Manning in Clarendon County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Ambush At Benbow's Ferry

Photographed by C Summers, November 30, 2020

1. Ambush at Benbow's Ferry Marker

Inscription. William Dobein James, who rode with General Francis Marion during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, wrote in 1821 about L/C Tarleton following Marion "...as he (Tarleton) says, 'for seven hours, through swamps and defiles.' In fact he pursued about twenty-five miles, when arriving at Ox Swamp, which was wide and miry, and without a road to pass it, he desisted, saying to his men, 'Come my boys! Let us go back, and we will soon find the Gamecock, but as for this d----d old fox the devil himself could not catch him.'.... Had Tarleton proceeded with his jaded horses to Benbow's, he would have exposed his force to such sharp shooting as he had not yet experienced, and that in a place where he could not have acted either with his artillery or cavalry."

Erected 2019 by Swamp Fox Murals Trail Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Francis Marion Trail series list.

Location. 33° 41.433′ N, 80° 12.783′ W. Marker is in Manning, South Carolina, in Clarendon County.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

It can be reached from the intersection of Sunset Drive (U.S. 301) and South Boundary Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 36 Sunset Drive, Manning SC 29102, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South Carolina’s Pee Dee

and in Santee Cooper Country.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Citizen Soldier 220 Years Ago (within shouting distance of this marker); Help for Marion's Militia, 1780-1781 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Swamp Fox at Ox Swamp (approx. 0.3 miles away); Clarendon County / Manning (approx. 0.3 miles away); Clarendon County Confederate Monument (approx. 0.3 miles

Photographed by C Summers

2. Ambush At Benbow's Ferry Marker

away); Clarendon County Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); Battle of Wyboo Swamp (approx. 0.3 miles away); Murray's Ferry - Santee River (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manning.

Also see . . . Swamp Fox Murals Trail. Includes a link to the Clarendon County Tour App! (Submitted on December 6, 2020.)

Additional commentary.
1. "But as for this d----d old fox the devil himself could not catch him."
Related to the sentence on the marker by British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, each mural of The Swamp Fox Mural Trail has a fox hidden within the mural. The moniker "Swamp Fox" was given to Francis Marion by Tarleton, who was frustrated in his attempts to catch Marion. In this mural, the fox is in the bottom right corner.

— Submitted August 1, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.

Photographed by C Summers, July 18, 2019

3. Ambush at Benbow's Ferry Marker

Photographed by C Summers, July 22, 2019

4. Ambush at Benbow's Ferry Marker

Photographed by C Summers, July 18, 2019

5. Ambush at Benbow's Ferry Marker

The hidden presence of Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" at the bottom right corner of the mural image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, April 6, 2024

6. The hidden presence of Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" at the bottom right corner of the mural

Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 30, 2020, by C Summers of Manning, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 877 times since then and 76 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 30, 2020, by C Summers of Manning, South Carolina. 2. submitted on December 6, 2020, by C Summers of Manning, South Carolina. 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 30, 2020, by C Summers of Manning, South Carolina. 6. submitted on August 1, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.