Banastre Tarleton General Sir Banastre Tarleton , 1st Baronet , GCB ( 21 August 1754 – 15 January 1833 ) was a British soldier and politician . He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence . He became the focal point of a propaganda campaign claiming ( without merit ) that he had fired upon surrendering Continental Army troops at the Battle of Waxhaws . In a fictional novel " The Green Dragoon : The Lives of Banastre Tarleton and Mary Robinson " by Robert D . Bass ( published in 1952 ) he was given the nickname ' Bloody Ban ' and ' The Butcher ' , which has carried over into popular culture as being his nickname of the day , a moniker given to him for rebel propaganda purposes . The negative reputation given to Tarleton during the war was an attempt to counter the fact that he was an outstanding British soldier who had routed a number of very senior rebel officers . He was hailed by the Loyalists and British as an outstanding leader of light cavalry and was praised for his tactical prowess and resolve , even against superior numbers . His green uniform was the standard of the British Legion , a provincial unit organised in New York in 1778 . Tarleton was later elected as a Member of Parliament for Liverpool and became a prominent Whig politician . Tarleton ' s cavalrymen were frequently called ' Tarleton ' s Raiders ' . Early life . Banastre Tarleton was the fourth of seven children born to the merchant , ship owner and slave trader , John Tarleton of Liverpool ( 1718 – 1773 ) , who served as Mayor of Liverpool in 1764 and had extensive trading links with Britain ' s American colonies . Tarleton was educated at the Middle Temple , London and went up to University College , Oxford University in 1771 and prepared for a career as a lawyer . In 1773 he inherited £5 , 000 on his father ' s death . Unfortunately for him he squandered almost all of it on gambling and women , in less than a year , mostly at the Cocoa Tree club in London . In 1775 he purchased a commission as a cavalry officer ( Cornet ) in the 1st Dragoon Guards and proved to be a gifted horseman and leader of troops . Due to his outstanding ability alone , he worked his way up through the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel without having to purchase any further commissions . American Revolutionary War . In December 1775 , he sailed from Cork as a volunteer to North America where rebellion had recently broken out triggering the American Revolutionary War . Tarleton sailed with Lord Cornwallis as part of an expedition to capture the southern city of Charleston . After this failed , he joined the main British Army in New York under General Howe . His service during 1776 gained him the position of a brigade major of cavalry . Under the command of Colonel William Harcourt , Tarleton was part of a scouting party sent to gather intelligence on the movements of General Charles Lee in New Jersey . On 13 December 1776 , Tarleton surrounded a house in Basking Ridge , New Jersey and forced Lee , still in his dressing gown , to surrender by threatening to burn the building down . Lee was taken back to New York as a prisoner and was later exchanged . Capture of Charleston . After becoming the commander of the British Legion , a mixed force of cavalry and light infantry also called Tarleton ' s Raiders , he proceeded at the beginning of 1780 to South Carolina , rendering valuable services to Sir Henry Clinton in the operations which culminated in the capture of Charleston . This was part of the ' southern strategy ' by which the British directed most of their efforts to that theater hoping to restore authority over the southern colonies where they believed there was more support for the crown . After his first major victory at Monck ’ s Corner , during the Siege of Charleston , an incident occurred that would transform itself into a critical part of the mythology surrounding the Colonel ’ s reputation . Following the battle , one of Tarleton ’ s soldiers perpetrated an act of attempted sexual assault against a civilian woman in the area , which was halted by one of his companions . This much of the story is well - documented and historical . However , the story was embellished as an anecdote in a biography of George Washington by the 19th - century American folklorist Washington Irving , who alluded to an argument between Tarleton and fellow British officer Patrick Ferguson over whether the culprit ought to be executed or released . According to Irving : Battle of Waxhaws . On 29 May 1780 , Tarleton , with a force of 149 mounted soldiers , overtook a detachment of 350 to 380 Virginia Continentals led by Abraham Buford . Buford refused to surrender or even to stop his march . Only after sustaining heavy casualties did Buford order the surrender . What happened next is cause of heated debate . According to American accounts , Tarleton ignored the white flag and mercilessly massacred Buford ' s men . In the end , 113 Americans were killed and another 203 captured , 150 of whom were so badly wounded that they had to be left behind . Tarleton ' s casualties were 5 killed and 12 wounded . The British called the affair the Battle of Waxhaw Creek , while the Americans