Provincials and British Legion

During the American Revolutionary War, the British army recruited men from the colonies to fight for the Crown. These recruits were known as Provincials. They were uniformed professional soldiers who were trained to fight like the British army so they looked like “regular” British soldiers. They were a combination of infantry, cavalry, and artillery forces. Provincials were frequently joined by special units such as the Scottish Highlanders.  

British Provincials wore red or green uniforms.  In the Revolutionary War, cavalry units were typically referred to as “dragoons” or a “troop of horse.” Some Loyalist dragoons wore green, like Tarleton’s British Legion, or the Queen’s Rangers.  

Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton led the British Legion in the Battle of Waxhaws against Colonel Abraham Buford's and his men.

Christian Huck, a loyalist from Philadelphia, led a British Legion into the South Carolina back country near the Williamson's Plantation on Brattonsville. 

Standards

• 4.2.CE Examine the economic and political motivations for colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
• 4.2.CC Explain the continuities and changes in natural rights as seen from the French and Indian War to the creation of the Bill of Rights.
• 8.2.CO Compare the motives and demographics of loyalists and patriots within South Carolina and the colonies.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the economic, political, and social motivations of the patriots and the loyalists in the era of the American Revolution.
• 8.2.CE Explain the economic, political, and social factors surrounding the American Revolution.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the colonies began to unify to create a distinctive American identity over the course of events of the American Revolution.
• 8.2.CX Contextualize the roles of various groups of South Carolinians as the colonies moved toward becoming an independent nation.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the motivations of colonists during the American Revolution and the progression of conflict and failed compromise that ultimately led to revolution.

Resources