Dr. Hunt delivers program on Swamp Fox a DAR

Dr. Warren Hunt and Joan Smith

Members of the Samuel Paul Dinkins chapter DAR met in the family room of the First Christian Church at their spring meeting. Hostesses Jan Wylie, Billie Southwell, Dorothy Brooks, Dell Birdsong, Judy Carpenter, and Rachel Brian treated members to a seated dinner

The meeting was called to order by Joan Smith, Regent, who with the assistance of Martha Smith, Chaplain, led members in the DAR Ritual, the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, the Salute to the Texas State Flag, and the National Anthem. Judy Carpenter gave the National Defense Report on the impact of deployment on the families of military personnel. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology measured the impact on military and non-military families. The rate of abuse and neglect (called maltreatment) on military families has doubled since October 2002 when the U.S. started sending larger numbers of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Non-military family rates were not affected.

Carroll Bolton introduced Dr. Warren Hunt, who is the Registrar for Chapter 57, Sons of the American Revolution and who has a medical practice in Longview. Dr. Hunt gave a program about Francis Marion, known during the Revolutionary War as the "Swamp Fox."

Francis Marion, an American hero, was born near Georgetown, South Carolina, about 1732. As a descendant of French Huguenots who settled on the Santee River, he received a country school education and then, at age 16, went to sea. In the early 1760's, he served under William Moultrie fighting against the Cherokees. After serving in two campaigns, he distinguished himself as a lieutenant of the militia.

With the outbreak of war in 1775, Marion became increasingly prominent in the patriot cause. Once again, he fought under Moultrie in a number of early battles. In August 1780, Marion commanded guerrilla warfare against the Loyalists along the Peedee and Santee Rivers. Turning upon the British, Marion cut their supply lines, outran Sir Banister Tarleton's Dragoons, raided Georgetown, retired to snow's Island, and then again raided Georgetown. He had great fighting skills. He rose to Brigadier General because of his intuitive grasp of strategy and tactics. Daring and elusive, he usually struck at night and then vanished into the swamps and morasses of the south. The "Swamp Fox" returned to his plantation after the war and served in the South Carolina Senate where he sponsored legislative measures giving fair treatment for the remaining Loyalists.

Members present were: Dell Birdsong, Carroll Bolton, Rachel Brian, Dorothy Brooks, Nancy Bullock, Judy Carpenter, Kathryn Dean, Eloise Duncan, Frankie Florey, Pudge Griffin, Margaret Griffin, Jeanette Holt, Margaret Merritt, Sylvia Nelson, Francye Phillips, Joan Smith, Martha smith, Billie Southwell, and Jan Wylie. Guests were John Bolton, Dr. Warren Hunt, and Norma Hunt.