called it the " Buford Massacre " , " Tarleton ' s Quarter " , or the " Waxhaw Massacre . " In recounting Tarleton ' s action at the scene , an American field surgeon named Robert Brownfield wrote that Col . Buford raised a white flag of surrender , " expecting the usual treatment sanctioned by civilized warfare " . While Buford was calling for quarter , Tarleton ' s horse was struck by a musket ball and fell . This gave the loyalist cavalrymen the impression that the rebels had shot at their commander while asking for mercy . Enraged , the loyalist troops charged at the Virginians . According to Brownfield , the loyalists attacked , carrying out " indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the most ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages . " Tarleton ' s men stabbed the wounded where they lay . In Tarleton ' s own account , he virtually admits the massacre , stating that his horse had been shot from under him during the initial charge and his men , thinking him dead , engaged in " a vindictive asperity not easily restrained . " The Waxhaw massacre became an important rallying cry for the revolutionaries . Many people who had been more or less neutral became ardent supporters of the Revolution after the perceived atrocities . " Tarleton ' s quarter , " meaning no quarter would be offered to British and Loyalist soldiers , became a rallying cry for American Patriots for the rest of the war especially at the massacre by American troops on loyalist forces at the Battle of Kings Mountain , 7 October 1780 , where all the participants save for one British officer were colonists . One of Tarleton ' s nemeses in South Carolina was Francis Marion , an American militia commander and early practitioner of guerrilla warfare tactics , whom Tarleton was unable to capture or otherwise neutralize . Marion remained quite popular with South Carolina residents and continued his guerrilla campaign with their support . Tarleton , by contrast , alienated the citizenry by numerous acts of cruelty to the civilian population . For example , at one plantation of a deceased Patriot officer , he had the man ' s body dug up , then required the widow to serve him a meal . One of Marion ' s men later wrote of the incident : On one expedition ( Nelson ' s Ferry - November 1780 ) , Tarleton burnt the house , out houses , corn and fodder and a great part of the cattle , hogs and poultry , of the estate of Gen . Richardson . The general had been active with the Americans , but was now dead ; and the British leader , in civilised times , made his widow and children suffer for the deeds of the husband and parent , after the manner of the East and coast of Barbary . What added to the cruel nature of the act , was that he had first dined in the house and helped himself to the abundant good cheer it afforded . But we have seen before the manner in which he requited hospitality . It was generally observed of Tarleton and his corps , that they not only exercised more acts of cruelty than any one in the British army , but also carried further the spirit of depredation . This representation of Tarleton is contrary to his nature as described by his conduct at Monticello of which Thomas Jefferson later noted , I did not suffer by him . On the contrary he behaved very genteely with me . . . . He gave strict orders to Capt . Mcleod to suffer nothing to be injured . Tarleton materially helped Cornwallis to win the Battle of Camden in August 1780 . He was completely victorious in an engagement with Thomas Sumter at Fishing Creek , aka " Catawba Fords " , but was less successful when he encountered the same general at Blackstock ' s Farm in November 1780 . Then in January 1781 , Tarleton ' s forces were virtually destroyed by American Brigadier General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens . Tarleton however managed to flee the battlefield with perhaps 250 men . Having been successful in a skirmish at Torrence ' s Tavern while the British crossed the Catawba River ( Cowan ' s Ford Skirmish 1 February 1781 ) and having taken part in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March 1781 , he marched with Cornwallis into Virginia . Tarleton undertook a series of small expeditions while in Virginia . Among them was a raid on Charlottesville , Virginia in an attempt to capture then - Governor Thomas Jefferson and disrupt the meeting of the Virginia legislature . The raid was partially foiled when Jack Jouett rode 40 miles through the night to warn Jefferson and the legislature of Tarleton ' s approach . All but seven of the legislators escaped , but Tarleton did destroy arms and munitions and succeeded in his objective of dispersing the Assembly . Another episode in July 1781 was Francisco ' s Fight - an alleged skirmish between Peter Francisco and nine of Tarleton ' s dragoons which resulted in one dead , eight wounded and eight horses captured . After other missions , Cornwallis instructed Tarleton to hold Gloucester Point , Virginia . This post , however , was surrendered to the Americans with Yorktown , Virginia in October 1781 and Tarleton returned to England on parole . Politics . In 1784 , Tarleton stood for election as M . P . for