bject, he proceeded with two hundred picked men on his secret
expedition.

By a forced march, he crossed the country from St. Stephen's to the
Edisto--passing through both lines of the enemy's communication with
Charleston, and reached Harden--a distance of one hundred miles--in
season for his relief. His approach and arrival were totally unsuspected
by the enemy, for whom he prepared an ambush in a swamp near Parker's
ferry. A small body of his swiftest horse were sent out to decoy the
British into the snare. A white feather, rather too conspicuously worn
by one of his men in ambush, had nearly defeated his design. Some Tories
passing, discovered this unnecessary plumage, and one of them fired upon
the wearer. This led to an exchange of shots; but Major Frazier, by whom
the British were commanded, assuming the party thus concealed to be that
of Harden, whom it was his aim to find, pursued the horsemen whom Marion
had sent out to entice him to the ambuscade. His cavalry was led at full
charge within forty yards of the concealed riflemen. A deadly fire was
poured in, under which the British recoiled; attempting to wheel and
charge the swamp, they received a second; and, closely wedged as their
men were upon the narrow causeway over which they came, every shot bore
its warrant. There was no retreating, no penetrating the ambush, and the
British cavalry had but to go forward, along the road to the ferry, thus
passing the entire line of the ambuscade. The corps was most effectually
thinned by the time it got beyond rifle reach; and still more fatal
would have been the affray to the advancing infantry of Frazier--a large
body, with a field-piece--but for one of those lamentable deficiencies
of materiel, which so frequently plucked complete success from the grasp
of the Americans. The ammunition of our partisan failed him, and he was
compelled to yield the ground to the enemy, who was otherwise wholly in
his power. The British loss was unknown. Twenty-seven dead horses were
counted on the field the day after; the men had all been buried. As
Marion's men fired with either a ball or heavy buck-shot, and as none
would aim at horses, the loss of the British must have been very great.
Nine days after, at the battle of Eutaw, they had few cavalry in the
field.

But, though the victory was incomplete, Marion had attained his object.
He had rescued Harden, without loss to himself. He had traversed more
than two hundred miles of coun