Sir Major General Banastre Tarleton GCB MP 1st Baronet
(1754-1833)

Died aged c. 79

Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 1754 – 15 January 1833) was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolution. He later served in Portugal and held commands in Ireland and England. Consequently, he had hoped to command British forces fighting the French in the Peninsular War. However, that position was given to Arthur Wellesley. Tarleton's cavalrymen were colloquially known as "Tarleton's Raiders". During most of his service in North America, he led the British Legion, a provincial unit organised in New York in 1778. After returning to Great Britain in 1781 at the age of 27, Tarleton was elected a Member of Parliament for Liverpool and returned to office in the early 19th century. As such, Tarleton became a prominent Whig politician despite his young man's reputation as a roué. Tarleton came from a family of slavers, and reflected that during his political career, where he was a prominent opponent of British abolitionists.

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