When Ben Zeigler led a Francis Marion tour through the state three years ago, he was baffled at how few sites were marked and how little information existed about the war hero's history.

"We've got incredibly significant sites that are unexplored, unappreciated and unknown," he said.

Zeigler, a Florence attorney who has been intrigued by Marion since he was a young boy, decided the Swamp Fox deserves an official Francis Marion Trail, and the state could use the profits a tourist trail would generate.

In the past year, he organized a trail commission with local committees, and received $110,000 from the state. Now he wants each of the 10 counties included on the trail to contribute $7,500.

The trail will map out a driving route to take tourists through 10 Lowcountry and Pee Dee counties, including Berkeley and Charleston, pointing out where Marion's men skirmished with the British and the plantations and fields they slept in on the way.

The Swamp Fox, who led an unlikely group of men through the backwoods to defeat the British and rescue America's diminishing chances of victory in the Revolutionary War, is too important to overlook, Zeigler said.

A road trail with interpretive centers and interstate billboards could teach more people about Marion's role in the war and could attract more people to the counties in need of a big economic boost.

"Let's get these people off the interstate and on the back roads," Zeigler said. "This is going to create a return for the people of South Carolina. We'll get back a lot more than we put in."

The project was almost stunted in June after Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed the House's and Senate's approval of the project's funding, but the Legislature overrode the veto. The trail could face similar obstacles at the local level.

Dennis Fish, Berkeley County councilman and finance committee chair, said the trail is a great idea but it likely won't get funding because the county doesn't give money to nonprofits.

Zeigler said it is only fair that local governments contribute to a project they will benefit from, but said the trail will still be built without their financial support. He did not know if or how much counties' contributions would influence the trail's route.

If other counties approve the funding, Fish said the council might reconsider.

Charleston County has not responded to the commission's request to organize a local advisory committee.

Local tourism officials said the project has potential for great success, but it will take many years before any money rolls in.

"The success depends on local involvement and local commitment," said Marion Edmonds of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. "Outside can give technical support, but at the end of the day, it depends on the people who live there to stay behind it."

Contact Jamie McGee at jmcgee@postandcourier.com or 745-5856.