Tarleton, Sir Banastre

Sir Banastre Tarleton (bă´nəstər tärl´tən), 1754–1833, British army officer in the American Revolution. He arrived (1775) in America with General Cornwallis and was a member of the patrol that captured Gen. Charles Lee at Basking Ridge, N.J. He served with William Howe at Brandywine, Germantown, and Philadelphia. Tarleton went to Carolina as leader of a mixed force of cavalry and infantry and distinguished himself at Charleston and in the Carolina campaign before he was overwhelmed by Daniel Morgan at Cowpens. After the battle of Guilford Courthouse, he retreated into Virginia and was active in the Yorktown campaign. Tarleton returned (1782) to England and served (1790–1806, 1807–12) in Parliament. He wrote A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America (1787).

See R. D. Bass, The Green Dragon (1957).

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Publication information: Article title: Tarleton, Sir Banastre. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2013.

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