Life of Francis Marion | Page 7

read much; and, above all, not to be
communicative. An early friend of his, the late Captain John Palmer,
has stated, that his first inclination was for a seafaring life, and that at
the age of sixteen he made a voyage to the West Indies. The vessel in
which he embarked foundered at sea, and the crew, consisting of six
persons, took to an open boat, without water or provisions: but,
providentially, a dog swam to them from the ship, whose blood served
them for drink, and his raw flesh for food, for six days; on the seventh,
Francis Marion, and three of the crew, reached land, but the other two
perished at sea. Things which appear accidental at the time, often sway
the destinies of human life. Thus it was, that from the effect of this
narrow escape, and the entreaties of a tender mother, Francis Marion
was induced to abandon the sea, for an element, on which he was to
become singularly useful. His mother's maiden name was Cordes, and
she also was of French extraction. Engaged in cultivating the soil, we
hear no more of Marion for ten years. Mr. Henry Ravenel, of Pineville,
now more than 70 years of age, knew him in the year 1758; he had then
lost his father; and, removing with his mother and brother Gabriel from
Georgetown, they settled for one year near Frierson's lock, on the
present Santee canal. The next year Gabriel removed to Belle Isle, in St.
Stephen's parish, late the residence of his son, the Hon. Robert Marion.
Francis settled himself in St. John's, at a place called Pond Bluff, from
the circumstance of there being a pond at the bottom of a bluff, fronting
the river low grounds. This place is situated about four miles below
Eutaw, on the Santee; and he continued to hold it during life.* Others
fix his settling in St. John's, at a later period: this is of little
consequence, but what is of some, was that in this most useful of all
stations, a tiller of the ground, he was industrious and successful. In the
same year, 1759, the Cherokee war broke out, and he turned out as a
volunteer, in his brother's troop of provincial cavalry. In 1761, he
served in the expedition under Col. Grant, as a lieutenant in Captain

Wm. Moultrie's company, forming part of a provincial regiment,
commanded by Col. Middleton. It is believed that he distinguished
himself in this expedition, in a severe conflict between Col. Grant and
the Indians, near Etchoee, an Indian town; but, if he did so, the
particulars have not been handed down to us, by any official account.
General Moultrie says of him, "he was an active, brave, and hardy
soldier; and an excellent partisan officer." We come now to that part of
Marion's life, where, acting in a more conspicuous situation, things are
known of him, with more certainty. In the beginning of the year 1775,
he was elected one, of what was then called the provincial congress of
South Carolina, from St. John's. This was the public body which agreed
to the famous continental association, recommended by congress, to
prevent the importation of goods, wares, and merchandizes, from Great
Britain: they likewise put a stop to all suits at law, except where debtors
refused to renew their obligations, and to give reasonable security, or
when justly suspected of intentions to leave the province, or to defraud
their creditors; and they appointed committees in the several districts
and parishes in the state, which were called committees of public safety,
to carry these acts into effect. These exercised high municipal authority,
and supported generally by a population sometimes intemperate,
inflicted singular punishments** upon such as were not only guilty, but
even suspected, of infringing the association. The provincial congress
also, after receiving the news of the battle of Lexington, determined
upon a defensive war, and resolved to raise two regiments of infantry,
and one of cavalry. Marion was elected a captain in the second
regiment of these two, of which William Moultrie was colonel. Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney, and Thomas Pinckney, since so much
distinguished, were likewise elected captains in this regiment at the
same time. The first of Captain Marion's appearing in arms against the
British, was in the latter part of this year, when he acted as one of three
captains under Colonel Motte, in taking possession of Fort Johnson, on
James Island. On this occasion much resistance was expected, but the
garrison abandoned the fort, and escaped to two British vessels, the
Tamar and Cherokee, then lying in Charleston harbour. In the autumn
of the same year a post was established at Dorchester, where it was
thought prudent to send part of the military stores, and the public
records out