Editing Francis Marion (section)

==Early life==
Francis Marion was born in [[Berkeley County, South Carolina|Berkeley County]], Province of South Carolina, around 1732. His father Gabriel Marion was a [[Huguenots|Huguenot]] who emigrated to the [[Thirteen Colonies]] from [[Kingdom of France|France]] at some point prior to 1700 due to the [[Edict of Fontainebleau]] and became a [[Planter class|slaveowning planter]].<ref>''Southern and Western Monthly Magazine and Review'', Volume 1, 1845, page 210.</ref> Marion was born on his family's [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|plantation]], and at approximately the age of 15, he was hired on a [[merchant ship]] bound for the [[West Indies]] which sank on his first voyage; him and five other crew members escaped on a lifeboat but had to spend one week at sea before reaching land.<ref name="Smithsonian" /> In the following years, Marion managed the family's plantation, including overseeing the activities of the family's [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]].<ref name="Smithsonian" />