Honoring a hero
A monument to Patriot Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb marks the spot where he fell in battle after suffering nearly a dozen bayonet wounds. Each year, Camden residents conduct a wreath laying ceremony at the site to honor his bravery and sacrifice.
Photo by Tim Hanson
The events that led to the Battle of Camden began in May 1780 when the British seized Charleston and captured more than 5,000 Patriot soldiers. Congress appointed Gen. Horatio Gates to lead new troops into South Carolina to confront advancing British forces led by Gen. Charles Cornwallis.
When the two armies—a total of more than 6,000 men—met at Camden and the tide turned toward the British, Gates fled the battle on horseback, but Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb, Gates’s second in command, remained and fought bravely with his men, suffering nearly a dozen bayonet wounds. History records that Cornwallis, impressed by the American commander’s bravery, had de Kalb be taken to his headquarter in Camden for medical care.
Baron Johann de Kalb died three days later, but his legacy lives on in Camden.
Decades ago, the Daughters of the American Revolution place a historical marker in his honor on the battlefield site, and each year local residents pay tribute with a touching wreath-laying ceremony.
The general’s tomb can be found on the grounds of Bethesda Presbyterian Church on (fittingly) East De Kalb Street, and in 2021, a life-sized statue of de Kalb—created by sculptor Maria J. Kirby-Smith—was unveiled at the new visitor center in Camden, a testament to the bravery and commitment that led to success in the fight for freedom.
“I die the death I always prayed for,” de Kalb told a British officer in his last hours. “The death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man.”
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