In the book Revolutionary Camden: South Carolina’s Bloody Epicenter in the War of Independence, Derek Smith presents a remarkable tale of a city, armies, battles, and the impact each had on the others. Smith begins with a history of the South Carolina Low Country and how Camden came to be where it was. He broadly outlines the family history of some key families who would play huge roles in the city, in the war, and in the future of the town. He follows this with the “road to war” and revolutionary beliefs and impacts in the area. I am a native of South Carolina and educated there, but I learned that South Carolina was the first state to declare independence from England and the declaration was used as the basis for the later proclamation in Philadelphia in 1776.
The book is not as one might believe from the title solely about Camden; the author discusses Charleston and other areas of South Carolina and battles that Charleston’s strategic position either influenced or was influenced by. The author explains something that I have never heard: Lord Cornwallis of Yorktown surrender fame was a previous member of Parliament where he was a support of colonial self-rule. Cornwallis voted against the Stamp Act and Smith does a great job explaining such impacts of the local economy as a result of the Stamp and Declaratory Acts. When the war began, however, Cornwallis was ordered to a unit, given a commission, and supported the Crown, as was his duty. Smith’s amazing research is evidenced throughout from excerpts of letters among families, friends, generals, etc. One example that demonstrates his thorough depth of research in detailing items taken from the Kershaw Store when the British occupied the town. Smith includes the exploits of Tarlton most and mentions Thomas Sumpter and Francis Marion as related to supporting Horatio Gates and Nathanael Greene in the area surrounding Camden. Smith details how the weather impacted British soldiers, details the impacts of smallpox and medical support to hospitals, and details the impacts of different groups such as the Irish and loyalists. This is not a “blow-by-blow” account of how the battles occurred. He describes the details of larger battles only mentioning key units.
The focus of the book is on the city and area and how it impacted the battles and the citizens in a weird interplay. This is exemplified by the thread of the Kershaw family—a prominent family in the Camden area for which Kershaw County is named for their patriotic efforts and sacrifice during the way. They lost everything and Mrs. Kershaw played a role in occupied Camden. He also weaves in important details about the role of a young Andrew Jackson, who was raised in the area north of Camden but was captured and held prisoner as a young boy. Jackson almost starved to death while his brother died, and this influenced him in his belief for freedom. His breadth continues with him always exploring the need for supplies on both sides, mentioning how this hindered operations many times for the British on land that could barely support the residents much less two armies of two thousand to four thousand people each. The author does a great job explaining each of the senior leaders’ thoughts throughout: why to attack, retreat, delay, etc. Smith ends the book with short chapters on what happened to key leaders mentioned in the book after the war. There is also a nice recap of visits to Camden by George Washington on his battlefield tour, Lafayette’s visit in 1825 for the reinternment of and monument dedication to Gen. Johann DeKalb who died at the Battle of Camden, the role of women, and the role of African Americans.
The only recommendation is to add a map or two showing where some of the key locations are/were for the reader to get a sense of location and distance around Camden.
The book was a fast, enjoyable read, organized in a logical manner, and broken into short chapters. I recommend the book to anyone interested in the American Revolutionary War Southern Theater of Operations or History of South Carolina. It is a good partner read to Andrew Waters’s The Quaker and the Gamecock: Nathanael Greene, Thomas Sumter, and the Revolutionary War for the Soul of the South, which I also reviewed.