[Front]
The first Baptist Church in this area of Kershaw County was founded in a wooded area on Mecklenburg Road, two miles south of Lynchwood, now the town of Bethune. The church was founded in 1852 by Ellie Copeland and established on land . . . — — Map (db m28264) HM
(Front) In 1760 Joseph Tiller received a grant for 100 acres on Lynches River, including this crossroads. James Tiller operated a ferry across the river 1 mi. N before 1806. He operated a toll bridge near the ferry, on the Stagecoach or . . . — — Map (db m53977) HM
Outnumbered and with little hope of getting reinforcements, Lord Rawdon believed that it would be foolish to sit passively behind Camden’s fortifications. Instead, after an American deserter reported that Greene had no artillery, Rawdon chose to . . . — — Map (db m48692) HM
Late in the afternoon of April 25, Greene sent William Washington’s cavalry and Captain Robert Kirkwood’s Delaware company back to Hobkirk’s Hill to gather wounded men and stragglers. Seeing Major John Coffin and his Loyalist cavalry on the hill, . . . — — Map (db m48737) HM
Logtown was a cluster of log houses one mile north of the colonial town of Camden. The American army approached Camden from the northeast on April 19, 1781. General Greene ordered Captain Robert Kirkwood and his company of Delaware Continentals to . . . — — Map (db m48263) HM
At the start of the Revolution, South Carolina's slaves numbered over 100,000, compared to 70,000 white inhabitants. Most slaves labored on coastal plantations-only 6,000 lived in the backcountry. Slaves in the Camden area helped to build and . . . — — Map (db m23492) HM
Here sleeps Agnes of Glasgow, who tradition says followed her lover, of the British Army, across the ocean and through the wilderness to Camden. She was taken by death before she found him and buried here at night by King Haigler and his men. — — Map (db m49276) HM
The force fighting under Gen. Charles, Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Camden was as diverse as the foe they faced. At the core of the British Army were the “regulars.” That may not sound threatening, but these highly trained . . . — — Map (db m48000) HM
Major General Horatio Gates (1728-1806)
Born in England, Gates served as a staff officer during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), but later resigned from the British army. He moved to Virginia in 1772. At the outbreak of the Revolution, he . . . — — Map (db m48895) HM
Following the tradition of positioning the best troops at the commander’s right hand, Gen. Horatio Gates placed one brigade of Continentals on his right, and held the second in reserve, leaving inexperienced militia on his left. Since Cornwallis . . . — — Map (db m48006) HM
On this site stood the birthplace and boyhood home of Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965), financier, philanthropist, and adviser to presidents. He was instrumental in establishing the Camden Hospital, with opened in 1913, as a tribute to his father, Dr. . . . — — Map (db m27624) HM
Near here on August 16, 1780, an American army under General Gates was defeated by British forces commanded by Lord Cornwallis. Major General Baron de Kalb was mortally wounded in this battle.
British Troops Engaged
Tarleton’s Legion, . . . — — Map (db m11255) HM
Battle of Hobkirk Hill in the Revolutionary War took place on this ridge April 25, 1781. The British Army was commanded by General Lord Rawdon, the Continental Army by General Nathanael Greene. — — Map (db m27618) HM
in the Revolutionary War took place on this ridge
April 25, 1781.
