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The Swamp Fox, Francis Marion
Book by Gerson, N.B.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
3 people are currently reading
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About the author
Noel B. Gerson
131 books25 followersNoel Bertram Gerson (1913-1988) was an American author who wrote 325 books, including several best sellers, among them two screenplay novelizations penned under the pseudonym Samuel Edwards, The Naked Maja, and 55 Days at Peking.
Aside from "Samuel Edwards", which would seem to have been his dedicated by-line for tie-in work, Gerson used the following nine pseudonyms in addition to his own name: Anne Marie Burgess; Michael Burgess; Nicholas Gorham; Paul Lewis; Leon Phillips; Donald Clayton Porter; Dana Fuller Ross; Philip Vail; and Carter A. Vaughan.
Aside from "Samuel Edwards", which would seem to have been his dedicated by-line for tie-in work, Gerson used the following nine pseudonyms in addition to his own name: Anne Marie Burgess; Michael Burgess; Nicholas Gorham; Paul Lewis; Leon Phillips; Donald Clayton Porter; Dana Fuller Ross; Philip Vail; and Carter A. Vaughan.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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August 2, 2011A very readable but dated (1967) biography of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. The author doesn't admit to this until his afterword, but he fills in some of the blanks in Marion's life like a historical novelist. Marion was long on action but short on leaving written records so a lot of the details are based on other people's correspondence.
This book gives a good description of Marion's involvement in the French & Indian War, where he played an instrumental role in defeating a large Cherokee war party near Charleston. The French & Indian War set the stage for the American Revolution because this is where Marion meets some of the other leading South Carolina militia commanders during the revolution: William Moultrie, Thomas Sumter & Andrew Pickens. Leading political figures like John Rutledge and Christopher Gadsen are also prominent.
Apparently there are discrepancies about key details in Marion's life. For example, this book says Marion broke his ankle tripping over a tree root while his forces were watching the British forces across the Savannah River. Another history I read recently said that Marion broke his ankle diving out of a window to avoid one of William Moultrie's drinking parties. Either way, this injury was fortunate because he avoided being trapped in Charleston with the American forces that surrendered to the British.
The book also traces Marion's romance with Esther Videau, dating back to his late teens/early twenties in Georgetown, South Carolina. She was the only woman Marion ever loved but they didn't marry until after the Revolution.
Another detail in this book is Marion's role in perfecting a strain of the indigo plant. This, not his role as guerilla warfare leader during the British occupation, was what Marion was most proud of. Today that contribution is virtually unknown.
This book gives a good description of Marion's involvement in the French & Indian War, where he played an instrumental role in defeating a large Cherokee war party near Charleston. The French & Indian War set the stage for the American Revolution because this is where Marion meets some of the other leading South Carolina militia commanders during the revolution: William Moultrie, Thomas Sumter & Andrew Pickens. Leading political figures like John Rutledge and Christopher Gadsen are also prominent.
Apparently there are discrepancies about key details in Marion's life. For example, this book says Marion broke his ankle tripping over a tree root while his forces were watching the British forces across the Savannah River. Another history I read recently said that Marion broke his ankle diving out of a window to avoid one of William Moultrie's drinking parties. Either way, this injury was fortunate because he avoided being trapped in Charleston with the American forces that surrendered to the British.
The book also traces Marion's romance with Esther Videau, dating back to his late teens/early twenties in Georgetown, South Carolina. She was the only woman Marion ever loved but they didn't marry until after the Revolution.
Another detail in this book is Marion's role in perfecting a strain of the indigo plant. This, not his role as guerilla warfare leader during the British occupation, was what Marion was most proud of. Today that contribution is virtually unknown.
September 1, 2021
This book was a pretty good read. I enjoyed most of it. The majority of the book was the story of Francis Marion, a wild young man, assisting in the The French and Indian War. The book is very well written, and it was fairly easy to get through. This surprised me, because I thought that Gerson would use a more complicated style, seeing as this book is a little older. But for the most part, the drama in really interested me. The side love plot with Esther Videau really made it intriguing. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys war books.
September 17, 2009
My favorite book of all time.
December 23, 2012
this guy, is my hero. Smartest guy ever, really laid down the expectations for guerrilla warfare. Would give anything to go back in time and meet him.
January 4, 2020
You can learn a lot about the Souths history
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews