The "Palmetto Patriot" is a fictional character (Samuel Huger) placed as an aide and observer among four very real players in the long and difficult struggle for American independence. Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette and John Laurens, who were sometimes referred to as "my three sons" by George Washington, and a little understood military leader in South Carolina named Francis Marion, who was colorfully called "The Swamp Fox" by his British adversaries, are the pivotal characters in "The Southern Strategy," the British plan of 1779-1781 for South Carolina. Having reached a stalemate with General Washington in the north, British General Clinton sent his fleet and army south in 1779. The plan was to take Savannah and Charleston, march north through the Carolinas and Virginia and trap Washington. With historically accurate recounting of the movements and battles, author Lee informs and entertains readers young and old with the successes and failures experienced by the British, French and American forces during this phase of the Revolutionary War.