The British Amry was Commanded by General Lord Rawdon, the Continental Army by General Nathanael Greene. — — Map (db m27617) HM
Along this ridge, American and British armies clashed on April 25, 1781, in the Revolutionary War Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill. Major General Nathanael Greene’s American troops had occupied the hill to threaten Camden, the most important British post in . . . — — Map (db m48690) HM
Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis (1738 - 1805) Lord Cornwallis, a member of one of England’s most prominent noble families, began his military career in 1756. He distinguished himself during the Seven Year’s War (1756 - 1763). At . . . — — Map (db m48894) HM
This area, first held by Wateree and Catawba Indians, was laid out as Fredericksburg Township in 1733. Here on the Catawba Path the trading town of Pine Tree Hill was settled. In 1769 courts were set up and the town named Camden in honor of Lord . . . — — Map (db m27622) HM
This area, first held by Wateree and Catawba Indians, was laid out as Fredericksburg Township in 1733. Here on the Catawba Path the trading town of Pine Tree Hill was settled. In 1769 courts were set up and town named Camden in honor of Lord Camden, . . . — — Map (db m27621) HM
At the start of the American Revolution, Camden was located here, just south of the present city. It was home to at least thirty families, a Presbyterian church, and a Quaker meetinghouse. With its court house, stores, artisans, and grist mills to . . . — — Map (db m49034) HM
At the start of the American Revolution, Robert Kirkwood served as a lieutenant in Hazlet’s Delaware Regiment and in 1777 was promoted to captain and company commander in the 1st Delaware Continental Regiment. In the Battle of Camden (Aug. 16, . . . — — Map (db m48688) HM
After ordering Webster to attack, Cornwallis commanded Lt. Col., Lord Rawdon to advance on his left. Through heavy fire, they drove back the 2nd Maryland Brigade until Gen. Baron De Kalb succeeded in halting the British charge and leading a . . . — — Map (db m48024) HM
In colonial America, all able-bodied men from teenagers to sixty-year-olds served in the militia, a local force that turned out for military service in times of emergency. Official training sessions, or musters, were held once or twice per year in . . . — — Map (db m23387) HM
Joseph Kershaw (1727 - 1791) is buried in this family enclosure. He was a successful businessman, politician, district sheriff, and South Carolina Patriot militia colonel in the Revolutionary War. He helped mediate a peaceful settlement to the South . . . — — Map (db m48183) HM
This Monument is erected by the women of Kershaw County in memory of her brave sons who fell during the Confederate War defending the rights and honor of the South. — — Map (db m23445) HM
Acrid smoke made it hard to breathe or see. The roar of gunfire and the death-cries of comrades made it hard to hear or think. The 1st Maryland Brigade and the NC militia battled the British 23rd and 33rd Regiments and light infantry in the center . . . — — Map (db m48019) HM
Donald Leroy Truesdell Aug. 26. 1906 Sept. 21, 1993 Medal of Honor Recipient Place/Citation: Costancia, Northern Nicaragua 1932Truesdell, serving in Nicaragua as second in command of a guardia national patrol, was sent out on mission with orders to . . . — — Map (db m62200) WM
Defeated along the entire front, the remaining American troops lost all military organization and fled in confusion. Some Continentals from the 1st Maryland Brigade retreated along the Great Wagon Road. Others, including survivors of the 2nd . . . — — Map (db m48031) HM
E.H. Dibble Store This store, constructed in 1891 on what was then the corner of 6th Avenue (now Broad Street) and DeKalb Street, was the second home of E.H.Dibble and Brothers Grocery, which sold "general merchandise" as well as "heavy and . . . — — Map (db m23442) HM
With the British troops holding the summit of Hobkirk’s Hill and his own army in disorder, Greene decided to retreat. In the confusion of battle, some of the American soldiers managed to carry off the army’s artillery, preventing its capture by the . . . — — Map (db m70789) HM
Lord Rawdon had defeated the American army at Hobkirk’s Hill, but the British gained nothing from the victory. Two days earlier, on April 23, South Carolina partisans under Francis Marion and Henry Lee’s Continental legion had forced the surrender . . . — — Map (db m48697) HM
On this corner stood the gaol, built in 1771 and burned in 1812. During the Revolution the British imprisoned in it many American soldiers and civilians. Among them, after his capture near the Waxhaws, was the boy Andrew Jackson, later seventh . . . — — Map (db m27620) HM
When the militia fled before the initial British charge, Gates tried to rally them. However, the throng of panicked militiamen swept him up in their northward flight.
