General Francis Marion inviting a British officer to share his meal. With the British in charge of the city of Charleston, the war in South Carolina became one of guerilla warfare, with the British trying to pacify the countryside, while patriot forces harassed them whenever they moved, and took advantage of their vulnerability when they extended their lines of communication too far. Most successful at these tactics were Francis Marion (the "Swamp Fox") and Thomas Sumter (see Thomas Sumter). Marion and his men lived off the plain food they foraged as they moved through the swampy areas of the coast. In this engraving, based on a famous painting by John Blake White, Marion offers a British officer a meal of sweet potatoes.
Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
Standards
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the process which led to the formation of the U.S. government, including the convening of the Continental Congresses, the passage of the Articles of Confederation, and the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
- 8.2.CO Compare the motives and demographics of loyalists and patriots within South Carolina and the colonies.
- Political and economic developments underscored how the colonists in British North America had become uniquely American, prompting the development of a new nation. Drawing on their experience under British rule, the founding generation created a government with shared powers between the state and federal institutions.
