there is some stuff in the movie that is derogatory to Gen Marion and not true. be sure and read this from the Claremont Institute. My gfs - McCANTS - STANDARD - HODGES - GOTEA (Gottier-Gauthier) fought with Marion along with most all of their brothers and cousins (there were a lot of them, very large families). By the time it was over their homes and lands were destroyed and they had to come from scratch again. My gf Lt. Nathaniel McCants was at the fall of Charleston and imprisoned by the British. My gf John Hodges gathered up all the Hodges kin in NC & the Old Cheraw Dist of SC where he lived enlisted them in the SC Reg and went to Sullivan's Island. The Goteas lived on Black Mingo Creek in the Pee Dee and all their kin McCONNEL's, NESMITHS, BARR, BROWN, etc were active in the swamps. While the Battle of McCants Avenue was waged in Jacksonboro (Walterboro-Colleton Co.) and included a 12 year old cousin. josie love, mama >From: precepts@claremont.org >To: jbass@digital.net >Subject: Claremont Institute Precepts: Movie Critics Swamp the Swamp Fox >Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 10:51:21 -0700 >X-Mailer: Allaire ColdFusion Application Server > > >The Claremont Institute--PRECEPTS| | June 28, 2000 >Visit <http://www.claremont.org>| | No. 231 > >Movie Critics Swamp the Swamp Fox >By Thomas L. Krannawitter > >Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" opens in theaters across America >today. Gibson's character, Benjamin Martin, is modeled >partly on Francis Marion, the legendary "Swamp Fox" of >South Carolina. > >There are two things about Marion that offend the >sensibilities of modern audiences: The first is that he was >a slaveholder. The second is that he is now accused of >committing horrid atrocities against the Cherokee. > >The first charge, at least, is grounded in real history. >Like many others during the Founding period, Marion did own >slaves. More importantly however, is that also like these >other men, Marion risked life and limb to found the first >country in the history of the world on the principles of >equal natural rights, government by consent, and the rule >of law. Abraham Lincoln described this generation as "men >of iron." > >The charge of hunting down Indians for sport, now being >circulated in the British press, appears to be something >contrived. In a letter to a friend written during the >Cherokee wars, Marion noted that some of the soldiers >enjoyed the "cruel work" of burning down Cherokee >villages, "laughing heartily at the curling flames." But >Marion thought such behavior unnecessary and unjust, and >wrote that "we surely need not grudge [them] such miserable >habitations." And when it came to chopping down Cherokee >crops, Marion records that he "could scarcely refrain from >tears." > >Marion and his militia -- a ragtag band of white and black >soldiers known as "the Irregulars" -- kept the Revolution >alive in South Carolina in the face of the greatest army >then assembled on the earth. There exists a popular >anecdote of Marion which captures wonderfully how resolute >these great men were: Seeking an exchange of prisoners, a >British officer went to negotiate terms with Marion. The >British officer was surprised and somewhat taken aback by >the dreadful condition of Marion and his troops. They were >working without pay, clothed in rags, and living in the >middle of swampland. At the invitation of Marion, the >British officer stayed to dine with Marion and some of his >men. To the disgust and amazement of the officer, the menu >consisted of nothing but sweet potatoes and water! After >returning to his own troops and describing the awful >conditions he witnessed, the officer remarked that the >Americans were suffering all this misery for the cause of >liberty. "What chance have we against such men!" he >exclaimed to his British comrades. > >In earlier times, Americans revered the name of Marion. No >doubt this was partly due to the romantic legend created by >biographer Parson Weems in the early nineteenth century. >Like the cherry tree myth of Washington, Weems sought to >popularize the courage, honor, justice and patriotism of >this great soldier. And his fellow Americans thought the >name and memory of Marion worth preserving as well. It is >no coincidence that today one finds across the country >streets, parks, towns, and counties bearing the >name "Marion." > >Of course, the Americans who named these things were of a >different stock than those today who think multiculturalism >a virtue, and patriotism a vice. > >Like the great general of the American Revolution, George >Washington, Marion was successful not because he won every >battle, but because he did effectively the one thing the >Americans had to do to win the war: He kept an army >together and refused to quit. This spirit of perseverance >is one of the pillars upon which America was built. This >manliness -- a word little used today -- was the reason >patriotic Americans made flags that bore the legend, "Don't >Tread on Me." > >America's Founders believed freedom required limited >government. But limited government, and therefore freedom, >required many things from the people. It demanded sobriety, >industriousness, self-assertion, and self-restraint. It >required vigilance. As James Madison observed in Federalist >55, self-government "presupposes the existence of these >qualities in a higher degree than any other form." The >story of Francis Marion provides a vivid example of the >kind of virtues Americans must cultivate if we intend to >remain free. > >And speaking of cultivating virtue, we are happy to report >the Supreme Court today upheld the right of the Boy Scouts >to determine their own membership standards. For more >information about that case, go to >http://www.claremont.org/publications/bsavictorypr000628.cfm >or visit our home page at http://www.claremont.org. > >Thomas L. Krannawitter is the Claremont Institute's >Director of Academic Programs. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Copyright (c) 2000 The Claremont Institute > >To subscribe to Precepts, go to: http://www.claremont.org/1_precepts.cfm , >or e-mail us at info@claremont.org . >To be removed from this list, go to : >http://www.claremont.org/remove_public.cfm , or e-mail us at >info@claremont.org . >For general correspondence or additional information about the Claremont >Institute, e-mail : info@claremont.org , or visit our website at : >http://www.claremont.org . >Changing your e-mail address? 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