Liverpool , but was narrowly defeated . In 1790 he succeeded Richard Pennant as MP for Liverpool in the Parliament of Great Britain and , with the exception of a single year , remained in the House of Commons until 1812 . He was a supporter of Charles James Fox despite their opposing views on the British role in the American War of Independence . Tarleton spoke on military matters and a variety of other subjects . He is especially noted for supporting the slave trade , with which the port of Liverpool was particularly associated . In reality , Tarleton was working to preserve the slavery business with his brothers Clayton and Thomas and he became well known for his taunting and mockery of the abolitionists . He generally voted with the Parliamentary opposition , except that when the Fox - North Coalition came to power , he supported the government nominally headed by William Cavendish - Bentinck , 3rd Duke of Portland . He was rewarded with the title of Governor of Berwick and Holy Island . In 1794 , he was promoted to Major - General , in 1801 to Lieutenant - General and in 1812 to general . He had hoped to be appointed to command British forces in the Peninsular War , but the position was instead given to Wellington . He held a military command in Ireland and another in England . In 1815 , he was made a baronet and in 1820 a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath ( GCB ) . Legacy . For 15 years , he had a relationship with the actress Mary Robinson ( Perdita ) , whom he initially seduced on a bet . Tarleton and Robinson had no children , although in 1783 Robinson had a miscarriage . He married Susan Bertie , the illegitimate daughter of the 4th Duke of Ancaster in 1798 . They had no children . His portrait was painted by both Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough . Sir Banastre wrote a History of the " Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America " ( London , 1781 ) , which favourably portrays his actions in the Carolinas ; it also questions decisions made by Cornwallis . It was criticized by Colonel Roderick Mackenzie in his " Strictures on Lieutenant - Colonel Tarleton ' s History " ( 1781 ) and in the " Cornwallis Correspondence " . Tarleton died in January 1833 , at Leintwardine , Herefordshire . Cultural portrayal . In the 1835 novel " Horse - Shoe Robinson " by John Pendleton Kennedy , a historical romance set against the background of the Southern campaigns in the American War of Independence , Tarleton appears and interacts with the fictional characters in the book . He is depicted as a forceful and somewhat abrupt martial character , yet sensitive to the duties of honor and chivalry . In the alternate history series The Domination by author S . M . Stirling , the castle Tarleton in the Domination capitol Archona is named after him . In the novel " Sharpe ' s Eagle " by Bernard Cornwell ( the first in the Richard Sharpe series ) , the novel ' s main antagonist , Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson is said to be a cousin of Tarleton and relies on his cousin ' s political connections to support his position despite his incompetence as a military leader . In the 1986 film " Sweet Liberty " Tarleton is played by actor Michael Caine and portrayed to the history professor Michael Burgess ' ( Alan Alda ) dismay as a romantic , dashing hero . In the 2000 film " The Patriot " , a fictitious Colonel " Tavington " is portrayed ( by Jason Isaacs ) as a skilled but ruthless commander of a cavalry unit . The person is based in part on Tarleton . In the 2006 film " Amazing Grace " , Tarleton is played by Ciarán Hinds and is portrayed as a leading supporter of the slave trade and a major opponent of William Wilberforce . 2006 Captured American battle flags sold at auction . In November 2006 , it was announced that four rare battle flags or regimental colours seized in 1779 and 1780 from American rebels by Tarleton and still held in Britain , would be auctioned by Sotheby ' s in New York City in 2006 . Two of these colours were the Guidon of the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons , captured in 1779 ; and a " beaver " standard - possibly a Gostelowe List Standard # 7 dating from 1778 . The " Beaver " Standard and two other flags ( possibly division colours ) were apparently captured at the Waxhaw Massacre . The flags were sold at auction on Flag Day in the United States ( 14 June 2006 ) . Tarleton helmet . Tarleton introduced to the British Legion and wore himself a leather helmet with antique style applications and a fur plume ( woolen for lower ranks ) protuding far into the upper front side . It is depicted in Sir Joshua Reynolds ' portrait of Tarleton above and was named after the officer . The helmet remained lending its style to light British troops till the end of the Napoleonic Wars . It became popular in several other European armies , too , but came out of fashion soon again . In Germany it became the distinctive , almost iconographic mark of what was to be considered a " typical " soldier of the Bavarian army , a Chevau - léger , until abolished and substituted by the German Reich s typical Pickelhaube after Ludwig II of Bavaria ' s death in 1886 .