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From his university days to his middle age, Tarleton had a terrible addiction to gambling. Along with constant financial difficulties, this habit got him involved in a number of very peculiar bets.

One thing Ban loved to bet on was his own physical prowess. In 1787 a letter-writer commented that "Mr. Tarleton, the Colonel that writes commentaries, is to walk today for a wager; he is to walk five miles in an hour."¹

Another time, The Times reported that:

The Duke of York lately betted with Colonel Tarleton, that he would walk with him six miles in less time, for two hundred guineas. The bet was to be decided on Monday, and the ground to be traversed was the high road between Hyde-Park Corner and Kew-bridge.

The Duke, however, when the morning came for the decision, declined the contest, and paid forfeit.²

Not content to race with himself or the Duke of York, he once took on a horse, as The Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Gazette reported on January 9, 1790:

"Colonel Tarleton is to run fifty yards with Lord Mountford on his back, in less time than the Duke of Queensbury trots a hundred and ten on any horse, mare or gelding he chooses to ride. Both are to start at the same moment: Beacon Course, on the second day of the next Newmarket meeting, play or pay, for 500 guineas. The odds are laid five to four that the Colonel wins, and considerable sums have been betted on this curious race."³

Unfortunately, we don't know the outcome of the contest.

In 1788, George Hanger and the Prince of Wales set up an especially bizarre bet. We don't have any proof that Ban was involved, but he was part of that crowd, so it's a reasonable guess. Here's the tale, in an early retelling:

"During one of the convivial parties at Carlton House, Mr. Hanger designedly introduced the subject of the travelling powers of the turkey and the goose, and declared that the turkey would outstrip the goose. The Prince, who placed great reliance on his judgment in subjects of this nature, backed his opinion. A match was made with Mr. Berkeley of twenty turkeys against twenty geese, for a distance of ten miles; the race to be for five hundred pounds. And as Mr. Hanger and the turkey party hesitated not to lay two to one in favour of their bird, the Prince did the same to a considerable amount, not in the least suspecting that the whole was a deep-laid plan to extract a sum of money from his pockets. The Prince deputed Mr. Hanger to select twenty of the most wholesome and high-feathered birds which could be procured; and, on the day appointed, he and his party of turkeys, and Mr. Berkeley and his party of geese, set off to decide the match. For the first three hours, everything seemed to indicate that the turkeys would be the winners, as they were then two miles in advance of the geese; but, as night came on, the turkeys began to stretch out their necks towards the branches of the trees which lined the sides of the road. In vain the Prince attempted to urge them on with his pole, to which a bit of red cloth was attached; in vain Mr. Hanger dislodged one from its roosting-place, only to see three or four others comfortably perching amongst the branches; in vain was the barley strewn upon the road. In the meantime, the geese came waddling on, and in a short time passed the turkeys, whose party were all busy among the trees attempting to dislodge the birds; but further progress was found impossible, and the geese were declared the winners."⁴

Let us hope Ban bet on the geese...

Notes:

¹ Letter from Mr. Storer to William Eden, quoted in Robert D. Bass; The Green Dragoon; The Lives of Banastre Tarleton and Mary Robinson (New York: Henry Holt and Company; 1957), p258. [ back ]

² The Times (31 Jan. 1788). [ back ]

³ Quoted Bass, p283. [ back ]

⁴ Percy Fitzgerald, The Life of George the Fourth, including His Letters and Opinions with A View of the Men, Manners, and Politics of His Reign, 2 vols. (London: Tinsley Brothers, 1881), 1:68. Fitzgerald doesn't give a source for his version of the tale, but indicates it comes from a contemporary memoir. There are various other accounts, all extremely similar. [ back ]