Francis Marion The Elusive Swamp Fox Essay

In “Francis Marion: The Elusive Swamp Fox” by George F. Scheer he writes about a young patriot named Marison, who demonstrated great strength and prowess during the war for America’s independence. In his narrative he highlights war during this era for liberty and emancipation from the British Crown. In his work he illustrates the life of an active soldier who fought bravely for a grand cause and his tactics used by armies when fighting the redcoats. Similar to the “The Patriot” a film produced by Roland Emmerich he also depicts the tactics used in the war along with Out of Many and Tindall and Shi. These sources also reveal the advantage the Americans had over the British and vice versa. The Americans had home field advantage and the French

Both tactics were used in the Revolution War that made the war very bloody. For instance, in the film this is constantly shown through the battles the colonial forces have with the Royal army of the crown. War was very brutal and harsh that used musketeers as well as bayonets to kill opponents. One specific battle scene that had the Patriots hiding in the woods and shooting the British demonstrate the tactic of hit and run. This is also seen in another battle scene when Ben Martin and two of his sons shoot down British forces in the woods to save his son Gabriel Martin who was captured by the crown. As illustrated in both of these war scenes they provide an accurate representation of what war was like against the British forces. Many Patriot forces would hide in the woods and attack their enemies then run which is where the notion hit and run is derived from. Just like how Ben Martin and his two sons would hide in the wilderness and be stealthy. Many Patriot men would enact in the shooting and running to keep make great damage but keep their life as well. This is also elaborated with Francis Marion who practiced Guerrilla warfare. This type of warfare is a irregular and includes tactics such as ambushes, sabotage, raids. It was used to fight larger and less mobilized traditional military's powers such as the British. As explained by Scheer “guerrilla warfare in South Carolina swamps and surprise attacks upon energy regiment” were very effective(261). This is also elaborated when he explains how the British would be in linear formations with Marion using trails “as avenues of swift attacks and safe retreats, with its swamps and bogs”(266). In the war British troops would line up in linear structures that was very uneffective against the techniques used by Marion. In guerilla warfare attacks were fast and sudden that gave the British no time to react. This was very favorable for