Far removed from the battlefield, Gates assumed that his army had been . . . — — Map (db m48013) HM
150 yards to the east is where Gen. Nathanael Grenne had the headquarters of the American Army during the Battel of Hodkirk Hill April 25, 1781. — — Map (db m27615) HM
Seeing that the British line was much shorter than his own, Greene decided to counterattack. He ordered the 1st Maryland and 2nd Virginia regiments to make a frontal attack against the advancing British troops, while the 2nd Maryland regiment struck . . . — — Map (db m48733) HM
Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site is located at the original site of Camden, the oldest inland town in South Carolina. Established in 1733, colonial Camden emerged as the trade center of the backcountry by the 1760s. On June 1, 1780, Camden’s . . . — — Map (db m48897) HM
In honor and remembrance of the Heroes and Victims in the Fight Against Terrorism and to Celebrate the Enduring Spirit of All Americans Presented by Woodmen of the World — — Map (db m48264) HM
Side One
In memory of James Polk Dickinson, a native of Camden born January 21st 1816. And died at Mixchoac Mexico Sept 12th 1847 Fearless of danger and undaunted by opposition he was an early active and zealous champion in the Floridian and . . . — — Map (db m49273) HM
This farm was the boyhood home of John Carl West (b. 1922), governor of South Carolina 1971-75. West, a graduate of the Citadel and the University of S.C., served as an intelligence officer in World War II, as state senator 1955-66, and as . . . — — Map (db m27656) HM
A native of England, Joseph Kershaw came to South Carolina about 1755 and had moved to Camden (then called Pine Tree Hill) by 1758, where he established a store.
As a member of the colonial legislator, Kershaw promoted Camden's development and . . . — — Map (db m23382) HM
This Georgian Mansion overlooking Camden was originally built c.1775-1780 by Joseph Kershaw. A wealthy merchant and leading citizen, Kershaw modeled his residence after the William Washington house in Charleston. During the British occupation of . . . — — Map (db m156317) HM
King Haiglar is often called the patron saint of Camden. From about 1750 until his murder by hostile Indians in 1763, this noble Catawba chief was a valuable friend to the pioneers of Pine Tree Hill, as Camden was then known.
Some time . . . — — Map (db m23408) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m49354) HM
[Front]
Mather Academy was founded in 1887 by the New England Southern Conference of the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Church. It succeeded a freedmen's school opened during Reconstruction by Sarah Babcock, who returned . . . — — Map (db m27657) HM
The Americans who fought the Revolutionary War reflected colonial society: an array of backgrounds, ages and skill. Professional soldiers mixed with non-military tradesmen, idealistic Europeans shared battlefields with illiterate farmers, Native . . . — — Map (db m47997) HM
(Front) In the 1798 city plan, this five-acre park was laid out as a public square. In 1900 the Seaboard Air Line Railway built a passenger depot next to it, on the SW corner of Chesnut & Gordon Sts. The city beautified the square to . . . — — Map (db m54659) HM
In 1883, the Ladies Memorial Association of Camden unveiled this monument dedicated to Kershaw County’s Confederate War dead. Confederate General John Doby Kennedy of Camden laid the cornerstone with a Masonic trowel once used by Revolutionary War . . . — — Map (db m109890) HM
Lt. Col. James Polk Dickinson (1816-1847) was born in Camden. He studied law and served in the State Legislature from 1842-1848. Contemporary accounts described him as “proud, high spirited, and restive under control.” He was also known . . . — — Map (db m109892) HM
The Catawba Indians befriended and traded with the first English colonists who settled in the interior of South Carolina. In 1763, after a devastating smallpox epidemic, tribal leaders ceded most of their land in exchange for a reservation along the . . . — — Map (db m23393) HM
This partially reconstructed redoubt was one of six small forts built by British forces during their occupation of Camden in 1780 - 1781. Manned by a detachment of infantry and supported by heavy artillery, these works served as the outer line of . . . — — Map (db m49107) HM
In 1780 - 81, the British built a series of small forts or redoubts to serve as an outer line of defense for their headquarters at Camden. They were well fortified with troops and artillery, making Camden relatively impenetrable to attack by the . . . — — Map (db m111224) HM
In 1780 - 81, the British built a series of small forts or redoubts to serve as an outer line of defense for their headquarters at Camden. They were well fortified with troops and artillery, making Camden relatively impenetrable to attacks by the . . . — — Map (db m49355) HM
On this site stood the original Camden District Courthouse and gaol (jail), built in response to increased lawlessness in the South Carolina backcountry. Construction was completed in 1771 and the first term of criminal court convened shortly . . . — — Map (db m49353) HM
This wall is a partial reconstruction of the wall erected by British forces during their occupation of Camden in 1780 - 81. The log wall completely surrounded the central portion of the town, which was located along both sides of Broad Street and . . . — — Map (db m49112) HM
When ordering his militia to attack, Gates envisioned them marching forward and leaving their initial position vacant.
