Marion's "Brigade," as his company was called, was made up of only a handful of men, usually less than one hundred. But they owned and rode the swiftest horses, carried their own guns, and wore their own swords, hammered out of old saws by country blacksmiths.
FRANCIS MARION
After the portrait in the painting by T. Stothard, R.A.
Marion and his men seldom were two successive nights in the same place. The night was their time for work. At sundown they swung into their saddles, and were soon riding for the enemy's camp. When near, they quietly surrounded the camp, took aim by the light of the fires, fired, and then rushed upon the frightened British or Tories, and cut them down with their terrible broadswords.
How they escaped
Before daybreak, Marion and his men were hiding safely in some distant swamp or other safe place. If the British chased him too closely his men scattered in different directions, but always made their way to the common hiding place. In a few days they were ready to strike again.
ONE OF MARION'S MEN
One hundred fifty prisoners set free