n he was short and slight
of frame, but strong and hardy in constitution.

[Illustration: Francis Marion.]

When the British began to swarm into South Carolina, Marion raised and
drilled a company of neighbors and friends, known as "Marion's Brigade."
These men were without uniforms or tents, and they served without pay.
They did not look much like soldiers on parade, but were among the bravest
and best fighters of the Revolution. Their swords were beaten out of old
mill-saws at the country forge, and their bullets were made largely from
pewter mugs and other pewter utensils. Their rations were very scant and
simple. Marion, their leader, as a rule, ate hominy and potatoes and drank
water flavored with a little vinegar.

The story is told that one day a British officer came to the camp with a
flag of truce. After the officers had talked, Marion, with his usual
delicate courtesy, invited the visitor to dinner. We can imagine the
Englishman's surprise when, on a log which made the camp table, there was
served a dinner consisting only of roasted sweet potatoes passed on pieces
of bark! The officer was still more amazed to learn that even potatoes
were something of a luxury.

Marion's brigade of farmers and hunters seldom numbered more than seventy,
and often less than twenty. But with this very small force he annoyed the
British beyond measure by rescuing prisoners, and by capturing
supply-trains and outposts.

[Illustration: Marion Surprising a British Wagon-Train.]

One day a scout brought in the report that a party of ninety British with
two hundred prisoners were on the march for Charleston. Waiting for the
darkness to conceal his movements, Marion with thirty men sallied out,
swooped down upon the British camp, capturing the entire force and
rescuing all the American prisoners.

It was the custom of Marion's men, when hard pressed by a superior force,
to scatter, each man looking out for himself. Often they would dash
headlong into a dense, dark swamp, to meet again at some place agreed
upon. Even while they were still in hiding, they would sometimes dart out
just as suddenly as they had vanished, and surprise another squad of
British which might be near at hand. "Swamp Fox" was the name the British
gave to Marion.

With the aid of such partisan bands, and with skilful handling of his
army, Greene was more than a match for Cornwallis. He was not strong
enough just yet for a pitched battle, but he kept Cornwal