Camden,
South Carolina [1] Battle
16
August 1780
American
Forces
Commanding
Officer Major General Horatio Gates
Major
General Johann-Alexandre von Robaii, Baron De Kalb [2]
Continentals
Major General William Smallwood
1st Maryland
Brigade 400
Lieutenant
Colonel Peter Adams
1st Maryland Regiment
Major Levin Winder
Captain George Anderson
Captain William Bruce
Major
Archibald Anderson
3rd Maryland Regiment
Captain Jacob Brice
Captain John Smith
Captain Lilburn Williams
Colonel
William Richardson
5th Maryland Regiment
Captain Perry Benson
Captain Richard Bird
Captain James Bruff
Captain Jonathan Gibson
Captain Adam Hoops
Captain John Lynch
Captain George Hamilton
Colonel
John Gunby
7th Maryland Regiment
Captain Jonathan Morris
Brigadier General Mordecai Gist
2nd Maryland Brigade 500
Lieutenant
Colonel John Eager Howard
2nd Maryland Regiment
Captain Edward Duvall
Captain John Hardman
Captain John Gassaway
Colonel Josiah Carvel Hall
4th Maryland Regiment
Captain Edward Oldham
Lieutenant
Colonel Benjamin Ford
6th Maryland Regiment
Captain-Lieutenant Nathan Williams
Captain James Somervell
Lieutenant
Colonel Joseph Vaughan
The Delaware Regiment 280
Major John Patton
1st Company
Captain Robert Kirkwood
2nd Company
Captain John Rhodes
3rd Company
Captain John Learmonth
6th
Company
Captain Peter Jacquett
8th
Company
Captain George Purvis
Additional Company
Lieutenant Colonel Charles
Tuffin Armand
Armand’s
Legion of Horse and Foot [3]
Count
Nicholas Dietrich, Baron von
Ottendorff
Cavalry 60
Lieutenant Richard Heard
1st Troop
Dragoons
Captain
Henry Bedkin
2nd Troop Dragoons
Captain Jerome Le Brun
de Bellecour
3rd Troop Dragoons
Infantry
Captain Jost Driesbach
Corps of German Volunteers 40
Captain Jacob Baner
Chasseur Company 20
Captain
Edmund Read 62
Major
Nelson’s Regiment of Virginia State Cavalry
Captain Edmund Read
1st Troop
Captain Martin Armand Vogluson
2nd Troop
Captain Charles Fierer [4]
3rd Troop
Major Thomas Pinckney
South
Carolina Volunteer Mounted Infantry 70
Colonel Charles Harrison
Continental
Artillery 100
Captain William Meredith
1st Continental
Artillery Regiment of Virginia
Captain-Lieutenant John Blair
Captain William L. Pierce
Brass 2-pounders 2
Captain
Richard Dorsey
1st Maryland Continental Artillery Company [5]
Captain-Lieutenant Ambrose
Bohannon
Brass 3-pounders 2
Captain
Anthony Singleton
2nd and 3rd Maryland Continental Artillery
[6]
Captain-Lieutenant
Lewis Booker
Captain-Lieutenant
Richard Waters
Brass 6-pounders 4
Lieutenant
Colonel Elias Edmunds
Virginia
State Artillery Regiment
Captain John Watlington
Major John Armstrong
Light Infantry Unknown number
Captain
Thomas H. Drew
Lieutenant
Colonel Porterfield’s State Detachment
Captain Thomas Upshaw
Captain John Holliday [7]
Captain Thomas Downing [8]
Captain Thomas Minor [9]
Captain Edmund Curd [10]
Major John Armstrong
North
Carolina Troops
Caswell’s Brigade
Light Infantry Company
Captain Samuel Lockhart
Halifax District Militia
State
Militia [11]
Brigadier General Richard Caswell
North Carolina Division 1,800
Brigadier
General John Butler
1st Brigade of
North Carolina Militia
Colonel John Collier
Randolph County Militia
Major Joseph Sharpe
Captain Chambers
Wake County
Militia
Captain David
McFarland
Caswell
County Militia
Captain Joseph
Johnson
Orange County
Militia
Captain John
Graves
Caswell
County Militia
Colonel Porterfield
Captain Trice
Orange County Militia
Colonel Etherington
Northampton County Militia [12]
Major Robert Peebles
Captain Samuel Lockhart
Brigadier
General Griffith Rutherford
2nd Brigade of North Carolina Militia [13]
