Legends abound in South Carolina's Lowcountry, yet one eclipses them all. A larger than life figure whose mastery of the region's tangled swamps and marshes terrified the British during the Revolutionary War. A man who could reportedly summon battalions of soldiers from within the forest and then disappear into the darkness. It was rumored that he blew up the Georgetown artillery with a single match. And if you take a ghost tour of the city today, you'll hear stories of his spirit guiding lost travelers through the swamp. There is some measure of truth to the stories of this terrible figure. His name was Francis Marion, and his actions during the War for America's Independence earned him the nickname the Swamp Fox. Marion was born in January of 1732 near what is now Berkeley County, 30 miles inland from the city of Charleston. He grew up outdoors, becoming an avid fisherman and hunter, and because of this, he gained an intimate knowledge of the swamps and forests along the Cooper and Edisto rivers and was an expert in navigating them. He further expanded his skills when he served as a militia lieutenant in the French and Indian War, where his familiarity with the frontier proved valuable as a scout and as a commander of irregular detachments that relied on ambush, raid movement, and intimate use of terrain. In 1780, Charleston became a major focus of British strategy, which aimed to seize the city and use it as a stronghold in the fight against revolutionary forces. It was, at the time, the largest port in the Southern colonies, and it helped to supply forces throughout the Southeast. By capturing Charleston, the British could effectively cut off support to much of the continental army. On January 29, approximately 2,000 British troops landed in and around Charleston Harbor. By February 2, they had captured Fort Moultrie and turning its artillery against the city. Within the week, they'd begun a steady barrage against Charleston's defenses, while British troops began slowly circling the city on land, digging trenches to lay siege to the town. On March 29, they succeeded in breaking the opposing army at the Battle of Monck's Corner, forcing the Continental Army's retreat. And on May 12, the siege ended when Continental General Benjamin Lincoln signed articles of capitulation. As the British took control of the port City, approximately 600 were dead and another 3,500 had been taken prisoner. It was a decisive victory, and the redcoats now had a base of operations to spread out across the South. But Charleston would not prove easy to hold. After Charleston fell, Marion began a guerrilla campaign to assist the army in reclaiming the city. He worked closely with the militia of Colonel Thomas Sumter to establish camps in nearby forests and swamps surrounding the Santee river that would be hidden from British forces. And from there, he used the dense foliage and the shallow waters to conceal himself and his troops. And when spying on enemy supply routes, ambushing ammunition convoys and destroying what they could not carry. The largest of these ambushes took place at Brier Creek, when his men captured a British supply depot and destroyed a powder magazine, forcing the British military to divert troops away from the city. And so he nipped away at those laying siege, occasionally raiding food stores and destroying artillery and then disappearing back into the swamp. And Marion used psychological tactics as well. Over the years, he cultivated a network of support in the communities north of the city, using them to help spread word of a phantom army hiding within the swamps, setting fires on hilltops and screaming in the middle of the night, convincing the British army that they were being stalked by ghosts. When the British army finally managed to strike back, the results of Marion's efforts were loud and clear. The British supply lines had been so thoroughly depleted that their soldiers arrived underfed and undersupplied, which helped Continental forces land a decisive victory in January of 1781. The defeat left the British forces diminished, and further decisive wins, aided by Marion's continuing raids, slowly made holding the city of Charleston impossible. The British were on the defensive in the south now as well as in the north, and their forces finally evacuated the city on December 11th of 1782. Francis Marion's relentless hit and run tactics turned the landscape of the Lowcountry into a weapon of its own, forcing the British to fight a war they could not win against foes they couldn't track. By starving their supply trains, scattering their troops, and adding a bit of folklore, Marion helped turn a hopeless siege into a series of setbacks, ultimately leading to the liberation of Charleston. His legacy endures, not only in the folklore that still haunts ghost tour guides and riverbanks, but in the very notion that a small, mobile force armed with intimate knowledge of its terrain can often tip the balance of a great war. This show is sponsored by American Public University. Success starts with your drive, and American Public University is here to fuel it with a With affordable tuition and over 200 flexible online programs, APU helps you gain the skills and confidence to move forward. Whether you're changing careers, starting fresh, or pursuing a lifelong passion, APU's programs are designed for people who never stop you. Bring the fire. Apu will fuel the journey. Learn more at apuapus.edu.