creek; but did not attempt to cross; and retired into Camden before night。
We are in daily expectation of a large reinforcement of Virginia militia and
some continental troops; when those arrive we shall push our operations
with more vigour。 No further news of Lord Cornwallis。
* This letter is an answer to one of Marion's; (which is missing;)
soon after his arrival at Fort Watson; with only eighty men。 See page 109。
'Chapter III Paragraph 26。 See Simms for more complete details。 A。 L。'
I am; Sir; With the highest esteem and regard; Yours; &c。 N。
Greene。
____________
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Life of Marion。
Gen。 Greene to Gen。 Marion。
~Camp; before Ninety…Six; June 10; 1781。~
Dear Sir;
I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favours of the 22d and 29th
ult。 It gives me great pleasure to hear the enemy have left Georgetown;
and I am of opinion with you; that it will be attended with many good
consequences to that part of the country。 After you have dismantled the
enemy's works; you will collect your force; take the position you
mentioned; and act in conjunction with Gen。 Sumter; agreeable to the
advice I gave you before。 I have the pleasure to congratulate you on the
reduction of the enemy's fort at Augusta。 This event took place on the 7th
inst。 by capitulation; and I hope in a few days to have the pleasure of
congratulating you on the reduction of this place; but we are opposed to
many difficulties; and the garrison resists with great obduracy。
I am; Sir; With every sentiment of respect and esteem; Yours; &c。 N。
Greene。
____________
Extract of a Letter from Gen。 Greene to Gen。 Marion。
~Head Quarters; near Sandy River; June 25; 1781。~
Dear Sir;
I am favoured with your letter dated at the Congaree。 The enemy have
obliged us to raise the siege of Ninety…Six; when it was upon the eve of
surrendering。 It was my wish to have fought Lord Rawdon before he
reached Ninety…Six; and could I have collected your force and that of Gen。
Sumter and Pickens; I would have done it: and am persuaded we should
have defeated him; but being left alone; I was obliged to retire。
(Signed) N。 Greene。
Finis。
Notes:
(1) About this etext。 (2) A。 S。 Salley's Introduction from the 1948
149
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Life of Marion。
edition。 (3) For the purists: A list of changes and corrections to the text。
(1) About this etext。
This etext was prepared from the original 1821 edition and the 1948
edition。 In the case of any differences in the text; the 1821 edition was
used; except where there was an obvious mistake (see the section for the
purists)。 Although the 1948 edition maintained the original text as far as
possible; a few errors crept in only one which changed the meaning of
the text; and only in a minor way。 This etext was transcribed twice; and
electronically compared using 〃diff〃。 This weeds out most errors; so that;
with the correction of a number of errors in the original; this is very likely
the cleanest copy to date。
As far as I can tell; the original text has only been published twice in
unaltered form: in 1821 (Gould and Riley; Charleston; S。 C。) and in 1948。
That made it very difficult to find this text。 I am indebted to the following
for their help in procuring these:
The librarians in the Southern Literature section at the Public Library
in Birmingham; Alabama; for helping me in the search for the 1821
edition。
Carolyn Lancaster; (lancaster_carolyn/f
urman@furman。edu) a
Library Assistant at the Special Collections Department; Furman
University Library; Greenville; South Carolina; for kindly aiding me to
acquire a photocopy of the 1821 edition。 (The Collection contains the
South Carolina Baptist materials and Furman University Archives and
older; non…circulating; 〃rare books〃; such as this one。) Phone: (864) 294…
2194。 Fax: (864) 294…3004。 Mail: Special Collections; Furman University
Library; 3300 Poinsett Hwy。; Greenville; SC 29613。 Web:
carolus。furman。edu/library/welcome
Gary M。 Johnson; at the Library of Congress
(
gjohnson@mail。loc。gov); for a great deal of help; including a copy of the
1948 edition。 The online Library of Congress catalog is at:
lcweb。loc。gov/
This etext was prepared by Alan Robert Light
(
alight@mercury。interpath); who; as a former member of the South
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Life of Marion。
Carolina National Guard; has a special interest in the subject。 Two related
works are already online; available from Project Gutenberg and perhaps
from other sources。 www。cs。cmu。edu/Web/books。html is a good site。
They are the biographies of Francis Marion by the Rev。 Mason Locke
Weems and by William Gilmore Simms。 The Weems biography is full of
errors; and is more useful as literature than as history。 Weems is the same
author who invented the anecdote about George Washington and the
Cherry Tree。 William Gilmore Simms was a prominent South Carolina
author; who wrote many books of history; fiction; and poetry。 His 1844
biography of Marion is the broadest in scope of the three; and probably the
best for the casual reader。 Of course; the interested reader should read all
three biographies。
(The information on Web pages; etc。 is correct as of 21 May 1997。)
(2) A。 S。 Salley's Introduction from the 1948 edition。
A。 S。 Salley wrote several works of genealogy and S。 C。 local history。
He also wrote this short introduction to the 1948 edition; which we have
checked; and IS in the public domain。
Introduction to New Edition。
By A。 S。 Salley。
But for an accident General Francis Marion probably would not have
been the hero of the Revolution that he became。
In June; 1775; the Provincial Congress of South Carolina; the extra…
legal body of the revolting people of the province; organized three
regiments of regular troops in preparation against any attempt at coercion
by the British government。 The first and second regiments were
constituted as infantry; or foot; the third regiment as rangers; or horse。
The Congress elected twenty captains to man the first and second
regiments; and they took seniority according to their standing in the vote。
Francis Marion was elected one of the twenty captains and stood third in
the balloting and was assigned to the Second Regiment; ranking second to
Capt。 Barnard Elliott。
In November; 1775; an artillery regiment was organized and Capt。
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Life of Marion。
Elliott was promoted to major thereof。 In February; 1776; a regiment of
rifles was organized and Major McIntosh of the Second was promoted to
be lieutenant…colonel thereof; which advanced Captain Marion to the
majority of the Second Regiment。
On September 16; 1776; the six regular regiments of South Carolina
were taken on the Continental Establishment and Colonel William
Moultrie; of the Second Regiment; was promoted to brigadier general;
Lieutenant…Colonel Motte was promoted to colonel and Major Marion
became the lieutenant…colonel。 Colonel Motte resigned September 23;
1778; and Marion became commander of the regiment。
As British regiments were commanded by lieutenant…colonels; British
authorities refused to exchange a captured Continental colonel for one of
their lieutenant…colonels in the hands of the Americans。 This complication
caused the Continental Congress to cease promoting lieutenant…colonels to
colonels; and