Colonel
Martin Armstrong [14]
Surry County Militia
Captain William Meredith
Captain
Absalom Bostick
Colonel George Alexander
Lincoln County Militia
Major Joseph Dixon
Captain William
Armstrong
Lincoln County Militia
Captain Samuel Givins
Mecklenburg County Militia
Captain
Samuel Reid
Rowan County Militia 33
Colonel Francis Locke
2nd
Rowan Militia
Captain Richmond Pearson
Colonel John Lynch
Lieutenant Colonel
David Love
Brigadier General Isaac Gregory
3rd
Brigade of North Carolina Militia
Lieutenant Colonel Henry “Hal” Dixon
Caswell County Militia
Lieutenant
Colonel Stephen Moore
Captain Daniel
Odom
Captain Edward Yarborough
North
Carolina Continentals [15]
Captain Ray
Orange County
Militia
Colonel William Polk [16]
Captain Joshua Hadley
Rowan County
Militia
Colonel Benjamin Exum[17]
Captain
David Roach
Craven County Militia
Captain
John Macon
Warren County Militia
Colonel William Brickell
Franklin County Militia
Captain
Harrison Mason
Captain
Julius Alfred
Captain
John Patterson
Brigadier
General Edward Stevens
Virginia Militia Brigade 700
Colonel George Stubblefield
Louisa County Militia [18]
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Spencer
Major William Moseley
Captain John Byers
Captain Thomas Roberts
Pittsylvania County
Captain William Stanton
Culpepper County
Captain Elias Edmunds [19]
Fauquier County
Militia
Lieutenant Colonel Holt Richardson [20]
Amelia County Militia
Major John Bias
Captain William Craddock
Captain James
Johnson
Caroline
County Militia
Captain John Price
Hanover County Militia
Bedford Militia
Captain
Nathaniel Tate
Captain
Thomas Leftwich
Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Faulkner
Chesterfield County Militia
Captain Archibald Walthal
Captain
Booker
Captain Walker
Lunenburg County
Militia
Captain George Pegram
Dinwiddie
County Militia [21]
Colonel James Lucas
Mecklenburgh County Militia [22]
Captain Azariah Martin
Amherst County
Militia [23] 46
Colonel Lawson
Captain Paul Wattington
Halifax County Militia
Colonel
Downman [24]
Charlotte County Militia
Major Henry Conway [25]
Captain Thomas Williams
Pittsylvania County Militia
Captain Isaac Clement
Captain William Dix
Captain Peter Perkins
Henry County Militia[26]
Captain Cunningham
Captain George Waller[27]
Colonel William Mayo
Powhatan County Militia
Captain
Benjamin Carter
South
Carolina Militia Unknown number [28]
Total American Forces
engaged 4,100 [29]
Casualties 683 -733
killed, wounded and captured [30]
British Forces
Commanding
Officer Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis
Lieutenant Colonel James Webster
British Regulars 1,000
Lieutenant
Colonel Nesbit Balfour [31]
23rd
Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) 292
Major Frederick Mackenzie
Captain William Keppel
Captain Sir William Howe
Captain Forbes
Champagné
Captain Thomas Saumarez
Captain
James Drury
Charles
Ward Apthorp
Major William Dancey
33rd
Regiment of Foot [32] 238
Captain Frederick Cornwallis
Captain Allen Malcolme
Captain James Campbell
Captain John Manley
Captain John Kerr
Captain Hildebrand Oakes
Grenadier Company
Captain Richard Cotton
Lieutenant
Colonel Alexander McDonald
71st Regiment of
Foot (Fraser’s Highlanders) [33]
Captain Hugh Campbell
1st Battalion 144
Unknown Captain
2nd Battalion 110
Captain Charles Campbell
Light Infantry [34] 148
Captain Charles Campbell
71st Regiment of Foot (Fraser’s
Highlanders)
Light Infantry Company [35] 70
Lieutenant
Archibald Campbell
Lieutenant John Skinner
16th Regiment of Foot
Light Company 78
Unknown commander
New York Volunteers
