ROBERT DUNCAN BASS (September 25, 1904 - May 11, 1983) was an American writer. Born in Scranton, South Carolina (Florence County) to a farmer, Fletcher Graves Bass, and Bertha (Matthews) Bass as the eldest of 11 children, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (1934-1940), reaching the rank of commander, and the U.S. Navy (1940-1946). He owned and operated WCQG radio station. He attended the Columbia Presbyterian Theological Seminary from 1925-1927, receiving his Bachelor's Degree in 1926, Master's Degree in 1927, and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1933. He continued his post-doctoral studies at the University of London, Cambridge University in 1951-1952, and Johns Hopkins… University in 1952. One of the nation's leading scholars of the American Revolution in South Carolina, Dr. Bass was a professor at several prestigious colleges and universities across the country, including the University of South Carolina (1927-1940), the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD (1941-1957), Furman University in Greenville, SC (1957-1963), and Erskine College in Due West, SC (1963-1965). He turned to writing full-time in 1970 and published several books, including Swamp Fox: The Life and Campaigns of General Francis Marion; Gamecock: The Life and Campaigns of General Thomas Sumter; The Green Dragoon: The Lives of Banastre Tarleton and Mary Robinson; and Ninety Six: The Struggle for the South Carolina Backcountry. He was inducted into the SC Hall of Fame in 1980, received an honorary plague from the American Revolution Round Table in 1959 for Swap Fox (Best Book on the Revolution), and was awarded a certificate of commendation from the American Association of State and Local History. Dr. Bass was married to writer Virginia Wauchope and had two sons, Robert Wauchope and George Fletcher. He died in Marion County, SC in 1983 at the age of 78.