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General Francis Marion was one of the best fighters in the Revolution. He was a homely little man. He was also a very good man. Another general said, "Marion is good all over."

The American army had been beaten in South Carolina. Marion was sent there to keep the British from taking the whole country.

Marion got together a little army. His men had nothing but rough clothes to wear. They had no guns but the old ones they had used to shoot wild ducks and deer with.

Marion's men wanted swords. There were no swords to be had. But Marion sent men to take the long saws out of the saw mills. These were taken to blacksmiths. The blacksmiths cut the saws into pieces. These pieces they hammered out into long, sharp swords.

Marion had not so many men as the British. He had no cannon. He could not build forts. He could not stay long in one place, for fear the British should come with a strong army and take him. He and his men hid in the dark woods. Sometimes he changed his hiding place suddenly. Even his own friends had hard work to find him.

From the dark woods he would come out suddenly. He would attack some party of British soldiers. When the battle was over, he would go back to the woods again.

When the British sent a strong army to catch him, he could not be found. But soon he would be fighting the British in some new place. He was always playing hide and seek.

The British called him the Swamp Fox. That was because he was so hard to catch. They could not conquer the country until they could catch Marion. And they never could catch the Swamp Fox. At one time Marion came out of the woods to take a little British fort. This fort was on the top of a high mound. It was one of the mounds built a long time ago by the Indians.

Marion put his men all around the fort, so that the men in the fort could not get out to get water. He thought that they would have to give up. But the men in the fort dug a well inside the fort. Then Marion had to think of another plan.

Marion's men went to the woods and cut down stout poles. They got a great many poles. When night came, they laid a row of poles alongside one another on the ground. Then they laid another row across these. Then they laid another row on top of the last ones, and across the other way again.

They laid a great many rows of poles one on top of another. They crossed them this way and that. As the night went on, the pile grew higher. Still they handed poles to top of the pile.

Before morning came, they had built a kind of tower. It was higher than the Indian mound.

As soon as it was light, the men on Marion's tower began to shoot. The British looked out. They saw a great tower with men on it. The men could shoot down into the fort. The British could not stand it. They had to give up. They were taken prisoners.

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary words.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

General Francis Marion led a ragtag group of American soldiers against the British in South Carolina. General Marion didn't have the manpower or the weapons to fight the large British armies. Instead, he and his men hid in the woods, attacked small parties of British soldiers, and then vanished back into the swampy forests of South Carolina. The British called him the 'Swamp Fox', because he was so hard to catch. One time, General Marion surrounded a British fort built on an Indian mound. General Marion thought the British would get thirsty and come out. But the British dug a well inside the fort and had enough water. One night, Marion quickly built a tower using layers of wooden poles. When morning arrived, Marion and his men fired down into the British fort. The British gave up and were taken prisoners.

Vocabulary

Swamp: Low-lying land where water collects.
Fort: A fortified building or strategic position.
Indian Mound: A raised mass of earth made by the Indians for various purposes including performances, rituals, and burial of their dead.
Pole: A long, slender, rounded piece of wood or metal.

Concepts

In the story, General Marion builds a tower to enable his men to climb higher than the walls of the British fort.

In military terms, this is called 'advantage of terrain.'

  1. Elevation or height, is one example of 'advantage of terrain', where terrain means 'the features of an area of land.'
  2. Other advantages of terrain include mountains, rivers, forests, cliffs, oceans, and dense vegetation.
  3. General Marion hiding in the dark forest is another example of advantage of terrain.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Story

  • After reading or listening to the story, narrate the story events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Color the Story   

  • Click the crayon above, and complete page 26 of 'History Coloring Pages for First Grade.'

Activity 3: Map the Story

  • In the chapter, General Marion led a ragtag group of American soldiers against the British in South Carolina. Find South Carolina (SC) on the map below.

Activity 4: Model the Story

  • Study the picture of General Marion's tower.
  • Use Legos or blocks to build the British fort with 4 low walls. Build your fort on top of a couple thick books book to model the Indian mound.
  • Next, build a high tower next to your fort. The tower must be higher than the walls of the fort.
  • Simulate firing weapons by gently tossing small legos into the fort, both at ground-level and from the top of the tower.
  • Imagine standing on top of the tower vs standing on the ground. Which position makes it easier to shoot into the fort?

Review

Question 1

Why did the British call General Marion the 'Swamp Fox?'
1 / 4

Answer 1

General Marion attacked and then retreated into the swampy woods, like a wily swamp fox.
1 / 4

Question 2

When General Marion wanted to take the British fort, what was the very first thing he did?
2 / 4

Answer 2

General Marion surrounded the fort with his men to block the British from obtaining water.
2 / 4

Question 3

How did the British continue to get water?
3 / 4

Answer 3

The British built a well inside the fort.
3 / 4

Question 4

How did General Marion capture the fort?
4 / 4

Answer 4

General Marion and his men built a high tower that enabled them to shoot down into the fort.
4 / 4

  1. Why did the British call General Marion the 'Swamp Fox?' General Marion attacked and then retreated into the swampy woods, like a wily swamp fox.
  2. When General Marion wanted to take the British fort, what was the very first thing he did? General Marion surrounded the fort with his men to block the British from obtaining water.
  3. How did the British continue to get water? The British built a well inside the fort.
  4. How did General Marion capture the fort? General Marion and his men built a high tower that enabled them to shoot down into the fort.

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