3rd Battalion
Light Company Unknown number
Royal Regiment of Artillery 19
Lieutenant
John MacLeod
3rd Battalion
Number 1 Company
Brass 6-pounders 2
Brass 3-pounders 2
Lieutenant
William Marquois
4th Battalion
Number 6 Company
Brass 6 pounders 2
Additionals [36] 126
Brass 2-pounders 2
Swivel guns 3
Artillery
manned by the British Legion
Iron 3-pounder 1
Lieutenant
Andrew Husband
Corps of Guides and Pioneers 28
Colonel Francis Lord Rawdon
Provincials 800
Lieutenant
Colonel Banastre Tarleton
British
Legion
Captain Patrick
Stewart
Infantry 126
Major George Hanger [37]
Cavalry 182
Colonel
Francis Lord Rawdon
Volunteers
of Ireland [38]
303
Captain Lieutenant David Dalton
Captain John Campbell
Captain John Doyle
Captain
Charles Hastings
Captain
James King
Captain
John McMahon
Lieutenant Colonel John Hamilton
Royal North Carolina Regiment 267
Loyalist Militia Colonel Samuel
Bryan
North Carolina Volunteers 202
[39]
Lieutenant Colonel John Hampton
Captain Nicholas White
Total British Forces engaged 2,239
Casualties 66 killed, 256 wounded [40]
[1] Also mentioned as “Gates Defeat”
[2] “Baron” DeKalb’s royal title was fictitious. He was the son of a Bavarian peasant
[3] With remnants of Pulaski’s Cavalry
[4] Also listed as Führer
[5] Also listed as the 11th Company of the Continental Artillery, or Dorsey’s Maryland Artillery Company
[6] Also listed as the 12th Company of the Continental Artillery or Singleton’s Virginia Artillery Company
[7] Shenandoah County Militia
[8] Northumberland County Militia
[9] Spotsylvania Militia
[10] Goochland County Militia
[11] There is a lot of confusion as to who was at this battle. Militiamen who were there stated that they were with a certain regiment or commander, but there is no way to know where they were on the field. I have placed many of the county militias in this order of battle based upon their geographic closeness to other counties, but it is only a guess.
[12] It is not known where this regiment was assigned. I have placed it here in the geographic location to other counties
[13] In William Strong’s pension
application he states “That Rutherford's brigade and perhaps others were
divided into platoons before the battle began and the Captains had command of
their platoons instead of their companies;
and that this applicant commanded a platoon on that memorable day, instead of
his company”. Davie
wrote “the
whole of the militia wanted arrangement and the ordinary preparation for a
battle was intirely neglected among them, in Rutherfords Brigade there was
scarce a cartridge made up, and their arms were generally in bad order; the
consequence of continual marching & exposure”
[14] Also listed as John Armstrong
[15] After the fall of Charlestown there were North Carolina Continentals who had escaped capture by the British. There were twenty-five North Carolina Continentals in Dixon’s Regiment, and these were in Captain Edward Yarborough’s company. Yarborough commanded some of these same North Carolina Continentals in Guilford Courthouse in March 1781. There is a good chance that the reason that Colonel Dixon’s militia did not run, but instead decided to stand and fight with the Maryland Continentals, is because these were Continentals who would not leave their Maryland comrades
[16] William Polk had been wounded in the left shoulder at the battle of the Cane Break in 1775. He was a major in the 9th North Carolina Regiment and was wounded in the cheek at the battle of Brandywine. Because of this wound he was “deprived of the power of speech” for a short period.
