Francis Marion: How the ‘Swamp Fox’ Mastered Guerrilla Warfare

by Jose Campos

Before the term guerrilla warfare entered the American military lexicon, a wiry, cunning officer in the Carolina backcountry was already running the playbook. His name was Francis Marion – better known to the British as the Swamp Fox. From 1780 to 1782, Marion and his ragged militia bled the King’s forces, outthinking and outmaneuvering both British regulars and Loyalist militias in the unforgiving swamps of South Carolina and north Georgia.

Marion didn’t inherit a professional army.