Colonel Banastre Tarleton does not choose to quarrel with the differences.â He paused to stifle a little chuckleâone tinged more with cruelty than wit.
Tarleton poked the fire and a dozen embers raced up into the night sky. âThey say that to ask you,â he pointed to the soldier, âand my other Green Dragoons for surrender is futile. I hear they now call it âTarleton Quarter.âââ
The soldier sat motionless as Tarleton described how the enemy had turned the phrase back on the Legion. When encountering surrendering British troops, the Colonials took no mercy. Hardly offended, Tarleton told the young man and several others whoâd now gathered at the fire that he took pride in the enemy adopting the term and tactic. âImitation, after all, is the greatest form of flattery.â
The dragoon laughed nervously until Tarleton pulled him up short with an order, raising his thunderous shout so that all around himmight hear. âNow, let us show them through action whether the words they say about Banastre Tarleton are indeed true. To Charlottesville!â
â¢Â   â¢Â   â¢
Several miles up the road from where theyâd rested, Colonel Tarleton came across a caravan of twelve American supply wagons with clothing and arms headed for South Carolina. He took great pleasure in burning it.
As flames filled the Piedmont sky, Tarleton hoped the winds would move the thick smoke away from Monticello. He wondered aloud to a lieutenant whether Jeffersonâs servants would be taking turns throughout the night watching guard. Or perhaps Jefferson thought the grounds of his cherished Monticello provided ignorant, blissful security. âLet them sleep,â he said, watching another supply wagon smolder.
Soon after daybreak, Tarleton and his soldiers stopped at Castle Hill, home of Dr. Thomas Walker, who had once been guardian to the young, orphaned Thomas Jefferson. Tarleton arrested two legislators in their nightshirts and grinned at the thought that the dayâs successes had only just begun. Before leaving Walkerâs large estate, Tarleton ordered Dr. Walker and his wife to prepare a breakfast for the hungry British Legion. With full stomachs and renewed vigor, Tarleton and his Dragoons resumed their race toward Charlottesville. But his full belly came at a high price: the cost of precious time lost in the pursuit of his great prize, Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jeffersonâs Monticello Estate
4:30 A.M .
âFaster, Sallie!â Jouett flashed through the final line of trees and across the meadow in front of Monticello. âGo!â Moments later he leapt from the horse and, without bothering to hitch her, sprinted down the brick path to the front door of Jeffersonâs home.
âArise! Arise!â Jouett pounded on the heavy door just before sunrise. âBloody Tarleton and his Green Dragoons are not far behind!â
A servant appeared and rushed Jouett into the home, where Jefferson met them in the spacious front hall. âWhat is it?â Jefferson demanded,adjusting his silken night robe as he entered. But his concern for his own disheveled appearance vanished at the sight of the bloody and battered Jouett. âMy Lord, what is it? Youâve escaped capture?â
âNo, sir,â gasped Jeffersonâs visitor. âIâm Captain Jack Jouett. Sixteenth regiment of the Virginia militia.â
âOf course.â
âGovernor, a large force of British is approaching Charlottesville. Theyâre led by Tarleton!â
âAre you sure?â
âI am.â
âHow many in his command?â Jefferson asked, his manner growing more grave with each syllable.
âTwo hundred, maybe more. Most of them Green Dragoons.â
âHave they arrived in town?â Jefferson asked as his houseguests, woken by the commotion, began arriving in the hall.
âI cannot say. Iâve ridden through the