Battle of Hobkirk's Hill
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War
fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina
. Nathanael Greene
considered the battle a lost opportunity to defeat a significant force of the British Army
under Francis Rawdon
and compel the British forces to abandon their outposts scattered across South Carolina
for the safety of Charleston
.
, Cornwallis
's force was spent and in great need of supply. He therefore moved his army towards Wilmington, North Carolina
where he had previously ordered supplies to be sent. Greene
pursued the British force for a short time before deciding to take his forces into South Carolina
. Greene hoped that by threatening the British garrisons in the state he could force Cornwallis to pursue him and then engage the British on ground favorable to his army. When informed of this strategy, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee replied on April 2:
When Cornwallis did not pursue the Continental Army
, Greene chose to reduce the British garrisons scattered throughout South Carolina
in order to force the British back into Charleston
. To this end, Greene started his army of 1,450 men, made up of four Continental regiment
s, Lee's Legion
, Washington
's Cavalry and Campbell's Riflemen, as rapidly and secretly as possible towards Camden
, which was at the center of the British line of posts in South Carolina. At the same time he hoped to secure the cooperation of the various partisan
bands in South Carolina. The movement was part of an intricate campaign organised by Greene involving Continental and militia troops all across the colony. To that end, he sent Lee and his men to assist General Francis Marion
, whose small band of militia was being pursued by 400 British troops under John Watson, in the hopes of preventing Watson and his men from reaching Camden before the battle. To that end he was successful, as the combined forces of Lee and Marion forced Watson to make a lengthy detour before eventually rejoining the British forces at Camden after the battle.
The Camden garrison under Lord Francis Rawdon
included the 63rd (The West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, the Volunteers of Ireland
, the King's American Regiment
, the New York Volunteers
, the South Carolina Royalists and a small detachment of cavalry.
The town of Camden was situated on a gentle elevation. To the south and southwest lay the Wateree River
and to the east was Pinetree creek. A ring of redoubt
s, constructed by the British during their year long occupation of the town, stretched from the Wateree to the Pinetree and covered the northern approaches. Upon arrival on April 20, 1781 at Camden, it was apparent that the Continentals had lost the element of surprise as Rawdon's forces were prepared on all fronts. Being unable to storm the town or surround the entire circle of fortifications, Greene chose to encamp his army about a mile and a half away on a small elevation called Hobkirk's Hill, blocking Great Waxhaw Road. As he did not have enough men to besiege Camden, Greene, hoping to draw Rawdon into an attack on the position, organized the camp so that battle positions could be taken quickly in the event of an alarm.
The following evening, Greene's intelligence indicated that a force of some four hundred British soldiers was marching to Camden to join Rawdon's garrison
. Greene detached some of the South Carolina militia under Colonel Carrington
to the east with some of his artillery to cover the road from Charleston. Finding the terrain too marshy for the artillery, Carrington removed the cannon to a position of safety and awaited further orders. On April 24, having received updated information that the additional forces were not on their way to join the Camden garrison, Greene ordered Carrington back to Hobkirk's Hill.
Early the next morning a Continental deserter, sometimes identified as a drummer, made his way into Camden. He was brought before Rawdon and informed the British commander of the Continental Army's dispositions and that they had no artillery. Fearing that Generals Marion and Lee were on their way to join Greene and believing the Continental artillery was many miles away, Rawdon decided it was a judicious time to attack.
On the morning of April 25, 1781, Rawdon was still under the impression that the Continental army was without its artillery. At approximately 9 am he left the security of the Camden fortifications with 900 troops. Unknown to Rawdon, Carrington had returned to Hobkirk's Hill that morning, together with the artillery and provisions, which were distributed to the Continental troops. At around 11 am, while many of the Continentals were occupied with cooking and washing clothes, their advanced pickets
detected the British forces which had gained the American left by a long march skirting a swamp next to the ridge occupied by the Continental Army.
The advanced pickets, under Captain Robert Kirkwood, were able to delay the British advance giving Greene time to give orders and line is forces up for battle. He placed the Virginia Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell on the extreme right with another Virginia Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Hawes to their left. On the extreme left, Greene placed the 5th Maryland under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Ford, with the 1st Maryland commanded by John Gunby
to their right. The artillery was placed in the center with North Carolina militia in the rear.
Having extricated his forces from the woods and forced back the pickets, Rawdon arranged his forces and slowly advanced up the ridge towards the waiting Continentals. Greene, perceiving the British forces were presenting a narrow front, ordered an attack. He instructed Campbell on the right to wheel his men to the left and engage the British on their flank with Ford to take his men and make a similar movement on the left. Greene ordered the two remaining regiments in the center to advance with bayonets and confront the enemy head on, while Washington was to take his cavalry around the British left flank and attack the enemy in the rear. The forceful movement of the Americans and the unexpected contribution of their artillery to the exchange inflicted heavy casualties on the British, but their line held.
