Talk:Francisco's Fight

Marker
The VA historical marker mentioned in this article begins something like this: FRANCISCO'S FIGHT At West Creek near here, Peter Francisco single-handedly subdued nine of Tarleton's feared dragoons in hand-to-hand combat. Francisco escaped with their horses to warn General Gates that Tarleton's troops were in the area. 75.75.10.128 03:27, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

No reliable source. Propose merge into Peter Francisco
Peter Francisco was 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 260 pounds. Supposedly, a dragoon, presumably somewhat experienced in fighting, bent down in front of this giant to remove Francisco’s shoe buckles. The other eight dragoons ran off, leaving their horses behind.

The story is unsubstantiated, lacking even a date, based solely on a claim by someone seeking government money. Francisco’s two letters didn’t agree. Later accounts are admitted to be “embellished“. The article “Peter Francisco“ adds that “Legend has it that… Washington commissioned a special six-foot broadsword. However, the weapon has since disappeared.”

Boatner’s Encyclopedia of the American revolution covers the tale in one sentence. Edgar and Buchanan don’t mention him at all; nor do Bass, Hibbert, Scotti, Knight, or Hoock. To me that spells legend not history.

Therefore, I propose that the content of this article be merged into “Peter Francisco“ under the subheading “the legend of Francisco‘s fight”. There, it can have all the 19th-century stories, illustrations, and tourist signs. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 22:45, 10 July 2023 (UTC)


 * I have added the heading “the legend of Francisco‘s fight” to the article Peter Francisco. Unfortunately, extracting the relevant information from Francisco’s fight, splicing it into the article Peter Francisco, and getting rid of Francisco‘s fight is a bigger job than I am able to undertake. I must leave it as a recommendation. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 03:13, 24 October 2023 (UTC)