[17] Also listed
as Aksom Exum
[18] Also known as the 2nd Regiment of Virginia Militia
[19] It is not known what unit this company was assigned to. I have placed it here in the geographic location to other counties
[20] Also listed as Richeson
[21] It is not known what unit this company was assigned to. I have placed it here in the geographic location to other counties
[22] Also listed as the 4th Regiment of Virginia Militia in the pension account of James Hopkins. The four regiments would have been the militias of Colonel George Stubblefield, Lieutenant Colonel Holt Richardson, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Faulkner and Colonel James Lucas
[23] After their return to Amherst County these men were punished for fleeing the battlefield. They were ordered to serve eight months in Greene’s Army, where they guarded the supply wagons as they delivered their goods. They were known as the “8 months men”
[24] Also listed as Dorman. Unable to find any information on this officer
[25] Major Conway was a Continental officer in the 3rd Virginia Regiment
[26] It is not known what unit this company was assigned to. I have placed it here in the geographic location to other counties
[27] Captain Waller was a Continental officer in the 3rd Virginia Regiment
[28] Most likely
less than 30 thirty men
[29] After the night march only 3,052 were fit for duty
[30] American
Patriot
losses have never been accurately determined. Boatner’s Encyclopedia of the American Revolution
estimated that 188 were killed, the rest were wounded and captured. The killed included Major General de Kalb,
Captains William, Starns, Roach and Duvall.
Among the wounded were Captains Somervell, Gibson, Morris, Gaffaway,
Harman, and Roun. The captured included
Lieutenant Colonels Adam, Forrest and Vaughan, Majors Winder, Pinckney and
Patton, Captains Brice, Hoops, Lynch, Hamilton, Smith, Dorsey, de Bellecour,
Rhoads and Lamont, Captain-Lieutenant Waters.
Marion’s Partisans rescued 147 Continentals who had been captured when they
were en route to Charleston. The rest of the prisoners were placed in prison
ships in Charleston where many of them died.
Some of the prisoners won release by joining the British forces in
Jamaica.
[31] One source lists
that the
Fusiliers only had three companies in the battle, however the muster rolls of
the dead and wounded from the 23rd
Regiment lists eight companies of the regiment (one of these
companies was Lieutenant Colonel Balfour’s). The
23rd had six rank and file
killed, Captain James Drury and seventeen rank & file were wounded
[32] The 33rd Regiment only had five companies in the battle. Mentioned in accounts are some wounded officers at the battle, such as Captain Richard Cotton, who must not have had a command
[33] There were a total of five companies from the two battalions in the battle; this included the two light infantry companies under Captain Charles Campbell. These companies formed a composite battalion. Lieutenant Archibald Campbell and eight soldiers were killed. Captain Hugh Campbell, Lieutenant John Grant, two sergeants and thirty privates were wounded
[34] This is the remnants of the light infantry that had been under the command of Colin Graham in Charlestown
[35] This was a composite company made up of the two companies from the two battalions of the 71st Regiment. Some historians mistakenly claim that the light infantry of the 71st returned to New York with General Clinton
[36] Additionals were men from the Regular regiments
[37] Major
Hanger came to America in 1776 as a
Captain in the Hessian Jäger Corps. The
Jäger Corps was were part of the Hessian forces recruited by
Great Britain to help put down the rebellion in America. Hanger participated in the siege of
Charlestown, and after the fall of the city he was
appointed a Brevet Major of Militia, with the duty of raising local militia to
assist the British Army. He and
Tarleton had become friends during the campaign and Tarleton wrote to General
Clinton requesting that he be reassigned to him, as a Major
of Legion Cavalry. This
was granted on August 6, 1780
[38] This unit was largely made up of Irish deserters from the American army
[39] 154 without arms
[40] The killed
included Captain Malcolm and Lieutenant Archibald Campbell. The wounded included Lieutenant Colonels
Webster and Hamilton, Captains Cotton, Drury, Cotton,
and Hugh Campbell