y he published an order directing
all Continental officers and men not on parole to report to him at
Hillsboro. Marion was the senior officer of South Carolina to report.
His regiment having been captured with the garrison of Charles Town
Marion was without a command. He was directed by Gates to go down to the
Santee River and assemble a militia force and destroy the ferry boats
on the river to prevent the British from retreating to Charles Town or
receiving aid therefrom. Marion found a willing force of militia at hand
on the Santee with which he speedily drove off the guard at Murray's
Ferry and captured the guard at Nelson's Ferry and also captured a
convoy from Cornwallis's army taking American prisoners to Charles Town.
From then on he was very active. In November, 1780, Governor Rutledge
appointed him brigadier general of the Lower Brigade of the State
militia and his activity knew no bounds from then to the end of the war.

This history of Marion's career thereafter, accurately and authentically
tells the story, for Judge James, its author, was one of Marion's active
officers.

Perhaps Marion's highly meritorious services would never have received
the widespread attention that has been accorded them had it not been for
a fictitious publication issued in 1809 by Matthew Carey, a well known
publisher, of Philadelphia, entitled: _The / Life / of / Gen. Francis
Marion, / a Celebrated / Partizan Officer, / in / The Revolutionary War,
/ against the / British and Tories, in South-Carolina and Georgia._ From
documents furnished by his brother in arms, Brigadier-General P. Horry:
and his nephew, the Hon. Robert Marion, Esq. of Congress.

General Peter Horry, who had been one of Marion's most active colonels,
had written a history of Marion's brigade, but had not readily found
a publisher when he encountered Rev. Mason L. Weems, an itinerant
book agent and preacher. Weems persuaded Horry to let him have the
manuscript, assuring him that he would secure a publisher. Horry agreed,
but admonished Weems "not to alter the sense or meaning of my work,
least when it came out I might not know it; and, perverted, it might
convey a very different meaning from the truth." Those were Horry's
own words to Weems, as recalled by Horry to Weems in a letter dated at
Georgetown, S.C., February 4, 1811.

In the same letter he reminded Weems: "I requested you would (if
necessary) so far alter the work as to make it read grammatically, and