Battle of Camden
Battle of Camden - Death of De Kalb
| date | August 16, 1780 |
|---|---|
| place | Camden , South Carolina |
| output | Clear British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 2,100 men, 4 guns |
3,700 men 7 guns |
| losses | |
|
68 dead, 245 wounded |
1,000 dead or wounded |
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The Battle of Camden in the American Revolutionary War took place on August 16, 1780 near Camden near Columbia , South Carolina , in the United States . The battle ended in a complete victory for British troops under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis over an outnumbered American army under Major-General Horatio Gates .
Historical and strategic context
In the course of the American War of Independence, a kind of stalemate developed in the northern colonies from 1778, which neither the Continental Army under George Washington nor the British Army under its Commander in Chief Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton was able to overcome. As a strategic way out, General Clinton chose to attack the wealthy southern colonies and retake them for the British crown. That is why he sailed south from New York with 8,000 men in December 1779 and, with the support of the Royal Navy under Admiral Marriott Arbuthnot , conquered Charleston , the most important port city in the south, whose American garrison of over 5,000 men under General Lincoln had to surrender on May 12, 1780 . Clinton returned to New York and left the further pacification of the southern colonies to his deputy Cornwallis.
What initially appeared to be a mere formality after the capture of Charleston was made considerably more difficult by the stubborn guerrilla war of the South Carolina militias under leaders such as Francis Marion , Thomas Sumter and Andrew Pickens . To support these irregular troops, General Horatio Gates was appointed American Commander-in-Chief in the South by Congress and marched south with a core force of continental troops. Cornwallis distributed its troops to various fortified points in the hinterland to gain control of the rebel colony and to provide support to the American loyalists loyal to the Crown. One of these garrisons was in Camden under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Rawdon . Gates now marched to this post and hoped to put the British army to a successful fight. Lord Rawdon informed his superior Cornwallis of the rapprochement of the Americans, whereupon Cornwallis marched with part of his available troops in forced marches from Charleston to Camden.
Forces involved
General Gates' American army was divided into a core of around 1,500 relatively disciplined and well-trained continental troops under Brigadier-General Johann von Kalb (continental regiments from Maryland and Delaware , plus divisions from Pulaski's Legion) and a difficult-to-determine number of militiamen North Carolina , South Carolina and Virginia ; the former under the command of former Governor Richard Caswell . Gates had hoped for the support of up to 5,000 militiamen, presumably (although exact numbers do not exist) he had only about 1,600–2,000 militiamen on the day of the battle, making the total strength of the Americans at least 3,100 men. Tensions developed between the local, well-supplied militias and the continental troops, which were suffering from supply problems.
The British forces under General Cornwallis consisted of the Camden garrison under Lord Rawdon (the Volunteers of Ireland , the British Legion and two regiments of the North Carolina Loyalists ) and Cornwallis' relief forces (the British 33rd Regiment and parts of the 23rd ( Royal Welch Fusiliers ) and 71st ( Fraser's Highlanders ) regiments, as well as four companies of light infantry) together. In total, Cornwallis had about 2,240 mostly exhausted men.
Course of the battle
Cornwallis arrived in Camden on August 14, 1780; he immediately marched towards Gates and the cavalry troops of both armies fought their first skirmishes. At sunrise on August 16, the main powers prepared for battle. The battlefield was about six miles north of Camden and bordered by two swamps. General Gates positioned his more reliable continental forces under von Kalb on his right wing, while the militia took over the left wing. The reserve was commanded by Brigadier-General William Smallwood . Cornwallis opposed the continental troops on its left wing to the Loyalists under Rawdon, while the British right wing was taken over by the elite troops of the regular British regiments under Brigadier-General James Webster . Cornwallis retained the 71st Highlanders and British Legion cavalry as reserves. Because of the narrow width of the battlefield, the Americans could not exploit their numerical superiority, while Cornwallis' battle plan worked exactly: Rawdon's left wing held up the continental troops of the Americans, while the regular British troops of Webster put the American militia to flight after a brief firefight . Thus the entire American left wing collapsed; the militias fled in a panic. The continental troops and the few brave militiamen who offered the British longer resistance were surrounded and suffered catastrophic losses, including General von Kalb. General Gates, on the other hand, fled the battlefield early, along with a large part of his troops. The fleeing Americans were pursued and further decimated by the cavalry of the British Legion under Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton . In total, the Americans lost around 1,000 dead and wounded men, roughly the same number of prisoners and, in addition, a large number of men through desertion during the desperate escape. Only about 700 men arrived at the American Army's assembly point in Hillsboro , North Carolina , in the following weeks . The British casualties amounted to only 68 dead and 256 wounded; mainly from the 33rd Regiment.
Consequences of the battle
The Battle of Camden had resulted in a crushing defeat of the American Southern Army by the British for the second time in just three months. General Gates' reputation was finally destroyed. General Nathaniel Greene was appointed as his successor and new continental troops had to be withdrawn from the north to make up for Camden's losses. Although Camden had repeatedly proven that American troops could not withstand the regular British army under normal circumstances, this impressive victory did not bring Cornwallis any lasting advantage; the guerrilla war of the American militias intensified and led to the British defeats at Cowpens and Kings Mountain , whereupon Cornwallis marched north with part of his troops to seek a decision against the Americans in Virginia, but at Yorktown the decisive one Surrender was forced.
Anecdotes, interesting things
- The American commander at Camden, General Horatio Gates, rode in panic after the battle reportedly up to 180 miles until he felt safe.
- The only American general who held his position at Camden and continued fighting was Johann von Kalb , who was fatally wounded in the course of the battle.
- The Battle of Camden served as the template for the first major field battle depicted in Roland Emmerich's film The Patriot from 2000; however, it was inaccurate on many counts (like the rest of the historical facts in the film), other than the fact that it represented a painful American defeat and Cornwallis' greatest triumph in the south.
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 34 ° 21 ′ 52 ″ N , 80 ° 36 ′ 50 ″ W.