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[1984; U.S. TV mini series; Directed by Buzz Kulik]

Matt Callahan as Lt. [sic] Tarleton

This big-budget mini-series is fun and while I don't know much about Washington's life, the bits I can evaluate clock in as being pretty good as TV history goes. (Translation: recognizable.) What can you say when Brad from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Barry Bostwick) plays George Washington? Well, for one thing he's very tall, and for another he does a surprisingly good job.

There is a tiny little bitty Banastre appearance in the series. He only has about three lines, but the role is unusual for a couple of reasons. First, it's historically accurate, and second, it's from a period other than the Carolinas campaign.

In December 1776, Tarleton (played by Matt Callahan) and a small group of cavalry raid a tavern some thirteen miles behind enemy lines, capture General Charles Lee (John Glover), a former British officer who joined the rebels, and drag him back to New York as a prisoner. In the real world, it was Banastre's first significant contribution to the war effort. In the film, it is a brief scene focused on Lee, and Tarleton appears just long enough to yell an ultimatum at him through the window. If you don't know the history, there's nothing to tell you the identity of the British officer, since his name isn't mentioned. He is, as usual, in a red coat, but for once this is correct. At the time Banastre was a cornet (the film erroneously lists him in the credits as a lieutenant) serving as a volunteer in Lt. Col. William Harcourt's 16th Regiment of Light Dragoons. From the color of its facings, the uniform he's wearing is meant to represent the 17th, not the 16th, but both regiments wore red coats -- and if Hollywood gets within a facing-color of reality, well, heck, it's time to celebrate!