The British Legion was a elite British provincial

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

established during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, composed of British Loyalist American infantry and dragoons. It was colloquially known as Tarleton's Raiders, the Green Devils, the Green Horse, and the Green Dragoons, after the British officer who led most of its day-to-day activities, Lieutenant Colonel

Banastre Tarleton Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolution. He later served in Portu ...

, and the green uniform coats of its officers. It was a unit the size of a

, consisting of artillery, cavalry, and light infantry, and able to operate independently.

Regiment formed

This unit was raised in New York in July 1778 by Sir Henry Clinton"Oatmeal for the Foxhounds" website, http://www.banastretarleton.org in order to merge several small Loyalist units into a single force, a "legion" that combined infantry and cavalry forces and a battery of "flying" (light and fast moving) artillery. The infantry consisted of the Caledonian Volunteers, a partially mounted and partially foot unit raised in Philadelphia in late 1777 and early 1778, Ritzema's

Royal American Reformers Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

, the West Jersey Volunteers, and some members of the

Roman Catholic Volunteers Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

."The King's Men: Loyalist Military Units in the American Revolution", https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4171/kingsmen_03.htm&date=2009-10-25+05:57:57 The cavalry combined, in whole or in part, elements of Captain Kinloch's independent troop of

New York Dragoons New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, the Philadelphia Light Dragoons, Emmerich's Chasseurs, the Prince of Wales' American Volunteers, and the 16th Light Dragoons. The regiment was commanded by William, Lord Cathcart, as colonel;

was commissioned as lieutenant colonel. Once the unit left New York, Tarleton took full operational command. The Legion's peak operational strength was approximately 250 cavalry and 200 infantry.Babits, page 46, “British Legion Infantry strength at Cowpens was between 200 and 271 enlisted men”. However, this statement is referenced to a note on pages 175–176, which says, “The British Legion infantry at Cowpens is usually considered to have had about 200–250 men, but returns for the 25 December 1780 muster show only 175. Totals obtained by Cornwallis, dated 15 January, show that the whole legion had 451 men, but approximately 250 were dragoons”. There would therefore appear to be no evidence for putting the total strength of the five British Legion Light Infantry companies at more than 200.

The Legion in the Carolinas Campaign

Elements of the Legion fought at the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

in 1779. The Legion as a whole was part of the British force that besieged and captured Charleston in 1780. The regiment participated in many battles in Clinton's South Carolina campaign, defeating General Isaac Huger and Lieutenant Colonel

William Washington William Washington (February 28, 1752 – March 6, 1810) was a cavalry officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, who held a final rank of brigadier general in the newly created United States after the war. Primarily ...

at Monck's Corner, dispersing another American force at Lenud's Ferry, and routing a column under the hapless Colonel

Abraham Buford Abraham Buford (July 21, 1747 – June 30, 1833) was an American soldier. He was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws. After the ...

at the controversial

Waxhaw massacre The Waxhaw massacre, (also known as the Waxhaws, Battle of Waxhaw, and Buford's massacre) took place during the American Revolutionary War on May 29, 1780, near Lancaster, South Carolina, between a Continental Army force led by Abraham Buford an ...

.''From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South'', Henry Lumpkin, Paragon House, 1981. During 1780, the Legion received reinforcements in the form of more drafts from Emmerich's Chasseurs and the Prince of Wales' American Volunteers and the permanent attachment of the Bucks County Dragoons. After

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

took command of the southern Crown forces, the Legion participated in his defeat of General

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...

at the Battle of Camden, nearly caught

Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter (August 14, 1734June 1, 1832) was a soldier in the Colony of Virginia militia; a brigadier general in the South Carolina militia during the American Revolution, a planter, and a politician. After the United States gained independe ...

at Fishing Creek, were hit by a surprise attack at Wahab's Plantation, and was pinned by a rebel force at

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, until the remainder of the British force could come up. Throughout the autumn of 1780, the British Legion took part in anti-guerrilla operations, attempting to hunt down Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter and engaging in combat at Fishdam Ford and Blackstock's. The Legion seized and destroyed property in punitive attempts to suppress support for the guerrillas. In January 1781, the Legion was part of the force under Tarleton defeated by Daniel Morgan at the

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781 near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina, between U.S. forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and Kingdom of Great Britain, British for ...

. The regiment suffered heavily in this action, particularly its infantry arm. After Cowpens, the remaining Legion infantry either transferred to the cavalry or joined the garrison of Charleston.British Legion Biographical Sketches, Cavalry Officers, Donald J. Gara, reprinted at the On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies, http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/britlegn/blcav1.htm From this point forward, the active British Legion was a cavalry force only. After regrouping, the regiment led Cornwallis' movement into North Carolina in search of the American army under

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...

, seeing action at Cowan's Ford and Tarrant's Tavern. The Legion was taken onto the American Establishment on March 7, 1781, as the 5th American Regiment.''Encyclopaedia of British Provincial, and German Army Units 1775-1783'', Phillip Katcher, Stackpole Books, 1973, p.83 This made them an official part of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, rather than provincial (local) troops. On 15 March, the regiment fought at the Battle of Guilford Court House.

The Legion in the Virginia Campaign

As Cornwallis shifted his communications to the Chesapeake and abandoned the Carolinas for Virginia, the British Legion cavalry under Tarleton raided ahead of the British army, nearly capturing Virginia Governor

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

and the Virginia General Assembly at

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. The Legion again engaged in widespread destruction to punish rebel sympathizers and deny material support to the Continental Army and government. In July 1781 a skirmish,

Francisco's Fight Francisco's Fight is the name commonly given to an alleged skirmish between a detachment of the British Legion (American Revolution), British Legion and Peter Francisco, a Continental Army soldier with a long service record, during the American ...

, took place between

Peter Francisco Peter Francisco (born Pedro Francisco; July 7, 1760 – January 16, 1831) known variously as the "India", the "Giant of the Revolution" and occasionally the "Virginia Hercules", was a Portuguese-born American patriot and soldier in the America ...

and several of Tarleton's Raiders. When Cornwallis occupied Yorktown, the Legion was posted across the York River at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. It later fought a skirmish with French troops there and surrendered to the French at the conclusion of the siege.Christopher Ward, ''The War of the Revolution: Volume Two'', The Macmillan Company, 1952, p.894-895 Lord Cornwallis sought terms of surrender that would have ensured no reprisals against the Loyalists in his army, but Washington refused to agree to them.Thomas H. Raddall, ''Tarleton's Legion'', Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, 1949, http://www.mersey.ca/tarletonslegion.html Some of the men of the Legion were evacuated, sent with Cornwallis' dispatches to New York after the surrender. Some officers were paroled. Some enlisted men, and at least four officers who volunteered to stay with their troopers, were sent to a prison camp in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Regiment disbanded and resettled in British Canada

On December 25, 1782, the regiment was taken onto the British Establishment, suggesting that there may have been some thought to maintain the regiment as part of the postwar Army. The infantry of the Legion still in Charleston, and such of the regiment as had escaped to New York, were eventually evacuated to Nova Scotia in 1783.British Legion Biographical Sketches, Infantry Officers, Donald J. Gara, reprinted at the On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies, http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/britlegn/blinf1.htm Some officers transferred to other regiments of the British Army. The British Legion was disbanded on October 10, 1783. Most of those discharged settled in Nova Scotia.

References

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External links