He therefore instructed Gen. William Smallwood to advance his 1st Maryland Brigade to take their place. However, before . . . — — Map (db m48014) HM
This structure was built in 1777 under the direction of Joseph Kershaw for the state of South Carolina. A storage facility for ammunition, the magazine had a vaulted roof, 48 inch walls, and supporting butteresses and pillars. Although local . . . — — Map (db m23385) HM
Near this memorial stood the Presbyterian Meeting House, first place of worship in Camden after that of the Quakers. It was built about 1774 on land given by Col. Joseph Kershaw and confirmed in his Will dated 1778. The first building was destroyed . . . — — Map (db m49524) HM
Captured Americans were confined in Camden throughout the British occupation. When the American army approached the town in August 1780, British troops locked the town’s patriot leaders in the jail (located on the southeast corner of Broad and King . . . — — Map (db m49106) HM
After the battle, Cornwallis’s exhausted infantry held the field while Tarleton and his cavalry chased the Americans, capturing hundreds and killing untold others. Loyalists living north of Camden rounded up more patriot prisoners, turning them over . . . — — Map (db m48040) HM
Near here was the Meeting House built by the Quakers on four acres of land leased to them by Samuel Wyly on Sept. 6, 1759, for the term of 999 years at a yearly rental of one Pepper Corn, if lawfully demanded. This was their burial ground. The . . . — — Map (db m49685) HM
This memorial is dedicated to American Revolutionary War heroes who were patriots of the Old Camden District … Markers are for Patriots buried in graves known and unknown … Patriots in marked graves in Quaker Cemetery are: Surgeon Isaac Alexander, . . . — — Map (db m51707) HM
(West face):
To Richard Kirkland C. S. A. in commemoration of his heroism at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862. Christlike compassion moved him to leap over the stone wall, a mark for hostile guns, and carry water, again and again, to the . . . — — Map (db m48188) HM
(Front)
The Samuel Mathis House, known as “Aberdeen,” was built c. 1805 and is among the oldest extant houses in Camden. It was home to prominent Camden residents Samuel and Margaret Mathis. Samuel (1760-1823) was reportedly the . . . — — Map (db m159724) HM
Under a full moon in the dead of night, the advance guards of the two armies came upon each other on the Great Wagon Road. Britain’s Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, marching from Camden with his dragoons, promptly charged the American cavalry of Col. . . . — — Map (db m48004) HM
This reconstructed small fort, guarding the southeastern approaches to Camden, was one of a ring of redoubts surrounding the fortified town. Typical of eighteenth century field fortifications, this redoubt used a combination of moat, earthen . . . — — Map (db m23383) HM
In 1780 - 81, the British built a series of small forts to serve as an outer line of defense for their headquarters at the Town of Camden. They were fortified with troops and artillery, making Camden relatively impenetrable to attack by the Colonial . . . — — Map (db m49357) HM
In 1780 - 81, the British built a series of small forts or redoubts to serve as an outer line of defense for their headquarters at Camden. They were well fortified with troops and artillery, making Camden relatively impenetrable to attack by the . . . — — Map (db m111225) HM
After Lord Rawdon reinforced his flanks, American and British soldiers exchanged musket volleys for several minutes. The battered British units on Rawdon’s left soon began to fall back.
