When I was in high school, I wrote report on Banestre Tarleton. I do not remember why I chose him. I certainly was not a Tory, but I must have been attracted to his villainy. It seems appropriate to explore this fascinating man again, after almost 50 years, because today is the anniversary of his birth.
Banestre was born on August 21, 1754. He was the son of a merchant in England. His father was mayor of Liverpool at one time and made a fortune in the slave trade. When he died, he left Banestre a fortune, which he proceeded to blow on women and gambling in just one year. Handsome and charming, he was a womanizer his whole life, sometimes seducing women to win a bet. His sudden poverty ended his goal of being a lawyer. Instead his family bought him a commission in the army. He was in the cavalry and at age 21 was shipped to the Colonies to play a role in the American Revolution. And what a role he played! In 1776, he led a group of horsemen who captured Gen. Charles Lee. Lee was Washington’s second in command, so at the time this seemed a terrible blow. Lee turned out to be overrated and a thorn in Washington’s side, so maybe it was good that he was out of Washington’s hair for a while. It could be argued that Tarleton lost the Revolution by capturing Lee. Lee was not with Washington to either convince him not to attack Trenton or to botch the operation.
Tarleton was given command of the British Legion (which soon became known as “Tarleton’s Raiders”, although some historians claim the name was written into history decades later). He participated in most of the major battles in the North. He had a reputation for being dashing and daring, but also reckless. He was sent South to join Gen. Charles Cornwallis’ army. In 1780, his raiders caught up to a colonial force and proceeded to bloody them up quite a bit. The colonial commander waved a white flag and asked for quarter. Soon after, a musket ball hit Tarleton’s horse unhorsing him. His enraged men, thinking their beloved leader killed, began to slaughter the Americans. 109 were killed (but 203 were captured). It was the dead that colonial propagandists focused on and Tarleton became a bete noire for patriots. “Tarleton’s quarter” was associated with the Waxhaws Massacre, as the colonials called it. He became known as “Butcher Ban” Tarleton (another nickname some historians dispute). He spent some frustrating weeks chasing Francis Marion. In 1781, the patriots got revenge by thrashing him in the Battle of Cowpens. He was defeated in the most perfect victory in American History. At the end of the battle, there was a Hollywood-like duel between him and Col. William Washington (Daniel Morgan’s cavalry commander). Both men were wounded by saber slashes. Washington chased Tarleton 16 miles before he managed to escape. It is likely that had he not been trounced at Cowpens, Cornwallis’ campaign would not have ended in defeat at Yorktown. At the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Tarleton lost two fingers to a musket ball. He failed to capture Governor Thomas Jefferson in a raid on Williamsburg as his career continued its downward slide. He surrendered along with Cornwallis army at Yorktown. He was the only senior British officer not invited to a dinner for the defeated.
When the war ended, he returned to England where he was elected to Parliament. He supported the slave trade. He continued to bed a lot of women. For a while his mistress was a beauty who had been the mistress of the Prince of Wales. He stayed in the army and rose to Lt. General. He was considered for command of the army in Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars. The command went to Arthur Wellesley (the future Wellington). He became a baron in 1815 and was knighted in 1820. He died in 1833. Below is his famous portrait by Joshua Reynolds.
P.S. The character called Tavington in Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot” was based on Tarleton. Please note: I did not mention him burning a church with the congregation inside. Because it never happened.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banastre_Tarleton
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/banastre-tarleton
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bloody-ban-tarleton-born-in-britain
https://allthingsliberty.com/2016/08/top-10-banastre-tarleton-myths/
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