17th Light Dragoons
71st Regiment of Foot
A01=John Knight
American Revolution in the South
Andrew Pickens
Author_John Knight
Banastre Tarleton
Battle of Brandywine
Battle of Camden
Battle of Cowpens
Battle of Guilford Courthouse
Battle of Kings Mountain
Battle of Yorktown
Benedict Arnold
Book of Negroes
British Legion
Category=DNBH
Category=NH
Category=NHB
Category=NHK
Charles Cochrane
Charles Cornwallis
Charles O'Hara
Daniel Morgan
desertion in the American Revolution
eighteenth-century gambling
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Francis Rawdon
George Hanger
Henry Clinton
Henry Lee
Hessians
Johann Ewald
John Graves Simcoe
Loyalists American Revolution
Mary Elizabeth Robinson
Monck's Corner
Nathanael Greene
Nova Scotia
Prince of Wales American Regiment
Provincial Corps
Queen's Rangers
Stockbridge Indians
Thomas Sumter
Waxhaws
William Howe
Product details
- ISBN 9781594164125
- Weight: 426g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 04 Sep 2023
- Publisher: Westholme Publishing, U.S.
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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The American Loyalist Regiment Led by the Most Charismatic British Commander of the War
The British Legion was one of the most remarkable regiments, not only of the American Revolution, but of any war. A corps made up of American Loyalists, it saw its first action in New York and then engaged in almost every battle in the Southern colonies. Led by a twenty-four-year-old libertine who purchased his commission to escape enormous gambling debts, the Legion gained notoriety for its ruthless tactics. Excelling in “special operations,” they frequently overwhelmed the Continental forces they fought, becoming the most feared British regiment of the war.
Banastre Tarleton and the Americans he led have always been characterized as brutal, immoral villains—most recently in the movie, The Patriot. But this study subverts our pre-conceived notions of patriotism. The men who filled the Legions ranks were not weak-willed collaborators or treacherous renegades, but free men as motivated by conscience as the Patriots they battled. Few were wealthy. None had a vested stake in the British Government. Each believed that in defending the Crown; they were upholding the rule of law and preserving individual liberty.
These men followed Banastre Tarleton clear across America for years, sacrificing not only their families and homes but, in many instances, their lives. Self-interest could not have persuaded them to do this. Patriotism and fidelity did. Relying on first-hand accounts—letters, diaries, and journals—War at Saber Point: Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion is the enthralling story of those forgotten Americans and the young Englishman who led them.
The British Legion was one of the most remarkable regiments, not only of the American Revolution, but of any war. A corps made up of American Loyalists, it saw its first action in New York and then engaged in almost every battle in the Southern colonies. Led by a twenty-four-year-old libertine who purchased his commission to escape enormous gambling debts, the Legion gained notoriety for its ruthless tactics. Excelling in “special operations,” they frequently overwhelmed the Continental forces they fought, becoming the most feared British regiment of the war.
Banastre Tarleton and the Americans he led have always been characterized as brutal, immoral villains—most recently in the movie, The Patriot. But this study subverts our pre-conceived notions of patriotism. The men who filled the Legions ranks were not weak-willed collaborators or treacherous renegades, but free men as motivated by conscience as the Patriots they battled. Few were wealthy. None had a vested stake in the British Government. Each believed that in defending the Crown; they were upholding the rule of law and preserving individual liberty.
These men followed Banastre Tarleton clear across America for years, sacrificing not only their families and homes but, in many instances, their lives. Self-interest could not have persuaded them to do this. Patriotism and fidelity did. Relying on first-hand accounts—letters, diaries, and journals—War at Saber Point: Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion is the enthralling story of those forgotten Americans and the young Englishman who led them.
John Knight earned a joint honors degree in American History and Politics from Warwick University. He was a fine-art appraiser for a number of London-based auction houses including Christie’s and Bonhams before taking up writing and lecturing full-time. A regular contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution, he splits his time between homes in Nottingham, England, and Dutchess County, New York.