Just as American victory seemed assured, a sharpshooter . . . — — Map (db m48734) HM
At Hobkirk’s Hill the American army numbered between 1,200 and 1,500 men. Col. Otho Holland Williams’s brigade held the left of the line. It consisted of two Maryland Continental regiments commanded by Col. John Gunby and Lt. Col. Benjamin Ford, . . . — — Map (db m48268) HM
In late March 1781, Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene made one of the most important decisions of the Revolutionary War. Rather than pursue Lord Cornwallis’s British force toward Wilmington, North Carolina, Greene resolved to lead the American army back to . . . — — Map (db m48185) HM
The Battle of Hobkirk Hill
Revolutionary War April 25, 1781
Took Place on this ridge
The Continental Army was commanded by General Nathaniel Greene and The British by General Lord Rawdon — — Map (db m48266) HM
This Charleston Single House was built about 1817 by William Daniel(B. 1775 ~ D. 1828), a planter and owner of farm property at White Oak Creek about halfway between Camden and Liberty Hill. His vault type tomb is located there. In 1837 the house . . . — — Map (db m53974) HM
Lord Rawdon commanded less than 950 men at Hobkirk’s Hill. The majority were American Loyalists in the Volunteers of Ireland (140), the King’s American Regiment (160), New York Volunteers (160), the South Carolina Royalists (130), and Major John . . . — — Map (db m48271) HM
Rawdon’s advance companies, the light infantry and grenadiers of the Volunteers of Ireland, struck the pickets on Greene’s left. The musket fire alerted the Americans, who hurried to get into battle formation.
Meanwhile, Rawdon deployed the . . . — — Map (db m48735) HM
The American capture of Fort Watson on the Santee River on April 23,1781,cut the supply line from Charleston to Camden. Lord Rawdon, commander of the British garrison, admitted that he was"completely dependent...for subsistence, for military stores, . . . — — Map (db m23403) HM
As a mere sapling, I witnessed the rebirth of Camden after the devastations of the American Revolution. The British had occupied our town as a supply post in June 1780. When they evacuated eleven months later, they left it “little more than a . . . — — Map (db m48739) HM
Erected to the memory of those who lost their lives in the Cleveland School Fire, on the night of May 17, 1923.
Grace Arrants, Age 7 yr.; Ima Arrants, Age 17 yr; Mrs. Floride Brown, Age 47 yr.; Lottie Brown, Age 9 yr.; Eugene A. Brown, Age 57 . . . — — Map (db m48563) HM
The area between the Kershaw House and Camden was the scene of numerous military exercises throughout the years. Occupying British troops used the field as a parade ground, and in 1825, Revolutionary War hero the Marquise de Lafayette reviewed . . . — — Map (db m49109) HM
(Front Face):
To De Kalb
Here lie the remains of Baron De Kalb, German by birth, but in principle, citizen of the world.
(Left Face):
He was second in command in the battle fought near Camden, on the 16th August, 1780, . . . — — Map (db m47858) HM
The first fortifications at Camden were constructed in March and April, 1780, to protect the town's powder magazine from surprise attack by Loyalists. When British forces under Lord Cornwallis occupied the town on June 1, they strengthened the . . . — — Map (db m23390) HM
Many Americans opposed the Revolutionary movement, preferring to remain under British rule. These colonists called themselves "Loyalists". The Revolutionaries called them "Tories"or the "disaffected".
When fighting began, state officials ordered . . . — — Map (db m23384) HM
The Price House dates to 1829-30 and was built shortly after the Camden fire of 1829 burned many of the homes and businesses on Broad St. The Greek Revival home is representative of other buildings that once stood nearby, with the lower floor . . . — — Map (db m159722) HM
See that flat depression in the ground? That’s the surviving imprint of the Great Wagon Road, a route used by thousands of settlers from the 1740s to the early 1800s.
