The great majority of changes in this electronic edition, from the original, are in spelling (some words are spelled both ways in the original). To wit:
partizan :: partisan. merchandize :: merchandise. duresse :: duress. ancle :: ankle. swamp-fox :: swamp fox. (The modern spelling.) co-operate :: cooperate. bivouack :: bivouac. head-quarters :: headquarters. secresy :: secrecy. patrole :: patrol.
A number of spellings which might be considered errors, and might not, have been retained, where they are less likely to interfere with reading.
When the true facts were known, either from context or outside reading, a few other errors were corrected. A couple are footnoted in the text. Otherwise, the larger changes are:
Chapter 5 (p. 59 of the original): "Weems, in his life of our author"
has been changed to "Weems, in his life of our subject".
Chapter 6 (p. 80): "while the second North Carolina regiment"
has been changed to "while the second South Carolina regiment".
Chapter 14, last paragraph (p. 239): "Mrs. Moultrie"
has been changed to "Mrs. Motte".
These errors are not merely represented here for their scholastic interest, but also to give the reader an appreciation of the types of errors which Simms was frequently subject to make. Many have most certainly not been caught—if I had not lived in the Waxhaw area, I certainly would not have known of the error (footnoted in the text) which replaced 'Waxhaw' with 'Warsaw'—two very different regions. Names are particularly prone to error, not only by Simms, but from the whole revolutionary era in the South—many of the people were only semi-literate, if literate at all, and many of the names have been spelled several, even a dozen ways—sometimes even by the individual named. For all this, the errors of Simms are generally minor, and will not prevent the reader from a true appreciation of both Marion and Simms.
Alan R. Light, Birmingham, Alabama. December, 1996.
All books are sourced from Project Gutenberg