Why wasn't Banastre Tarleton executed?

[Michael_of_Lucan]

Do I take it that the American revolutionaries committed no atrocities …?

I am conscious that the history of my own country (Ireland) was heavily edited after our independence. In the version I learned at school, the evil British forces committed countless atrocities against the Irish people. The saintly Irish stood aghast at these dread events, occasionally retaliating and rebelling when their patience could no longer bear the pain.

Of course, the reality was less black and white. Of course British forces did do evil, but there were also appalling atrocities by Irish revolutionaries - particularly in 1798 and in the War of Independence. We have erased the latter from our folk memories.

So, remember that the victors write the history books. Those books are not always accurate.

[Acsenray]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Although, according to Wiki, “All of Cornwallis’ men were declared prisoners of war, promised good treatment in American camps, and officers were permitted to return home after taking their parole,” surely the Americans could’ve insisted on exempting such a widely-hated man from the terms of the Articles of Capitulation, then arresting, prosecuting and (a foregone conclusion) executing him. As it was, Tarleton returned safely home, was later elected to Parliament and further proved himself a scumbag by strenuously opposing the abolition of slavery.

What gives?

Maybe they believed in the principle of good treatment and thought it better not to start making exceptions?

@Boyo_Jim

Do we know for sure that the guy was ever individually identified by the Americans at the time as being among the who knows how many thousands of individual prisoners? I seems far more likely to me that he was herded in a barracks for a time and later onto a ship because he was wearing a uniform of a particular rank.

I should think that at that time officers would have been immediately identified and separated for better treatment, not left with the mass of surrendering soldiers.

[Michael_of_Lucan]

Sorry, my intention was not to hijack the thread. I omitted to make the relvant point, that the revolutionaries may not have had the level of anger that is supposed by the OP.

Armed conflicts are a series of evil and bloody acts, which are romanticised afterwards by people who did not take part in them. If they focused on them at all, it is likely that the revolutionaries viewed his actions as part of a greater evil.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Yes, there were terrible things done on both sides, as in just about any war, but I can think of no American who was excoriated by the British for war crimes as Tarleton was blasted by the Americans. He was notorious even then, and would surely have been recognized by his captors.