Battle of Camden summary

The Battle of Camden was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence). On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routed the American forces of Major General Horatio Gates about 10 km (five miles) north of Camden, South Carolina, strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston.

1. With his formation, though a typical British practice of the time, Gates placed the untested militia, his weakest forces, against the most experienced British regiments, while his best troops would face only the weaker elements of the British forces
2. Cornwallis formed his army in two brigades. Lord Rawdon was in command of the left, facing the Continental Infantry with the Irish Volunteers, Banastre Tarleton 's infantry and the Loyalist troops. On the right was Lt. Col James Webster , facing the inexperienced militia with the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers and the 33rd Regiment of Foot.In reserve, Cornwallis had two battalions of the 71st Regiment of Foot and Tarleton's cavalry force
3. The British troops opened the battle, when the right flank fired a volley into the militia regiments, causing a significant number of casualties. They followed the volley up with a bayonet charge
4. The militia, lacking bayonets, panicked and fled before the British regiments even reached them
5. The panic quickly spread to the North Carolina militia, and they also broke ranks and fled
6. Seeing his left flank collapse, Gates fled with the first of the militia to run from the field. Within a matter of minutes, the whole American left wing had evaporated
7. While the militia was being routed, and before Gates' flight, he ordered his right flank under de Kalb to attack the opposing British militia forces
8. Rawdon's troops advanced in two charges, but a heavy fire repulsed his regiments
9. The Continental troops then launched a counterattack which came close to breaking Rawdon's line, which began to falter. Cornwallis rode to his left flank and steadied Rawdon's men
10. Instead of pursuing the fleeing militia, Webster wheeled around and launched a bayonet charge into the left flank of the Continental regiments in the center
11. The North Carolina militia that had been stationed next to the Delaware regiment held its ground, the only militia unit to do so. The Continental regiments fought a stiff fight for some time, but only 800 Continentals were by this time facing over 2,000 British troops
12. Cornwallis, rather than fight a sustained fight with a heavy loss, ordered Tarleton's cavalry to charge the rear of the Continental line
13. The cavalry charge broke up the formation of the Continental troops, who finally broke and fled