Francis Marion (1732?-1795), American military leader, who led daring raids against British troops during the American Revolution (1775-1783). He was born in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Marion's military career began in 1761, when he led a successful attack against the Cherokee. In 1775 he was elected to the first provincial congress of South Carolina. That same year, with America on the brink of revolution, the congress appointed him captain of a newly organized militia. In September 1775 Marion commanded the capture of British forts in Charleston, South Carolina. The Continental Congress took over his regiment in 1776 and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He spent the next several years of his service in South Carolina.

When British forces captured Charleston in 1780, American troops pulled out of South Carolina. Marion, however, stayed and organized a small force of poorly equipped men, training them in guerrilla tactics. Living off the land, Marion and his men harassed British troops by staging small surprise attacks in which they captured small groups of British soldiers, sabotaged communication and supply lines, and rescued American prisoners. After these attacks Marion withdrew his men to swamp country unfamiliar to the British. Colonel Banastre Tarleton, a British commander, gave Marion his nickname when he complained that it was impossible to catch the “swamp fox.” Near the end of the war, Marion and American General Nathanael Greene joined forces. In 1781 they successfully fought at the Battle of Eutaw Springs and forced the British retreat to North Carolina.

While still leader of his brigade, Marion was elected to the senate of South Carolina in 1781. He was reelected in 1782 and again in 1784, after the war had ended. In appreciation for his military service, the state legislature appointed Marion commander of Fort Johnson, in Charleston.