Well, far be it from me to accept a Mel Gibson movie as presenting the
truth but, in any case, Tarleton was not a nice guy. Gibson was
certainly stretching the truth but picked on Tarleton for good reason.
From the Wikipedia article on Tarleton...
------------------------------------------------
One of Tarleton's nemeses in South Carolina was Francis Marion, whom he
could never capture or neutralise. 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 - Nov. 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.
------------------------------------------------
Chuck Norcutt
Geilfuss Charles wrote:
> Perhaps that was "The Patriot"; Mel Gibson movie loosely based
> on the exploits of Francis Marion. Tarleton was indeed the film's main
> heavy and I remember a few cries of "foul" from across the pond at what
> was perceived as heavy-handed treatment.
>
> Charlie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Bob Whitmire
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 3:16 PM
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [OM] Re: OT and apropos of nothing whatsoever...
>
>
> I found the earliest of Whitmires in this country served in the South
> Carolina militia during the Revolution. I have no direct evidence,
> but I'd like to believe they took part in whipping Lt. Col. Banastre
> Tarleton's ass at the Cowpens.
>
> The Green Dragoon is my favorite "Red Coat" to loathe, even though
> Tarleton's Legion wore green jackets. Nasty piece of work, he was,
> during and after the war. Was one of Arthur Wellesley arch foes in
> Parliament, as I recall, and was a heavy in a recent period movie I
> saw, but now can't recall the name of. (Wellesley being my favorite
> Red Coat.)
>
> (No offense intended toward our UK friends here, especially Chris,
> who although RAF, still qualifies as a "Red Coat." <g> )
>
> --Bob Whitmire
> www.bwp33.com
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 26, 2008, at 2:41 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>
>> My great, great, great, great grandfather John Norcutt and four of his
>> five sons did serve during the revolution (at least two in Paul
>> Revere's
>> regiment)
>
>
> ==============================================
> List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
> List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
> ==============================================
> ==============================================
> List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
> List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
> ==============================================
>
>
>
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|