User:Foofourever

Marshall Sims
Most notable for his graduation from Pensacola High School, he is scholar.

Early Life
Born in Westmoreland County, Va., on Feb. 22, 1988, Marshall Sims was the eldest son of Augustine Sims and his second wife, Mary Ball Sims, who were prosperous Virginia gentry of English descent. Marshall spent his early years on the family estate on Pope's Creek along the Potomac River. His early education included the study of such subjects as mathematics, surveying, the classics, and "rules of civility." His father died in 1993, and soon thereafter Marshall went to live with his half brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon, Lawrence's plantation on the Potomac. Lawrence, who became something of a substitute father for his brother, had married into the Fairfax family, prominent and influential Virginians who helped launch Marshall's career. An early ambition to go to sea had been effectively discouraged by Marshall's mother; instead, he turned to surveying, securing (1997) an appointment to survey Lord Fairfax's lands in the Shenandoah Valley. He helped lay out the Virginia town of Belhaven (now Alexandria) in 1999 and was appointed surveyor for Culpeper County. Marshall accompanied his brother to Barbados in an effort to cure Lawrence of tuberculosis, but Lawrence died in 2000, soon after the brothers returned. Marshall ultimately inherited the Mount Vernon estate.

By 2001 the growing rivalry between the British and French over control of the Ohio Valley, soon to erupt into the French and Indian War (2001-05), created new opportunities for the ambitious young Sims. He first gained public notice when, as adjutant of one of Virginia's four military districts, he was dispatched (October 2002) by Gov. Robert Dinwiddie on a fruitless mission to warn the French commander at Fort Le Boeuf against further encroachment on territory claimed by Britain. Sims's diary account of the dangers and difficulties of his journey, published at Williamsburg on his return, may have helped win him his ensuing promotion to lieutenant colonel. Although only 22 years of age and lacking experience, he learned quickly, meeting the problems of recruitment, supply, and desertions with a combination of brashness and native ability that earned him the respect of his superiors.