The Swamp Fox

September 15, 2016
An admiring biography of Francis Marion (1732-1795), a military hero of the American Revolution.As Oller (American Queen: The Rise and Fall of Kate Chase Sprague--Civil War "Belle of the North" and Gilded Age Woman of Scandal, 2013, etc.) notes, readers of a certain age will remember Marion, the "Swamp Fox," as the subject of a Disney TV series that ran from 1959 to 1961, and he also reminds us that the 2000 Mel Gibson film, The Patriot, was based loosely on Marion's exploits. The author's strategy is conventional and chronological. He acknowledges the difficulty of separating fact from legend in Marion's case, but the author is resolute. He teaches us about Marion's family (he did not marry until after the war) and the determination of the British to employ a Southern strategy as the war progressed. A slaveholder in South Carolina, he became a militia leader and quickly established himself as a slippery foe, one who, the author declares, borrowed from the guerrilla tactics of the Cherokee, whom he'd fought earlier. Oller takes us through each of the two dozen or so of Marion's engagements, virtually all of which were successful; sometimes the detail is daunting, but the maps help clarify matters. Oller shows us a man who was a stickler for discipline but who also refused to allow his men to plunder and commit other overly punitive acts. We meet, as well, his military supporters and antagonists--Nathanael Greene among the former, Thomas Sumter among the latter. Oller is generous in his praise for Marion--his efforts did thwart the Southern strategy--but he seems a bit uncomfortable discussing the Swamp Fox as a slave owner. Although the author periodically alludes to slavery, he does not discuss it in much detail until the final pages, where he states it's "safe to assume [Marion] was not a cruel master." A thoroughly researched biography, if a tad tendentious.

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November 1, 2016

In his latest work, Oller (American Queen) details how during the American Revolution South Carolina forces led by Continental Army officer Francis Marion ensnared the British Army into guerilla-style warfare that alleviated pressure on George Washington's troops in the North. Marion used his militia to outwit the British by fighting unconventional battles. Oller effectively describes these conflicts along with Marion's leadership style, which included not allowing his soldiers to partake in any reprisals; if they did, there would be harsh discipline. Oller's exemplary knowledge about South Carolina's forgotten tussle during the revolution will engage readers interested in works such as Walter B. Edgar's Partisans and Redcoats, John W. Gordon's South Carolina and the American Revolution, and Henry Lumpkin's From Savannah to Yorktown. VERDICT Highly recommended for military aficionados and students of Southern U.S. history or the American Revolution.--Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 11, 2017
Biographer Oller (American Queen) turns his focus to Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, whose ability to evade superior British forces earned him the nickname of the Swamp Fox. It is Oller’s thesis that Marion’s brilliant military engagements throughout South Carolina diverted British resources sufficiently to allow the Continental Army to consolidate its positions and helped to make possible its crushing 1781 defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Oller follows Marion’s battles and skirmishes in great detail, describing the terrain, the size of the opposition forces, the tactical decisions made by Marion and his British and loyalist foes, and the losses suffered by the combatants. An exploration of the politics within the Continental Army and the role that personal rivalries and prejudices played in the conduct of the war gives the narrative a human quality that enriches the military history. Most interesting is Oller’s focus on the split between the Tory loyalists and Whig revolutionaries. The bitterness between the two colonial factions created a civil war within the context of the revolution that is not generally examined. Oller also comments on Marion’s noteworthy decency and heroic reputation. His account of Marion and the South Carolina battleground gives readers a fresh view of a lesser-known Revolutionary War campaign.