Battle of Camden

Battle of Camden
Part of the American Revolutionary War

Battle of Camden – Death of De Kalb
DateAugust 16, 1780
Location34°21′52.39″N 80°36′50.04″W / 34.3645528°N 80.6139000°W / 34.3645528; -80.6139000
Result British victory
Belligerents

 Great Britain

United States
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Great Britain Lord Cornwallis
Kingdom of Great Britain Lord Rawdon
United States Horatio Gates
United States Johann de Kalb 
United States Marquis de La Rouërie
Strength
2,100
1,500 regulars
600 militia
4 guns
4,000
1,500 regulars
2,500 militia
8 guns
Casualties and losses
68 killed
245 wounded
11 missing[1]
900 killed and wounded
1,000 captured[2]
8 guns captured
200+ wagons captured
The Great Wagon Road along which advance forces of both armies met on the night before the battle

The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routed the numerically superior American forces led by Major General Horatio Gates about four miles north of Camden, South Carolina, thus strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston.

The rout was a personally humiliating defeat for Gates, the American general best known for commanding the Patriot forces at the British defeat at Saratoga three years previously. His army had possessed a great numerical superiority over the British force, having twice the personnel, but his command of them was seen as disorganized and chaotic. Following the battle, he was regarded with disdain by his colleagues and he never held a field command again. His political connections, however, helped him avoid any military inquiry into the debacle or court martial.

  1. ^ Boatner, p. 169
  2. ^ Sava, Dameron p. 252