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Posted on 09/23/2003 12:11:01 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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British Lt. General Sir Henry Clinton had arrived in South Carolina in March and had undertaken a deliberate approach to the city of Charleston, South Carolina. He had been a part of the failed attack on Charleston in June 1776. On that occasion, the British had chosen a naval approach and attacked Fort Sullivan. Clinton had learned from that mistake and this time slowly isolated the city by land. On April 14, at the Battle of Monck's Corner, Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton cut off the last line of communication for Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln, Continental commander of Charleston. On May 12, 1780, General Lincoln surrendered Charleston. Five thousand Continental soldiers became prisoners of war and enormous stores of munitions were lost. After the victory, General Clinton sailed north back to New York City leaving Lt. General Charles Cornwallis in command. Clinton's orders to Cornwallis were simple: he was to hold the port cities of Charleston and Savannah, Georgia firmly under British control. He could carry on operations in the backcountry any way he wished, as long as he maintained control of those two cities.  Plan of the Battle of Camden, 16 August 1780 On May 29, 1780, at Waxhaws, Lt. Colonel Tarleton caught up with a small Continental force retreating to North Carolina. Colonel Abraham Buford had turned back after learning that General Lincoln had surrendered. With that defeat, the lone remaining Continental force in the South was at Deep River, North Carolina. Maj. General Baron De Kalb and over a thousand Maryland and Delaware Continentals had left Morristown, New Jersey on April 16 with orders from General George Washington to reinforce General Lincoln. They had made it to North Carolina, when word of Charleston's surrender reached them. De Kalb had halted and made camp, while awaiting new orders from Washington. Even before General Lincoln surrendered Charleston, the Continental Congress had chosen his replacement as Continental Commander of the Southern Department. General Washington had recommended Maj. General Nathanael Greene for the command, but Congress instead chose Maj. General Horatio Gates. Gates had been lobbying Southern congressmen through a stream of letters, he began lobbying southern congressmen. On May 7, the Continental Congress chose Gates to replace General Lincoln. On June 13, Gates received word of his appointment and left for the South immediately. On July 25, 1780, Gates arrived at the Deep River camp and took command from General de Kalb.  General Horatio Gates General Gates immediately ordered that the army be prepared to march at a moment's notice, in spite of the deplorable condition of the force. On July 27, he set out with his army for Camden, South Carolina. Camden was central to controlling the back country of South Carolina because of its crossroads location near the Wateree River and the Catawba (Indian) Trail. Gates had chosen a direct march to Camden through difficult, swampy terrain over the advice of his officers who were familiar with the area. They had recommended a route that would have started out west, then turned south. It was more indirect, but was a route through Patriot-friendly regions, which meant food and supplies. Not only was the route that Gates had chosen more difficult, but it was through unfriendly territory. Sometime after July 27, Francis Marion joined Maj. General Horatio Gates' army. Gates now met Marion and his band of militia for the first time and found their appearance so shabby that it was a distraction to the regulars. He took little time in detaching Marion with orders to gather intelligence on the movements of the British. During the march, Gates sent Lt. Colonel William Washington and his cavalry away, because he did not think cavalry would be of use in the South.  Francis Marion General Gates also weakened his force during this time by sending 400 men, including 100 Maryland regulars to assist Thomas Sumter, who had requested reinforcements to conduct his own raids. It appears that Gates' original strategy was to use Marion and Sumter to cut off Camden's supply lines from the south. This action would leave Camden vulnerable and force the British to evacuate their garrison without a fight.  Colonel Lord Rawdon General Gates had counted on Lt. General Charles Earl Cornwallis remaining in Charleston. Camden was held by a garrison of about 700 men under Lt. Colonel Lord Rawdon. However, on August 9, General Cornwallis received word from Lord Rawdon of General Gates' approach and he immediately set out for Camden, arriving on August 13. Meanwhile, Gates had found the going difficult and anticipated supplies had not turned up along the route. The men had ended up eating green apples and peaches.  Lt. General Charles Earl Cornwallis On August 15, General Gates issued orders for a night approach to Camden. The evening's meal had been topped off with a dessert of molasses that had dire effects on the digestion of the men. At the same time, General Cornwallis had ordered a night march in preparation for an early morning attack on Gates at Rugeley's Mill. As Gates' Continental force marched south on the evening of the 15th, men often broke ranks as the molasses took its stomach churning effect. At about 2:00 A.M. on August 16, 1780, General Gates' Continental force General Cornwallis' British force literally ran into each other on the Waxhaws road about ten miles from Camden. The forward cavalry screens of Continental Colonel Charles Armand and Lt. Colonel Tarleton clashed and skirmished in the dark. The cavalry was pushed back into the marching columns causing confusion until 100 Virginia state troops maintained formation and steadied the Continentals.
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LOL! Three good stories, thanks for the laughs this morning.
Very fascinating read . . . my God, the cumbered burden that Gates would live with.
BTW, I'm glad that Clinton went on to Yorktown . . . I really try to skip the parts of American history that involve Clinton. ;^)
I really try to skip the parts of American history that involve Clinton
Amazing how tha name inspires such animosity no matter who holds it. The name has been forever ruined for me. The High School ROTC Commander is Col. Clinton and I have a hard time talking to him and seeing that name on his uniform.
Right! Rorge!
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