Francis Marian, a second-generation immigrant, was of French decent. As a youth, he rode his horse through the streams, lakes, and swamps, learning the lay of the land. He was shipwrecked but survived to fight in the Indian War, and it was there he learned the guerilla warfare. The name was given to him by the British soldiers. He and his men lived off the land fighting, running, and hiding. He truly was a "Swamp Fox."