British High Tide at Camden

On the morning of August 16, 1780, Lord Charles Cornwallis’s Redcoats and the Southern Continental Army under General Horatio Gates clashed near Camden, the site of a British supply depot. Gates led 3,000 men, but two-thirds were inexperienced militiamen, while Cornwallis had 2,200 seasoned British regulars at his command. The final result was catastrophic for the Americans; in essence, the Southern Continental Army ceased to exist. But this victory at Camden would be the high-water mark of the British southern campaign. Soon, the tide would turn, and the resilient Americans would gain the upper hand.