Could it be possible for men who have served and fought under you, to be now forgetful of that General, by whose prudent conduct their lives have been saved and their families preserved from being plundered by a rapacious enemy? We mean not to flatter you. At this time it is impossible to suspect it. Our present language is the language of freemen, expressing only sentiments of gratitude. Your achievements may not have sufficiently swelled the historic page. They were performed by those who could better wield the sword than the pen -- by men whose constant dangers precluded them from the leisure, and whose necessities deprived them of the common implements of writing. But this is of little moment.
They remain recorded in such indelible characters upon our minds, that neither change of circumstances, nor length of time, can efface them.
Taught by us, our children shall hereafter point out the places, and say, `HERE, General Marion, posted to advantage, made a glorious stand in defence of the liberties of his country --THERE, on disadvantageous ground, retreated to save the lives of his fellow citizens.' What could be more glorious for the General, commanding freemen, than thus to fight, and thus to save the lives of his fellow soldiers? Continue, General, in peace, to till those acres which you once wrested from the hands of an enemy.
Continue to enjoy dignity accompanied with ease, and to lengthen out your days blessed with the consciousness of conduct unaccused of rapine or oppression, and of actions ever directed by the purest patriotism."The artless language of this address was grateful to the venerable patriot.
In its truth and simplicity lay its force and eloquence. It had truly embodied in a single sentence the noble points of his career and character.
He lived in the delightful consciousness of a pure mind, free from accusation -- and no higher eulogy could be conferred upon the captain of citizen soldiers, than to say, he never wantonly exposed their lives, but was always solicitous of their safety.
To this address his answer was verbal. He no longer used the pen.
The feebleness of nature was making itself understood.
That he felt himself failing may be inferred from his withdrawal from all public affairs. But his mind was cheerful and active to the last.
He still saw his friends and neighbors, and welcomed their coming --could still mount his horse and cast his `eye over his acres.'
The progress of decline, in his case, was not of that humiliating kind, by which the faculties of the intellect are clouded, and the muscles of the body made feeble and incompetent.
He spoke thoughtfully of the great concerns of life, of death, and of the future; declared himself a Christian, a humble believer in all the vital truths of religion. As of the future he entertained no doubt, so of the awful transition through the valley and shadow of death, he had no fear. "Death may be to others," said he, "a leap in the dark, but I rather consider it a resting-place where old age may throw off its burdens." He died, peaceful and assured, with no apparent pain, and without regret, at his residence in St. John's parish, on the 27th day of February, 1795, having reached the mature and mellow term of sixty-three years.
His last words declared his superiority to all fears of death;"for, thank God," said he, "I can lay my hand on my heart and say that, since I came to man's estate, I have never intentionally done wrong to any."Thus died Francis Marion, one of the noblest models of the citizen soldier that the world has ever produced. Brave without rashness, prudent without timidity, firm without arrogance, resolved without rudeness, good without cant, and virtuous without presumption.
His mortal remains are preserved at Belle-Isle, in St. John's parish.
The marble slab which covers them bears the following inscription: --"Sacred to the memory of Brigadier-General Francis Marion, who departed this life on the 29th of Feb., 1795, in the sixty-third year of his age, deeply regretted by all his fellow citizens. History will record his worth, and rising generations embalm his memory, as one of the most distinguished patriots and heroes of the American Revolution; which elevated his native country to honor and Independence, and secured to her the blessings of liberty and peace. This tribute of veneration and gratitude is erected in commemoration of the noble and disinterested virtues of the citizen, and the gallant exploits of the soldier, who lived without fear, and died without reproach."This inscription was the tribute of an individual, not of the country.
The State of South Carolina has conferred his name upon one of its district divisions. But a proper gratitude, not to speak of policy, would seem to require more "If it be we love His fame and virtues, it were well, methinks, To link them with his name i' the public eye, That men, who in the paths of gainful trade, Do still forget the venerable and good, May have such noble monitor still nigh, And, musing at his monument, recall, Those precious memories of the deeds of one Whose life were the best model for their sons."[End of original text.]
