The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution Hardcover – October 25, 2016

I was pleasantly surprised with how interesting and thoroughly researched this book is. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in American Revolutionary War history, and particularly if you wish to learn more about the extremely important, yet rarely mentioned, Southern Campaign, which directly factored into our victory over the British. I live in Swamp Fox country and have always wanted to learn more about Francis Marion, particularly separating fact from legend. Mr. Oller does a tremendous job with this and even specifically points out some of the legends and cites relevant evidence to either support or discredit each claim (all sources are correctly and meticulously cited at the back of the book). I had a hard time putting this book down, it was so well written - far from being dry, as so many books on the topic are, unfortunately. I would also like to point out that it was also very well edited, not riddled with grammatical errors like some other books I have read. There simply isn’t another thoroughly researched book out there about Francis Marion and his vital role in the Southern Campaign, and arguably, the entire War. I have always loved and admired Francis Marion and his men, but I now have a much greater appreciation for the sacrifices they made and the sheer genius infused into their unconventional techniques and efforts which successfully prevented the British from gaining ground in the South in order to aid Cornwallis after he proceeded to North Carolina. There is no doubt in my mind that had Marion and his men not fought and toiled so valiantly for so long, Cornwallis would have gained his much needed reinforcements and supplies, and we would have lost the War. I also greatly appreciate that Mr. Oller made it a point to note that the surrender at Yorktown was hardly the end of the War. Much blood was shed AFTER this surrender as the South fought to completely eradicate the stubborn British from their soil. Nearly all of the literature fails to adequately cover (if mention at all) the crucial role those in the South played in truly bringing the War to a close and sending the foes home. If you have read my review this far, I will reiterate that this a highly informative and interesting read and has become an extremely treasured book in my personal library. I do have two suggestions I hope can be passed on to the author and, more importantly, the publisher. 1) There is a section of images in the middle of the book, which directly correlate to information covered throughout the book. I found this section to be oddly out of place when I came across it between chapters (thus greatly disrupting my flow of reading and intrigue). Furthermore, the caption beneath each image was literally a repeat of what I had already read (or would later read), as to what it referred in the book. My suggestion would be to place each image in the appropriate chapter so that it is relevant and helpful at the time of reading that material. The caption would then be shortened to only identify what is in the image (rather than the long and repetitive explanation currently listed). I realize that this is rather unconventional in regards to nonfiction history books of this nature, but it would be a much better use of the images and information, in my opinion. An alternative suggestion would be to place the images at the very end of each of their respective chapters. 2) There is a very informative main map included at the beginning, but I could see someone who is not familiar with the area having to flip back to it frequently as they read. Fortunately, I live here, so there was minimal need for me to flip back to this main map as I read. I have seen in other books where the main map was printed on a detachable card on the inside of the back cover. You can then remove said map/card and use it as a bookmark, while at the same time, being able to quickly refer to the map when reading, thereby giving you a much better view of the historical places frequently referred to in the reading. It might add a bit to the cost, but surely, it would be minimal, and I, for one, would gladly pay it. I have included a few images as a preview, including the Table of Contents. You won’t be disappointed if you choose to purchase this incredible read. Thank you for reading my honest review. I did not receive any compensation for it, and I did read the book in its entirety.

Often distracted by tortured syntax.

Portrait of a man who used hit and run militia warfare during the American Revolution.I was not well-versed in the history of Francis Marion. My interest piqued after the move the Patriot, which for the most part is not accurate to the real patriot. The fact that Marion used guerilla type warfare as opposed to the "typical" battles of the day drew me in, due to my love of reading Special Ops type fiction and non-fiction.Oller does a good job of moving this book along and reads like a novel at times. There are a couple of maps in the front to reference, but would have preferred more of these through the book.Finding out that South Carolina had more battles during the American Revolution than any other colony was an enlightening fact, as seems Virginia and points north get more of the attention.The conflict between the militia/volunteers that Marion helped lead, amongst themselves, those of the Continental Army and the British, may have been the more eye-opening, but not surprising, as this tends to happen in all wars, with different leadership styles, versus what your core beliefs area.Based on Oller's account, Francis Marion, was the Purest Patriot.

Almost 60 years ago I read a young person's life of Francis Marion, the legendary Swamp Fox of the American Revolution. (A search revealed it was written by Stewart Holbrook and was published by Landmark.) I have always been interested in Marion, Nathaniel Greene, and the Revolution in the South. It is strange that there are so few biographies of Marion. John Oller has written the first new life story of the partisan leader in four decades. He has done an excellent job of reconstructing the career of his elusive subject. Oller concentrates on Marion's military career as what we would now call a guerrilla leader. He spends relatively little time on the larger campaign, only supplying enough detail about the big conflict to place Marion's operations in their context. He has spread a wide net, using genealogical sources to flesh out some of the Swamp Fox's allies and foes. There are only about 250 pages of text, but the notes are through and helpful. The Swamp Fox can proudly share my bookcase with War On The Run, the biography of Robert Rogers, America's other great irregular military leader of the 1700s, by John Ross.

This is a fine biography of Fancis Marion, the "Swamp Fox." His irregular fighting against the British and loyalist forces in South Carolina was an important element in keeping an American military presence in the south. With other irregular units (e.g., Sumter and ), the4se patriots were able to take up some of the slack after Horatio Gates' crushing defeat at Camden. The American army had largely disappeared. Later, Nathanael Greene began to rebuild a force to obstructs Lord Cornwallis' efforts.The book begins with the historical context for battle in the south. There is also a nice portrayal of Marion's youth. From his youth to adulthood, he finally created a life style that allowed him to live fairly well. When war came, he threw his lot in with the Americans. After the defeat of Gates' army, he and others began a hit and run guerilla warfare against the British. The work does a nice job of outlining his strategy, his realization that his troops would come and go as the season or some occasion called for such departure. He was also adept at finding "hideouts" and keeping them invisible (not always successful). He developed generally positive relations with nearby settlements.He developed a useful working relationship with Greene and, thus, aided the larger military strategy of Greene. The book discusses ups and downs of Marion's military career, a few failures as well as his many successes.In the final analysis, this is a satisfying work on "the Swamp Fox," including a nice analysis of his live after the Revolutionary War. . . .

The Swamp Fox-I have read many small articles about his war time antics but this book fully goes in depth to a history that needs to be told and read.One of the Most Important American Military figure from the American Revolution.

Took a little while to get it but was not disappointed when I got it

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