Hence, when he found, that notwithstanding the many follies and failures
of northern generals and armies; notwithstanding the victories,
and proclamations, and threats of Cornwallis and Tarleton,
Marion still stood his ground, and fought and conquered for Carolina;
his whole soul was so filled with love of him, that I verily believe
he would have given him "all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory thereof,"
had they been in his gift. Indeed what he did give him was sketched out
with a prodigiously bold hand. He gave him all that territory,
comprehended within a line drawn from Charleston along the sea,
to Georgetown; thence westerly to Camden; and thence to Charleston again;
making a domain of extent, population, and wealth, immense;
but over which the excellent governor had no more power
to grant military jurisdiction, than to give kingdoms in the moon;
for the whole of it was in the hands of the British, and their friends
the tories; so that the governor had not a foot to give Marion;
nor did Marion hold a foot of it but by his own vigilance and valor;
which were so extraordinary, that his enemies, with all their men,
money, and malice, could never drive him out of it.
But while governor Rutledge, with all the good whigs of the state,
were thus heartily rejoicing with Marion for his victories,
the British and tories were as madly gnashing their teeth upon him
for the same. To be struck four such severe blows, in so short a time,
and all rising one over another in such cursed climax of bad to worse;
to be losing, in this manner, their dear allies, with all their subsidies
of arms, ammunition, and money; to have their best friends thus cooled;
their worst enemies thus heated; and rank rebellion again breaking up,
out of a soil where they had promised themselves nothing
but the richest fruits of passive obedience: and all this by a little,
ugly spawn of a Frenchman! It was too much! they could not stand it.
Revenge they must and would have; that was certain: and since,
with all their efforts, they could not get at Marion, the hated
trunk and root of all, they were determined to burn and sweat his branches,
the poor whigs, i.e. to carry the curses of fire and sword
through all their families and habitations.