影片對白  To your mind, what are appropriate levels of hostile attention?

文化面面觀  人物：Charles Cornwallis & William Tavington (Banastre Tarleton)

 

2. William Tavington

Colonel William Tavington is based on Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton by Sir Joshua Reynolds

The notable successes of Sir Banastre Tarleton (1754-1833), English cavalry officer during the American Revolution, earned him the sobriquet "Bloody Tarleton."

Banastre Tarleton was the son of a wealthy Liverpool merchant, a sometime mayor of the city. After attending Oxford, young Tarleton entered the King's Dragoon Guards in 1775. He volunteered for service in the American colonies and gained his first military experience in Henry Clinton's unsuccessful venture against Charleston, S.C., in June 1776. Tarleton participated in the New York, Philadelphia, and Monmouth campaigns and was a member of the small party that captured American general Charles Lee in late 1776.

Accompanying Clinton on his second expedition against Charleston in 1780, Tarleton demonstrated his ability as commander of light infantry and dragoons. In a number of engagements he sometimes annihilated the opposition at little loss to his own men. After the bloody battle at Waxhaws, S.C., in May, Tarleton was regarded by the Revolutionaries as bloodthirsty and merciless. His reputation was largely a consequence of his tactics - usually a rapid cavalry charge followed by the energetic use of sabers and bayonets - and their impact upon the often poorly trained Americans.

Tarleton helped rout Horatio Gates's army at Camden, S.C., in August 1780 and surprised and destroyed the mixed forces of Thomas Sumter at Fishing Creek. Tarleton's defeat at Cowpens, S.C., in January 1781 materially weakened British forces in the South and raised rebel morale and encouraged resistance to the British. Subsequently, he won minor engagements and led a spectacular raid deep into Virginia in July. But, as he admitted, the results of this raid did not compensate for the loss of men and horses. He served with Lord Cornwallis in the Yorktown campaign, and their forces surrendered in October.

After being paroled, Tarleton returned to England in 1782. He served (with one year's exception) as a Liverpool member of the House of Commons from 1790 to 1812. Sometimes active in the army, he advanced gradually to become full general in 1812. He received a baronetcy in 1815.

Tarleton was involved with the actress Mary Robinson, former mistress of the Prince of Wales (the future George IV), for many years. He later married an illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Ancaster. Tarleton died on Jan. 25, 1833, in Leintwardine, Shropshire.

A historian of the American Revolution wrote of Tarleton: "As a leader of cavalry, he was unmatched on either side for alertness and rapidity of movement, dash, daring and vigor of attack."

Tarleton never had a face-to-face with any of the militia leaders as he does with Martin in the movie.

考考你

用今日所學將下面的句子譯成英語。

1． 婚姻失敗后，她對事業投入了全部精力。
2． 他會變成什么樣呢？
3． 他該退休、為年輕的教授讓位了。

The Patriot《愛國者》（精講之四）考考你 參考答案

Dan Scott, barely a week ago I heard you railed for two hours about independence. Mr. Hardwick, how many times have I heard you speak of freedom at my father's table? Half the men in this church, including you, Father, and you, Reverend, are as ardent patriots as I. Will you know, when you are needed most, stop at only words? Is that the sort of men you are? I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.

丹·斯科特，僅僅一個星期以前，我還聽到你慷慨激昂地談論了兩個小時獨立。海德威克先生，你在我父親的餐桌上發表過多少關于自由的論調了？這個教堂里有一半的人，包括你，父親，還有你，牧師，都和我一樣是滿腔熱情的愛國者。當國家最需要你們的時候，你們就只是說說算了嗎？你們就是這樣的人嗎？我只是請求你們，按照你們曾經積極提倡過的堅定信仰來行動。

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(英語點津Annabel編輯)