appointed by the congress of Cariaco general-in- chief, but was taken prisoner by Bennudez in Sep- tember and allowed to retire to Trinidad. He re- turned in 1819, recognizing Bolivar, and. when the latter resolved on his expedition to New Granada, he ordered Mariilo, on 2 May, 1819, to the eastern provinces, where, on 12 June, at Cantaura he fought against the royalist Col. Arama. He was a member of the congress of Angostura, and was proclaimed Jei'e del Oriente, 22 May, 1821. Dur- ing the revolution of 1827 in Venezuela, he was sent by Paez as commissioner to confer with Sucre and Bishop Estevez about peace. The commis- sioners proposed to divide the republic of Colom- bia into three independent states, but this plan was not realized until 1830. Subsequently Mariilo re- tired from public life, but in 1848 he became mili- tary commander of Caracas.
MARIO, Giuseppe, Italian opera-singer, b. in
Cagliari, Sardinia, 18 Oct., 1810; d. in Rome, 11
Dec, 1883. He was titular Marquis of Candia,
and in early manhood an officer in the service of
the Sardmian government. After a brief term of
service he left the army and went to Paris. Here
his means soon became exhausted and he was in-
duced to accept an engagement as tenor-singer at
the French opera-house. In 1838 he made his first
appearance in the leading part of Meyerbeer's
"Robert le Diable." In the following "year he
united with the troupe of the Italian opera-house,
and soon became a rival to the distinguished Ru-
bini. From 1839 until 1844 Mario sang in London
and Paris, and in 1845 he visited Russia, where he
was professionally engaged for five years. During
twenty-five years his time was divided between
Paris, London, and St. Petersburg. He came to
the United States in 1854, in company with Sig-
nora Grisi, under a six months' engagement with
James H. Haekett. At this time Mario was in the
zenith of his reputation and made a great artistic
and pecuniary success. In 1873 he again returned
to this country to repeat his former success ; but
his voice and appearance only indicated how ruth-
lessly time can deal with the graces of personality
and the musical endowments of a great vocalist.
Mario had a voice of remarkable sympathetic
quality under perfect control. In the delivery of
romanzas and serenatas he was entirely unequalled,
but in skill and method he was far surpassed by
his rival, Rubini. He created no roles, invented
no embellishments, and never rose to inspired exe-
cution. His best performances were the principal
tenor parts in " Don Pasquale," " The Barber of
Seville," " Robert le Diable." and " The Hugue-
nots." On his retirement he lived in Rome in
partial seclusion, subsisting on a moderate income,
a part of which was devoted to the welfare of his
needy and oppressed countrymen.
MARION. Francis, soldier, b. in Winyaw, near
Georgetown. S. C, in 1732 ; d. at Pond Bluff, in St.
John's parish, Berkeley district, S. C, 27 Feb., 1795.
He was a grandson of Benjamin Marion and Louise
d' Aubrey. Huguenots, who were driven from
France and came to South Carolina in 1690. Their
son Gabriel married Esther Cordes, and Francis
was the youngest of the six children of this mar-
riage. At birth he is said to have been small
enough to put mto a quart mug, and during his
childhood he was so frail and puny that it was
hardly thought he would live. After he had passed
his twelfth year he grew strong and hardy, and soon
gave evidence of remarkable energy. Like many
boys, he conceived a passion for the sea, and at
the age of sixteen embarked for the West Indies in
a small craft manned by a crew of only six sailors.
The vessel was wrecked, and the six men, escaping
in the jolly-boat, without food or water, were tossed
about on the waves for a week. Two had died of
starvation when Marion and the others were picked
up by a passing
ship. Returning
home, young Mar-
ion assisted his
father in the care
of his small plan-
tation. In 1759, a
year or two after
his father's death,
he became the
owner of a plan-
tation at Pond
Bluff, which was
his home for the
rest of his life.
But he scarcely
had time to be-
come settled in his
new home when
a war with the
Cherokees was be-
gun. It is sup-
posed that Mari-
on took part in
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Col. Montgomery's expedition to the Indian coun- try in 1760, but there is some uncertainty on this point. In 1761 the command in South Carolina devolved upon Col. James Grant, of the Royal Scots, and he was assisted by a regiment of 1,200 state troops under Col. Middleton. In this regi- ment Marion served as lieutenant, under the imme- diate command of Capt. William Moultrie. Among the other officers of this regiment who won national distinction in the Revolutionary war were Henry Laurens, Andrew Pickens, and Isaac Huger. The army, numbering about 2,600 men, marched from Fort Prince George, 7 June, 1761, and a few days afterward fought a sanguinary battle with the In- dians at Etchoee. The fight was won chiefiy by the valor of a forlorn hope of thirty men, led by Mar- ion, who stormed the principal Indian position with a loss of twenty-one men. After this victory fourteen Cherokee villages were laid in ashes, and the red men were forced to sue for peace. From this time until 1775 Marion seems to have lived quietly on his plantation. He was much admired by his neighbors for integrity, ability, courage, and rare sweetness of disposition.
In 1775 he was a delegate to the Provincial con- gress of South Carolina, which, shortly after the bat- tle of Lexington, resolved to raise 1,500 infantry, in two regiments, besides a regiment of 450 horse. IMarion was appointed captain in the second of these regiments, of which Moultrie was colonel. His commission was dated 21 June, 1775. His friend, Peter Horry, who afterward wrote a biogra- phy of him, received a captain's commission at the same time and in the same regiment. Marion took part in the bloodless capture of Fort Johnson, 14 Sept., 1775, when Lord William Campbell, the royal governor, fled to a British ship in the harbor. He was soon afterward promoted major, and during the next few months showed so much skill in or- ganization and discipline that he was called " the architect of the second regiment." In the brilliant victory of 28 June, 1776. which drove the British fleet, shattered and crestfallen, from Charleston harbor, Marion played an important part, and was soon afterward promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel in the Contmental army. The victory was so decisive as to relieve the southern states from
