Banastre Tarleton
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General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, (21 August 1754 – 15 January 1833) was a British military officer and politician. He is best known to Americans as the leader of the British Legion during the southern campaign of the American War of Independence. To Britons, he was a hero of the war, becoming socially prominent. His friends included several former adversaries and two future kings of England. During most of his service in North America, Tarleton led the British Legion, a provincial unit organised in New York in 1778. His unremitting tactics created fear amongst Patriots, while rumours of cruelty by his troops fomented hatred. Stories invented for propaganda purposes during the war taint his modern reputation in the United States. Tarleton was promoted quickly on merit during the war, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. He later served in Portugal and held commands in Ireland and England. He was denied an active command during the Peninsular War against Napoleon yet reached the rank of General in his later years. After returning to Great Britain in 1781, Tarleton was elected to Parliament as a member for Liverpool. He served as a prominent Whig politician for 20 years. He was interested in military matters and opposed abolition of the slave trade. Tarleton's history of the southern campaign remains a reference for almost all historians of that campaign of the war. His honours culminated in a baronetcy.