Camden in Kershaw County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb's Original Gravesite
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 5, 2017
1. Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb's Original Gravesite Marker
Inscription.
Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb's Original Gravesite. . Johann de Kalb (1721 - 1780) had a distinguished career in the French army and later served as a spy for the French Court, touring the British American colonies in 1768. He returned to America with the Marquis de Lafayette in 1777 to assist the American revolutionaries, and Congress appointed him a major general in the Continental Army. Having led the Maryland and Delaware Continental troops to the South in 1780, he fought heroically at the Battle of Camden, where he received 11 gunshot and bayonet wounds. He was treated at the British military hospital at Camden by Lord Cornwallis’s own surgeons, and reportedly told a British officer: “I die the death I always prayed for: the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man.” He died on August 19 and was buried at this location with full military honors. Disinterred in 1825, his body was reburied at Bethesda Presbyterian Church on DeKalb Street., “Too much honor cannot be paid by Congress, to the memory of the Baron De Kalb. He was every thing an excellent officer should be, and in the cause of the United States, he has sacrificed his life.” Gen. Horatio Gates
Johann de Kalb (1721 - 1780) had a distinguished career in the French army and later served as a spy for the French Court, touring the British American colonies in 1768. He returned to America with the Marquis de Lafayette in 1777 to assist the American revolutionaries, and Congress appointed him a major general in the Continental Army. Having led the Maryland and Delaware Continental troops to the South in 1780, he fought heroically at the Battle of Camden, where he received 11 gunshot and bayonet wounds. He was treated at the British military hospital at Camden by Lord Cornwallis’s own surgeons, and reportedly told a British officer: “I die the death I always prayed for: the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man.” He died on August 19 and was buried at this location with full military honors. Disinterred in 1825, his body was reburied at Bethesda Presbyterian Church on DeKalb Street.
“Too much honor cannot be paid by Congress, to the memory of the Baron De Kalb. He was every thing an excellent officer should be, and in the cause of the United States, he has sacrificed his life.” Gen. Horatio Gates
14.039′ N, 80° 36.453′ W. Marker is in Camden, South Carolina, in Kershaw County. Marker is at the intersection of Meeting Street and Church Street, on the right when traveling west on Meeting Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Camden SC 29020, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb's Original Gravesite Marker
Photographed By Anna Inbody, November 8, 2011
3. Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb's Original Gravesite Marker
Photographed By Anna Inbody, November 8, 2011
4. Overview
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 5, 2017
5. Maj. Gen. Baron Johann de Kalb's Original Gravesite Marker
Photographed By Anna Inbody, November 8, 2011
6. Picture on the marker
Battle of Camden, So Ca Death of Genl De-Kalb
Engraving by Adam B. Walter. Private collection W. Polk.
Photographed By Anna Inbody, November 8, 2011
7. Picture on the marker
"The Death of DeKalb" colored by B. Caroline Baxley from an engraving of a painting by Alonzo Chappel.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2011, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,300 times since then and 61 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on November 7, 2017, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 2. submitted on April 10, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. 3, 4. submitted on November 9, 2011, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina. 5. submitted on November 7, 2017, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 6, 7. submitted on November 9, 2011, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.