Formation
This unit was raised in New York in July 1778, by Sir Henry Clinton, in order to merge several small Loyalist units into a single force, a "legion" that combined infantry and cavalry forces and a battery of "flying" (light and fast moving) artillery. The infantry consisted of the Caledonian Volunteers, Ritzema's Royal American Reformers, the West Jersey Volunteers, and some members of the Roman Catholic Volunteers. The cavalry combined, in whole or in part, elements of Captain Kinloch's independent troop of New York Dragoons, the Philadelphia Light Dragoons, Emmerich's Chasseurs, the Prince of Wales' American Volunteers, and the 16th Light Dragoons. The regiment was commanded by Lord William Cathcart as colonel; Banastre Tarleton was commissioned as lieutenant colonel. Once the unit left New York, Tarleton took full operational command. The Legion's peak operational strength was approximately 250 cavalry and 200 infantry.
Read more about this topic: British Legion (American Revolution)
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