Back in 1959 to 1961, Walt Disney Studios put out an eight-part miniseries called “The Swamp Fox,” episodes loosely based on the exploits of South Carolina’s Francis Marion during the Revolutionary War. In those days, every Sunday evening Disney himself hosted most of the shows, and in his brief introduction to the first of the series, “The Birth of the Swamp Fox,” he set up the dire situation in the spring of 1780 when the American colonies seemed on the brink of defeat, as the British aimed to divide the colonies by attacking from the south.
“In this darkest hour of his country’s need,” Disney said, “The Swamp Fox had been born, and he and his hardy band of freedom fighters were on the move. To the American patriots who lived and fought throughout those uncertain days, Colonel Marion was a hero second only to George Washington. Even after the fighting ended, and our new nation began to expand westward, the legend of the Swamp Fox was told and retold around a thousand campfires. The result today is that there are 17 counties and 29 cities and towns scattered throughout the United States that proudly bear the name of Marion. … America’s Robin Hood of the Revolution, the Swamp Fox.”
