The British Evacuation
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, for horses, for arms" on Charleston.
Having failed to drive Greene far from Camden after the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, and unable to bring the Americans to battle on favorable terms, Rawdon knew that he would be surrounded and forced to surrender if he tried to hold the town. On May 9, the British destroyed the supplies they could not carry, partially leveled the fortifications, and evacuated Camden during the night, leaving behind some American prisoners and wounded British soldiers. Many Loyalist refugees accompanied the army.
"Lord Rawdon burnt the greatest part of his baggage... he set fire also to the prison, mill, and several other buildings and left the town little better than a beapof ruins."
Nathanael Greene
Marker is on State Road (South Carolina Route 28-703).
Courtesy hmdb.org
