Image of the Week: Francis Marion (1776)

 

Today’s picture comes from the New York Public Library Gallery and features Francis Marion, a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. The 18th century image depicted shows Marion jumping out of a second story window. Though the scene seems simply comical, it is actually an account of a historically true event. Marion once attended a dinner party with a few friends and noticed that all of the doors to the house had been locked while toasts were going on. This was the custom of the time but Marion was unaware of it. The party continued but Marion began to feel trapped and chose to “escape” through the second story window of the house. This resulted in a broken ankle and, in turn, forced him to return home to recuperate. Ironically, his injury actually ended up saving his life as he was home when his troops were captured by the British in Charleston that May.

 

Crawford, Amy. “The Swamp Fox | Biography | Smithsonian Magazine.” History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian Magazine. 1 July 2007. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/biography/fox.html>.