The Swamp Fox: Francis Marion's Heroic Role in the American Revolution

stradavarius: It seems the most difficult task for a historian is to be well-researched, detailed, and also engaging. This book does not disappoint. I learned a lot. If you are a student of the American Revolution, I recommend it.

United States on Aug 15, 2023

Tally D Lykins: Well written and very informative. Caused me to see the end of the Revolutionary War in a completely different light.

United States on Aug 04, 2023

W & T Perry: Portrait of a man who used hit and run militia warfare during the American Revolution.

I was not well-versed in the history of Francis Marion. My interest piqued after the move the Patriot, which for the most part is not accurate to the real patriot. The fact that Marion used guerilla type warfare as opposed to the "typical" battles of the day drew me in, due to my love of reading Special Ops type fiction and non-fiction.

Oller does a good job of moving this book along and reads like a novel at times. There are a couple of maps in the front to reference, but would have preferred more of these through the book.

Finding out that South Carolina had more battles during the American Revolution than any other colony was an enlightening fact, as seems Virginia and points north get more of the attention.

The conflict between the militia/volunteers that Marion helped lead, amongst themselves, those of the Continental Army and the British, may have been the more eye-opening, but not surprising, as this tends to happen in all wars, with different leadership styles, versus what your core beliefs area.

Based on Oller's account, Francis Marion, was the Purest...

United States on Jul 26, 2021

glauver: Almost 60 years ago I read a young person's life of Francis Marion, the legendary Swamp Fox of the American Revolution. (A search revealed it was written by Stewart Holbrook and was published by Landmark.) I have always been interested in Marion, Nathaniel Greene, and the Revolution in the South. It is strange that there are so few biographies of Marion. John Oller has written the first new life story of the partisan leader in four decades. He has done an excellent job of reconstructing the career of his elusive subject. Oller concentrates on Marion's military career as what we would now call a guerrilla leader. He spends relatively little time on the larger campaign, only supplying enough detail about the big conflict to place Marion's operations in their context. He has spread a wide net, using genealogical sources to flesh out some of the Swamp Fox's allies and foes. There are only about 250 pages of text, but the notes are through and helpful. The Swamp Fox can proudly share my bookcase with War On The Run, the biography of Robert Rogers, America's other great irregular military leader of the 1700s, by John Ross.

United States on Jul 04, 2020

irishpropheticart: The Swamp Fox-I have read many small articles about his war time antics but this book fully goes in depth to a history that needs to be told and read.One of the Most Important American Military figure from the American Revolution.

United Kingdom on Oct 24, 2019

Rick Klemenc: ok

Canada on Apr 14, 2019

Dana McFaull: Took a little while to get it but was not disappointed when I got it

Canada on Dec 30, 2018

Steven Peterson: This is a fine biography of Fancis Marion, the "Swamp Fox." His irregular fighting against the British and loyalist forces in South Carolina was an important element in keeping an American military presence in the south. With other irregular units (e.g., Sumter and ), the4se patriots were able to take up some of the slack after Horatio Gates' crushing defeat at Camden. The American army had largely disappeared. Later, Nathanael Greene began to rebuild a force to obstructs Lord Cornwallis' efforts.

The book begins with the historical context for battle in the south. There is also a nice portrayal of Marion's youth. From his youth to adulthood, he finally created a life style that allowed him to live fairly well. When war came, he threw his lot in with the Americans. After the defeat of Gates' army, he and others began a hit and run guerilla warfare against the British. The work does a nice job of outlining his strategy, his realization that his troops would come and go as the season or some occasion called for such departure. He was also adept at finding "hideouts" and keeping them invisible (not always successful). He developed generally positive relations with nearby...

United States on Dec 24, 2016