Talk:British Legion (American Revolutionary War)

Raiders?
I was under the impression that the official name of this unit was "The British Legion". What was their official designation? KillCavalry (talk) 15:47, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

The unit was known as the British Legion; I'm not sure where this "Tarleton's Raiders" moniker that's in several Wikipedia articles has come from; the legion wasn't raised in Oakland, CA. :-)

Winterbadger (talk) 18:13, 13 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I can provide a brief answer to this old question. Tarleton’s Raiders was never a contemporary name; don’t use it. They were the British Legion, commonly called Tarleton’s Legion. Apparently, after the American Civil War, some Americans begin to use the term Tarleton’s Raiders by comparison with Confederate units which were known as “raiders”. Further, most of what people think are nicknames for the unit or its leader were invented by Robert Bass for his popular history.
 * I don’t understand the bit about Oakland California; must be an inside joke. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 02:49, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

Correction
Cornwallis can hardly be said to have followed Greene into Virginia, since Greene marched by his right southward to Ninety-Six! Solicitr (talk) 18:44, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Francisco’s Fight deletion
Peter Francisco was 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 260 pounds. Supposedly, a dragoon, presumably somewhat experienced in fighting, bent down in front of this giant to remove Francisco’s shoe buckles. The other eight dragoons ran off, leaving their horses behind. The story is unsubstantiated, lacking even a date, based solely on a claim by someone seeking government money. Francisco’s two letters didn’t agree. Later accounts are admitted to be “embellished“. The article “Peter Francisco“ adds that “Legend has it that… Washington commissioned a special six-foot broadsword. However, the weapon has since disappeared.” Boatner’s Encyclopedia of the American revolution covers the tale in one sentence. Edgar and Buchanan don’t mention him at all; nor do Bass, Hibbert, Scotti, Knight, or Hoock. To me that spells legend not history. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 05:21, 16 October 2023 (UTC)

Change of title
I’ve worked on Banastre Tarleton and, as a result, a little on the British Legion. A user recently changed the title without discussion. Rather than revert, I prefer to discuss a better solution.

I have also been studying the British Legion of the Carlist Wars. I noted possible confusion over their names. The official name of the latter is, indeed, the British Auxiliary Legion. However, almost every contemporary record refers to it simply as the “British Legion”. Modern works also often say British Legion, just appending the date and/or location.

I suspect other units of British soldiers in foreign service were also known simply as “the British Legion”

For naming units, Manual of Style/Military history recommends the official name of the armed forces to which the unit belongs, or the most common name used by historians. However, many of the various legions are not part of their countries’ armed forces.

With that preamble, my idea is to standardize on the most common name followed by the area of service and the date: British Auxiliary Legion to be called British Legion (Spain, 1835) (at one time, the title was (British Legion (1835)) British Legion (American War of Independence) to be British Legion (America, 1778) Similarly, British Legion (1860) to British Legion (Italy, 1860) British Legions 	to  British Legions (South America, 1817)

Other articles might become: The British Legion	to Royal British Legion (actually, this is the correct name; perhaps “veterans” might be appended) British Battalion of International Brigade	to British Battalion (Spain, 1936)

German Soldiers in British service could be treated similarly: British German Legion	 becomes British German Legion (Crimea, 1855) King's German Legion	to be King's German Legion(Europe, 1803) Hessian (soldier) to British German Auxiliaries (America, 1776)

And the most recent: International Legion (Ukraine) to International Legion (Ukraine, 2022)

Such titles would be more meaningful without going to a disambiguation page. Of course, the formal name and alternatives would still be stated in the first sentence of an article.

FYI, here are the current articles, from British Legion (disambiguation)

The British Legion (or Royal British Legion), a British charity that provides support to armed forces' veterans Royal British Legion Industries (or RBLI) a British charity not affiliated with the RBL, that helps Armed Forces veterans, disabled people and people who are unemployed British Legion (1860), a voluntary corps composed of Englishmen and Scots who fought for the unification of Italy, 1860–1861 British Legion (American Revolution), a British provincial regiment that served in the American Revolutionary War, 1777–1782 British Legions (Spanish: Legión Británica), foreign volunteer units, established in 1819, who fought against Spain in South America's independence wars

Other uses

British Auxiliary Legion, officially the Auxiliary Legion, a British expeditionary force sent to Spain in 1835 to serve in the First Carlist War British German Legion, a group of German soldiers recruited to fight for Britain in the Crimean War, 1855–1856 British Legion Volunteer Police Force,

For another comparison, see List of military legions.

This suggestion should go before Project Military History but posting it here gets a few eyes on the idea in case it is completely impractical. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 14:21, 1 December 2023 (UTC)