Photo by Mic Smith
It was an overwhelming defeat for the Patriot cause, but the Aug. 16, 1780, Battle of Camden set into motion key events that led to victory in the American Revolution, reason enough for the people of Kershaw County to share with pride their rich history in the fight for freedom.
In a forest of towering loblolly and longleaf pines eight miles north of Camden, Continental Army troops under Gen. Horatio Gates clashed with Redcoats under the command of Gen. Charles Cornwallis. The 45-minute battle ended with some 1,900 Americans killed, injured or captured, and the British firmly in control of the region. But it also initiated a Patriot response that ultimately forced the British to retreat to Charleston less than a year later.
Today, these historical events are commemorated in a new $6 million Revolutionary War Visitor Center in Camden, on tours of the preserved Battle of Camden battlefield, through interactive tours at the Historic Camden Foundation museum, and during the annual Battle of Camden Reenactment.
Revolutionary War Visitor Center
Red versus Blue
Museum-style displays and the occasional uniformed reenactor tell the story of the war at Camden’s Revolutionary War Visitor Center.
Photo by Tim Hanson
Camden’s visitor center, which opened to the public last summer, provides an overview of the American Revolution and Camden’s role in that world-changing event.
“This landmark facility is here to teach us all the sacrifices of so many who came before us,” Camden Mayor Alfred Mae Drakeford says. “It is here to teach us the important role that South Carolina, Kershaw County, and the city of Camden played in securing liberty and freedom.”
The facility has on display artifacts like cannonballs, a musket butt plate, a Spanish silver piece, and a button from an American Continental Army uniform—all recovered from the nearby battlefield. It also features several life-sized mannequins dressed in period-accurate uniforms and holding long, muzzle-loading muskets. Videos, audio presentations, photos, drawings, paintings and a gift shop round out the center’s offerings.
“People here in Camden have wanted something like this for a long time,” says visitor center director Rickie Good. “We are averaging from 1,000 to 1,500 visitors per month. Besides walk-in visitors, we have school groups come through to learn about our history, and we look at all aspects of the American Revolution.”
For true history buffs, the center hosts Thursday Talks, evening presentations by historians who discuss everything from military history to the music, food and culture of the era. For more on these programs, see the events section at simplyrevolutionary.com.
The Revolutionary War Visitor Center is located at 212 Broad Street in Camden and open Monday–Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more details, call (803) 272-0076 or visit simplyrevolutionary.com.
Historic Camden Foundation Village and Camden Battlefield Preserve
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Living history
On guided tours of the Historic Camden Village, volunteers like Liz Canada add to the visitor experience by wearing period clothing and demonstrating Colonial era skills like spinning and weaving.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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At the center of it all
The Kershaw-Cornwallis house is a replica of the mansion British Gen. Charles Cornwallis seized for his headquarters after his victory at the Battle of Camden.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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War isn’t pretty
Historic Camden curator Nate Bazell demonstrates the surgical tools and techniques used to treat wounded soldiers during the American Revolution.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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Where it all happened
On guided tours of the Camden Battlefield and Longleaf Pine Preserve, Historic Camden’s Nate Bazell tells the story of clashing Patriot and Redcoat armies.
Photo by Tim Hanson
The entrance to the Historic Camden Foundation Village is just steps away from the new visitor center, and the 107-acre campus offers guests additional insight into Camden’s role during the revolution.
The centerpiece is a replica of the Kershaw-Cornwallis House where the British general set up his headquarters during the occupation of Camden. The site also features a tavern, stables, nature trails and a working blacksmith shop. On guided tours of the house and grounds, volunteer living historians like Liz Canada and Lynn Teague wear period clothing and demonstrate weaving and spinning techniques, and—because war isn’t pretty—curator Nate Bazell demonstrates the crude surgical tools and techniques used to treat injured soldiers.
Historic Camden also offers guided tours of the Camden Battlefield and Longleaf Pine Preserve, located about a 15-minute drive north of the city. Other than a few historic markers, the site is in a natural state, but Bazell’s narration on guided tours and new interpretive tools offered by the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust bring the story of the conflict to life.
Historic Camden Foundation Village is located at 222 Broad St. in Camden and open Monday–Saturday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Admission fees vary according to the scope and length of tours. Guided tours cost $10 to $15 for adults; $8 to $13 for seniors, military with ID and students. Children ages 6 and under are admitted free. For more details, call (803) 432-9841 or visit historiccamden.org.
The Camden Battlefield and Longleaf Pine Preserve is located at 1606 Flat Rock Road and open to the public for self-guided tours. Guided battlefield tours meet at the Historic Camden Foundation visitor center and are offered Wednesday–Saturday at 2 p.m. for $15 per person.
Battle of Camden Reenactment
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Ride to the sound of the guns
The Battle of Camden reenactment is a boisterous affair, complete with booming cannons, the crack of muskets and a cavalry charge.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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Class is in session
Thousands of visitors turn out each year to roam the Colonial encampment at the Battle of Camden Reenactment, where they learn about the American Revolution with all five senses.
Photo by Tim Hanson
Each fall, scores of living historians turn out for the annual Battle of Camden Reenactment in Kershaw County, where they set up a replica Colonial camp by wearing period-accurate clothing, sleeping in cloth tents, cooking over wood fires, and demonstrating the life skills of the 1780s.
Visitors are free to roam and interact with the participants, learning about the American Revolution with all five senses. One of the 2021 vendors, Justin Cherry, had visitors lined up to buy fresh bread, baked on-site in his 3-ton clay oven, a cooking style that was popular in the 18th century.
On Sunday, the last day of the three-day event, Parson John Jarboe from Bowling Green, Kentucky, led church services with parishioners seated outdoors on bales of hay and wooden benches. Jarboe read from a 1725 King James Bible before offering his morning sermon.
The highlight of the weekend is the Battle of Camden reenactments, staged on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, by dedicated reenactors who travel from around the country to portray the British and Patriot soldiers.
The event takes place on an open field where the reenactors fire replica muskets and cannons (real gun powder but no bullets or shells), swing curved sabers while on horseback, and race at each other with fixed bayonets. Soon the air is charged with dust and gun smoke and the sounds of marching drums and the voices of officers yelling orders, straining to be heard over the din of combat. The chaotic scene offers only a glimpse into what it must have been like on that August morning in 1780.
The Battle of Camden Reenactment takes place at 1208 Keys Lane in Kershaw each November. Exact dates, times and admission fees for the 2022 event were not available as this issue went to press. Advance purchase tickets will be available in September. For more information, visit southerncampaign1780.org.
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