Camden, Battle of, was one of the last British victories of the American Revolution (1775-1783). The battle took place near Camden, South Carolina, on Aug. 16, 1780. British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his army defeated an American force led by General Horatio Gates. The battle was part of Britain’s Southern campaign, which began in 1778. The campaign aimed to conquer colonies in the South before moving to retake the North. The British expected to find support from Southern Loyalists—that is, colonists loyal to Britain.
In May 1780, the British captured the port of Charleston, South Carolina. An American force of more than 5,000 soldiers—almost the entire Southern army––surrendered. The British then began recruiting militias made up of Loyalists. In June, the Continental Congress ordered General Gates to form a new Southern army to replace the one lost at Charleston. Three years earlier, Gates had been the victor at Saratoga, the most important patriot victory thus far in the war. Gates quickly assembled a force made up largely of untrained militias from North Carolina and Virginia. The force also included experienced soldiers, called Continentals, from Maryland and Delaware.
With a total force of about 3,000, Gates rushed to challenge Cornwallis at a British base in Camden. Cornwallis led a well-trained force of about 2,200 British, Hessian (hired German), and Loyalist infantry and cavalry. On August 16, the armies went into battle outside Camden. The American militias quickly panicked, and many turned and ran without firing a shot. The Continentals fought on until heavy casualties (people killed, wounded, or captured) forced the survivors to withdraw. During the course of the day’s fighting, about 900 Americans were killed or wounded. A further 1,000 Americans were captured. About 325 British soldiers were killed or wounded.
The Battle of Camden marked a low point for the patriots. It also became a source of confidence for the British, who had now defeated a second American army in the South. But their confidence hurt the British. In September, Cornwallis charged into North Carolina before the Loyalists had gained firm control of South Carolina. In October, an American force surrounded and captured the left wing of Cornwallis’s army on Kings Mountain, just inside South Carolina.
