British Legion ( American Revolution ) The British Legion was the name given to a British provincial regiment established during the American Revolutionary War and composed of Loyalist American infantry and cavalry . " Legion " was an 18th - century term for a military unit the size of a regiment but consisting of infantry and cavalry , or infantry , cavalry , and artillery , all under one command , to make it more flexible for scouting or irregular operations than a regiment that consisted of infantry or cavalry alone . It was colloquially known as Tarleton ' s Raiders , after the man who led most of its day - to - day activity , Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton . Formation . This unit was raised in New York in July 1778 , by Sir Henry Clinton , 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 , the West Jersey Volunteers , and some members of the Roman Catholic Volunteers . The cavalry combined , in whole or in part , elements of Captain Kinloch ' s independent troop of New York Dragoons , the Philadelphia Light Dragoons , Emmerich ' s Chasseurs , the Prince of Wales ' American Volunteers , and the 16th Light Dragoons . The regiment was commanded by Lord William Cathcart as colonel ; Banastre Tarleton 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 . The Legion in the Carolinas . Elements of the Legion fought at the siege of Savannah 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 William Washington at Monck ' s Corner , dispersing another American force at Lenud ' s Ferry , and routing a column under the hapless Colonel Abraham Buford at the controversial Waxhaw massacre . During 1780 , the Legion received reinforcements in the form of more drafts from Emmerich ' s Chausseurs and the Prince of Wales ' American Volunteers , and the permanent attachment of the Bucks County Dragoons . After Lord Cornwallis took command of the southern Crown forces , the Legion participated in his defeat of General Horatio Gates at the Battle of Camden , nearly caught Thomas Sumter at Fishing Creek , were hit by a surprise attack at Wahab ' s Plantation , and pinned a rebel force at Charlotte , North Carolina , until the remainder of the British force could come up . Throughout the autumn of 1780 , the 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 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 . 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 , 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 . This made them an official part of the British Army , rather than provincial ( local ) troops . On the 15th of March , the regiment fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse . 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 and the Virginia General Assembly at Charlottesville . The Legion again engaged in widespread destruction to punish rebel sympathizers and deny material support to the Continental Army and government . In July 1781 occurred the skirmish Francisco ' s Fight between Peter Francisco and several of Tarleton ' s Raiders . When Cornwallis occupied Yorktown , the Legion was posted across the York River at Gloucester , fought a skirmish with French troops there , and surrendered to the French at the conclusion of the siege . 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 . 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 . The End of the Legion . 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 . 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 .