The road began in Philadelphia, carrying Quakers, Germans, Scots-Irish and . . . — — Map (db m47993) HM
Upon returning to South Carolina, Greene moved against Camden, where Lord Rawdon commanded the British garrison. Rawdon attacked the Americans at Hobkirk’s Hill on April 25, 1781, and defeated Greene. However, partisan forces cut the British line of . . . — — Map (db m49037) HM
After the American defeat at Camden in August 1780, the remnants of the Continental Army regrouped in North Carolina. Lord Cornwallis decided to follow up his victory with an invasion of that state, and advanced from Camden on September 8. The . . . — — Map (db m49041) HM
The American victory at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777, and France’s subsequent entry into the Revolutionary War as an American ally, forced British officials to abandon their effort to achieve victory in the northern colonies. Instead, they . . . — — Map (db m49044) HM
A few weeks of peace followed the British capture of Charleston in May 1780 and their occupation of the South Carolina and Georgia backcountry. However, determined patriots like Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter soon organized partisan units and . . . — — Map (db m49113) HM
In 1780 - 81, the British built a series of small forts or redoubts to serve as an outer line of defense for their headquarters at Camden. They were well fortified with troops and artillery, making Camden relatively impenetrable to attacks by the . . . — — Map (db m49356) HM
In 1780 - 81, the British built a series of small forts or redoubts to serve as an outer line of defense for their headquarters at Camden. They were fortified with troops and artillery, making Camden relatively impenetrable to attack by the . . . — — Map (db m109732) HM
Lt. Col. Washington led his Calvary around the east side of the battlefield, then rode into the British rear at the base of Hobkirk’s Hill. There he found a large number of stragglers, wounded men, doctors, and other noncombatants.
Washington . . . — — Map (db m48736) HM
Women lived difficult lives in the Revolutionary era. They cooked, wove cloth and sewed it into clothing, washed, mended, and raised children. They also usually helped their husbands on the farm or in the family business.
The war forced women to . . . — — Map (db m23402) HM
(Front)
Midway School, established on this site in 1923 with grades 1-11, served Cassatt and other rural areas in Kershaw County near U.S. Hwy. 1 from Little Lynches River to the Shepard community. The high school later added grade 12, then . . . — — Map (db m47547) HM
(Front):
This crossroads, long owned by the West family, is the junction of the Georgetown and Porter Bridge Roads, both of which appear on Robert Mills's 1825 Atlas of S.C. In early 1865 opposing forces camped nearby as Gen. M.C. Butler's . . . — — Map (db m28260) HM
This memorial honors all American Veterans who, although separated by generations, shared a common, undeniable goal ~ to valiantly protect our country's freedoms. The memories of these American veterans will continue to live on whenever and . . . — — Map (db m51961) HM
(Front) A ferry was operated on the Wateree River, at a point about 4 mi. W, as early as 1775. In 1808 ferry rights were granted to Thomas Starke, Jr. and Austin Ford Peay (d. 1841), planters with property in Fairfield and Kershaw . . . — — Map (db m49352) HM
The Warrenton Muster Ground, originally known as Gardner's Old Field, was a nineteenth and early-twentieth century meeting place for local militia companies. The area was named Warrenton after thirty families from Warrenton, N.C. settled here . . . — — Map (db m27658) HM
(West Face):
Dedicated to Lt. Gen. James Maurice Gavin, USA March 22, 1907 ~ February 23, 1990 And Our Honored Dead *** 1st Commander 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment Commanding General 82nd Airborne Division Ambassador to France *** A . . . — — Map (db m49770) HM
Gen. Edward E. Potter commanding 2700 white and Negro Union troops left Georgetown April 5, 1865, to destroy the railroad between Sumter and Camden. Here on April 18, in one of the last engagements of the war, a small force of Confederate . . . — — Map (db m27623) HM
