General Horatio Gates was the leader of the new Continental Army in the South. He was known as the “Hero of Saratoga,” one of the biggest patriot victories, in New York State in 1777. His second-in-command was Baron Johann DeKalb.
Gates’ opponent was Lieutenant General Charles Earl Cornwallis, who had been appointed by General Clinton to lead the Southern Campaign when Clinton returned to New York.
On August 16, 1780, General Gates' army, joined by militia men from North Carolina and Virginia, marched south toward the British outpost in Camden, South Carolina. At the same time, Cornwallis's army headed north. The cavalries clashed in a battle that became known as the Battle of Camden, the largest battle in the South up to that point
Standards
- 4-3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the conflict between the American colonies and England.
- 8-2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the American Revolution and the beginnings of the new nation, with an emphasis on South Carolina’s role in the development of that nation.