Walter Edgar's Journal

In 1780, Camden was the oldest and largest town in the Carolina backcountry. It was strategic to both the British Army and the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. Following a series of strategic errors before and during the Battle of Camden, the Patriot army under command of Major General Horatio Gates was soundly defeated, ushering in changes in military leadership that altered the war’s course. In November of 2022, the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust announced a significant, historic discovery at the battlefield. The Trust, acting on behalf of Historic Camden Foundation, contracted with the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, to excavate a number of bodies of soldiers killed in the August 16, 1780 Battle of Camden. Artifacts from the burial sites are being studied; and the remains will be reintered with full, military honors, following ceremonies April 20-22, 2023, in Camden.