American Legion (Loyalist)

American Legion
Benedict Arnold, the turncoat, Patriot traitor, was the British commander of the Loyalist company, the "American Legion", formed primarily from deserters of the Continental Army, during the American Revolutionary War, from an engraving by H. B. Hall, from a painting, by artist, John Trumbull
Active	1780-1783
Country	Great Britain
Allegiance	Great Britain
Branch	British provincial unit
Type	infantry, dragoons (mounted infantry) (auxiliary troops)
Size	regiment (1,200)
Garrison/HQ	Long Island, Province of New York
Engagements	American Revolutionary War Raid of Richmond (1781) Battle of Groton Heights (1781) Attack on Fort Griswold (1781)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Brigadier General Benedict Arnold

The American Legion was a British provincial militia unit raised for Loyalist service late in the American Revolutionary War by Benedict Arnold, the former Continental Army general who had crossed over from the Patriots to the British. The unit was composed primarily of deserters from the Continental Army. "Legion" was an 18th-century term for a military unit the size of a regiment, but consisting of infantry and dragoons (cavalry), or infantry, dragoons, and artillery, all under one command to make it more flexible for scouting or irregular operations than a regiment, which consisted of infantry or cavalry alone.

Regiment formed

The American Legion was raised on Long Island, New York, in October 1780. In the first half of 1781 it was sent with General Arnold on raids in Virginia.

Campaigns

The unit was again with Arnold in the September 1781 Battle of Groton Heights in Connecticut, but was not involved in the notorious attack on Fort Griswold.

Regiment disbanded and resettled in British Canada

The American Legion was disbanded at the end of the war in 1783.^{[1] [2]}

References

External links

• Index to American Legion History - The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies