We recently celebrated a birthday party for one of my grandsons. I decided to combine the birthday celebration with some fun history. SO…We had a Swamp Fox party. It was so much fun!
Francis Marion – The Swamp Fox
If you aren’t familiar with Francis Marion, you need to be. Heroes are something that our kids need. He was important in the War of Independence. He led a group of men who were a type of Rangers. They hid in the swampy land he was familiar with. They would attack the British and duck back into the swampy areas. It was British general Banastre Tarleton who gave him that name because he seemed impossible to catch or sneak up on. The name stuck. Anyway, he fought the British successfully in South Carolina. If you want more information on the Swamp Fox, we have several resources I’ll list at the bottom of the post.
Here is what we did for the party. I ordered three corner hats from Amazon. We had 8 little boys, so I ordered 2 packs of 4 hats. Then I found these great raccoon tails on keychain hooks to hook onto the hats as well as feathers to let the kids attach to their hats.
If you know the story, a British officer came on a prisoner exchange. Francis Marion invited him to stay for supper. All they had for supper were sweet potatoes cooked on the fire and served on bark for plates.
The officer asked if that was all they ate and he told him it was more than usual since they had company. Then the officer said, “You must be paid well to live this way.” Marion told him they were not paid anything. “Why do you do it then? the officer inquired. For the love of liberty, they told him. He went back to the British camp, resigned his commission, and went back to England. He said the British would never win over men who were willing to sacrifice so much for the cause of freedom.
The Swamp Fox Party Menu was :
Roasted sweet potatoes served on real bark
Roasted possum (aka roast pork)
Swamp water to drink (aka chocolate milk)
Served in tin cups such as the men would have carried with them for drinking
Mississippi Mud Cake for dessert
I found these plates for the kids – they looked like bark
I also gave each boy a cap gun
We made flags and attached them to sticks. Every boy was the Swamp Fox.
Disney back in the 50’s had a few episodes on their TV show of the Swamp Fox and they sing a cute song that one of my grandsons taught the other boys.
Rick told the boys the story of the Swamp Fox to begin the party so they knew the significance of what we were doing. It was so much fun and the boys are still singing the song!
Swamp Fox Resources:
Portraits of Integrity contains his story along with 44 other stories from history
- Mega Bundle for Homeschooling - March 11, 2025
- Swamp Fox Party – Celebrating Francis Marion - March 18, 2024
- Character-Mega-Bundle - February 5, 2024
