sight of the ships in the Georgetown harbor, Marion, at 15, began and ended his brief career as a sailor. He joined the crew of a schooner bound for the West Indies. On the homeward leg of the journey, a whale attacked the ship. The damage was bad enough to sink the vessel, and the crew had to take to the open sea in a lifeboat. In the seven days until the boat reached land, two of the six crewmen died of dehydration. The life-threatening ordeal ended any romantic illusions Marion had concerning the life of the seaman. He returned to the familyÆs farm, where he remained until the beginning of his military career at 25.
On January 31, 1756, Marion and his brother Gabriel enlisted in the South Carolina Militia. The French and Indian wars had been under way for several years, but the fighting had remained concentrated in the Northern Colonies bordering Canada and had not, as yet, reached as far south as the Carolinas. Recently, however, the Cherokees living along the western frontier of South Carolina had begun to show signs of hostility. In response,
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