British General Tarleton, Who Led the British Legion in the American Revolutionary War, Forwards Correspondence to the Quartermaster-General to the Forces

In this brief letter, Lieutenant General Banastre Tarleton forwards correspondence from Swansea to Major General Robert Brownrigg, the Quartermaster-General to the Forces, who was responsible for transporting and quartering troops. At the time, Tarleton was a member of Parliament from Liverpool (1790-1812) and a lieutenant general in the British Army. After brief service as commander of the Southern District of Ireland, Tarleton was appointed as the commander of the Severn military district in anticipation of an invasion from France and commanded it from his headquarters in Bath for six years.

BANASTRE TARLETON, Autograph Letter Signed, to Major General Brownrigg, January 12, 1804, Bath, England. 1 p., 7.875" x 9.5". Expected folds; irregular bottom edge; very good.

Complete Transcript
Bath Jany 12th 1804.
Sir
I have just received the enclosed letters and do myself the honor to transmit them to you, requesting you, to put the complex business of various departments into proper train, in order to gratify the wishes of the inhabitants of Swansea as expeditiously as possible.
I have the honor to be / Sir
Your most obedt hume Servt
Ban Tarleton
Lt. Genl
Major General Brownrigg / &c &c &c

Banastre Tarleton (1754-1833) was born in Liverpool, England, to a merchant and his wife, and educated at University College, Oxford, and at Middle Temple, London. When his father died in 1773, he inherited £5,000, which he quickly squandered. He purchased a commission as a cavalry officer in the 1st Dragoon Guards in 1775, and he received promotions to the rank of lieutenant colonel through his excellent horsemanship and leadership qualities. He joined the British Army in North America in early 1776 at the age of 21 and was part of a scouting party that captured American General Charles Lee in December 1776. He quickly gained promotions and participated in the Battle of Brandywine and other battles in the campaigns of 177 and 1778. At the beginning of 1780, he took command in Charleston, South Carolina, of the British Legion, a force of American Loyalist cavalry and light infantry, and helped the British capture Charleston. In May 1780, troops under Tarleton massacred Virginia Continentals who had surrendered at the Battle of Waxhaw Creek. In South Carolina, Francis Marion, an American militia commander dubbed the "Swamp Fox," badgered Tarleton's British Legion using guerrilla tactics. In August 1780, Tarleton aided Lord Cornwallis in his victory at the Battle of Camden, but in January 1781, Tarleton's forces were virtually destroyed by American forces under Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens, though Tarleton narrowly escaped. In March 1781, he took part in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and unsuccessfully attempted to capture Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson and members of the Virginia General Assembly. He was wounded at the Siege of Yorktown and surrendered there, returning to Great Britain on parole at the age of 27. He arrived to a hero's welcome, one of the few British officers who faced little criticism. He was elected to Parliament as a member for Liverpool and served from 1790 to 1812 as a prominent Whig politician. Although he never owned slaves, he opposed the abolition of the slave trade. Tarleton wrote a history of his experiences in North America and continued to serve in the British Army, receiving promotions to colonel (1790), major-general (1794), lieutenant general (1801), and by brevet to general (1812). He had hoped to command British forces in the Peninsular War, a position that instead went to the Duke of Wellington. He was made a baronet in 1815 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1820.

Robert Brownrigg (1758-1833) was born in Ireland and commissioned an ensign in 1775. After serving with the 9th Regiment of Foot, he was appointed as Military Secretary to the Duke of York in 1795. In 1803, he was appointed Quartermaster-General to the Forces, a senior general with responsibility for the movement and quartering of troops. He held the position until 1811. In 1813, he was appointed the Governor of Ceylon, and two years later, he acquired the Kingdom of Kandy and annexed it to Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). For this achievement, he was created a baronet in 1816. He successfully suppressed the Great Rebellion of 1817-1818 in the former Kingdom of Kandy. He was promoted to full general in 1819 and left Ceylon in 1820.

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