The Swamp Fox and the Gamecock

No, this is not the name of a tale from Aesop's Fables. These are two men who became heroes in the Revolutionary War as it played out in South Carolina. Francis Marion supposedly got his nickname from British officer, Lt. Col. Banastre (Bloody) Tarleton, who became disgusted after pursuing Marion for eight hours on a thirty-five mile chase through the swamps of the Lowcountry. Tarleton called off the hunt for "this damned old fox." Thomas Sumter was nicknamed "the fighting gamecock" by Tarleton because of his fierce fighting tactics.