General Brigadier Francis Marion, known as the "Swamp Fox," was one of the fathers of modern guerilla warfare. The Patriot, a film by Mel Gibson, was influenced by Marion's military exploits.

A Georgetown native, Marion was famous for his uncanny ability to elude and outsmart British forces. He typically led groups of irregular troops – soldiers who fought without pay, supplied their own arms and horses, and in many cases, even their own food. Many of their supplies were captured from British or Loyalist armies.

Some Brits still feel pangs of resentment from Marion's guerilla styling. British author Neil Norman, writing in The Evening Standard, called Marion "a thoroughly unpleasant dude who was, basically, a terrorist."

Of course, Americans, past and present, feel otherwise. General Nathanael Greene praised Marion's leadership when he wrote, "Surrounded on every side by a superior force, hunted from every quarter with veteran troops you (Marion) have found means to elude their attempts and to keep alive the expiring hopes of an oppressed militia, when all succour seemed to be cut off."

Today Marion is widely considered a hero of the American Revolution – one who not only fought against tremendous odds but was indispensable in securing America's freedom.