During the advance of the 1st Maryland on the British left, Captain William Beatty jr., who was in command to the right of the 1st Maryland regiment, was killed causing his company to stop their advance. Gunby ordered his men to stop their advance and fall back with the intention of reforming their line. At this time, Benjamin Ford of the 5th Maryland was mortally wounded throwing his troops into disorder. When the Continental flank began to fall apart, Lord Rawdon and the Volunteers of Ireland (Rawdon's Personal Regiment) charged. The Maryland troops rallied briefly to fire a few rounds and then fled. Lord Rawdon, although outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, and without artillery, took the field.
The American casualties may be ascertained from two documents written by Colonel Otho Holland Williams, General Greene's deputy adjutant-general. The first of these, a ‘List of the officers killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, in the action before Camden, the 25th of April, 1781’, details 1 officer and 18 enlisted men killed, 5 officers and 108 enlisted men wounded, 2 officers captured (one of them wounded) and 136 enlisted men missing. Williams wrote, “The greatest part of those who are missing had not well understood the order to rally at Saunder's creek; some were killed; 47 of them were wounded, and are in the enemy's hospital; we have tidings of about one third of the remaining number, and hope they will be able to join us”. The second of these documents is a letter from Williams to his brother, dated April 27, in which he wrote, “Capt I. Smith of the Third, and Capt Lunt [Lieut] Bruff are both prisoners, last wounded. Lieut Trueman is a prisoner, and it is said thirty-nine privates of our army are taken, besides a number wounded, the whole amounting to about fifty” This would indicate that 2 officers and 39 enlisted men were taken prisoner apart from the 1 officer and 47 enlisted men who were wounded and captured. The total American loss at Hobkirk’s Hill would therefore appear to be 19 killed; 113 wounded; 48 wounded prisoners; 41 unwounded prisoners and 50 missing unaccounted for, some of whom were killed.
The American retreat did not last long. Rawdon withdrew most of his forces to Camden, leaving only a company of dragoon
s at the battlefield. That afternoon, Greene sent Washington and Kirkwood back to Hobkirk's Hill, where they ambushed and drove the dragoons away; Greene turned the army around and reoccupied the site. Colonel Gunby was castigated by Greene for his actions that caused the line to break. A court martial that was immediately convened found that his "spirit and activity were unexceptionable" but that his order to fall back was "in all probability the only cause why we did not obtain a complete victory", without mentioning the failures of Washington and his cavalry's late arrival.
Rawdon returned to Camden, where Watson's men joined him on May 7. However, the ongoing presence of Greene on one flank and South Carolina militia general Thomas Sumter
on another, and the fact that Marion and Lee were wreaking havoc with his supply and communications with Charleston, convinced him that he could no longer hold Camden. On May 9, Rawdon abandoned Camden, retreating to Moncks Corner
.
It is notable that the future seventh president of the United States
, Andrew Jackson
, witnessed the battle. He was being held by the British at the Camden District jail as a prisoner of war.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina
Camden, South Carolina
Camden is the fourth oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and is also the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was an estimated 7,103 in 2009...
. Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
considered the battle a lost opportunity to defeat a significant force of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
under Francis Rawdon
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings KG PC , styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783 and known as The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Irish-British politician and military officer who served as...
and compel the British forces to abandon their outposts scattered across South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
for the safety of Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
Background
After the Battle of Guilford Court HouseBattle of Guilford Court House
The Battle of Guilford Court House was a battle fought on March 15, 1781 in Greensboro, the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War...
, Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
's force was spent and in great need of supply. He therefore moved his army towards Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
where he had previously ordered supplies to be sent. Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
pursued the British force for a short time before deciding to take his forces into South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Greene hoped that by threatening the British garrisons in the state he could force Cornwallis to pursue him and then engage the British on ground favorable to his army. When informed of this strategy, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee replied on April 2:
When Cornwallis did not pursue the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, Greene chose to reduce the British garrisons scattered throughout South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
in order to force the British back into Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. To this end, Greene started his army of 1,450 men, made up of four Continental regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s, Lee's Legion
Lee's Legion
Lee's Legion was a military unit within the Continental Army during the American Revolution. It primarily served in the Southern Theater of Operations, and gained a reputation for efficiency and bravery on the battlefield.The original unit was raised June 8, 1776, at Williamsburg, Virginia, under...
, Washington
William Washington
William Washington , was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, who held a final rank of Brigadier General in the newly created United States after the war...
's Cavalry and Campbell's Riflemen, as rapidly and secretly as possible towards Camden
Camden, South Carolina
Camden is the fourth oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and is also the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was an estimated 7,103 in 2009...
, which was at the center of the British line of posts in South Carolina. At the same time he hoped to secure the cooperation of the various partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
bands in South Carolina. The movement was part of an intricate campaign organised by Greene involving Continental and militia troops all across the colony. To that end, he sent Lee and his men to assist General Francis Marion
Francis Marion
Francis Marion was a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. Acting with Continental Army and South Carolina militia commissions, he was a persistent adversary of the British in their occupation of South Carolina in 1780 and 1781, even after the Continental Army was driven...
, whose small band of militia was being pursued by 400 British troops under John Watson, in the hopes of preventing Watson and his men from reaching Camden before the battle. To that end he was successful, as the combined forces of Lee and Marion forced Watson to make a lengthy detour before eventually rejoining the British forces at Camden after the battle.
The Camden garrison under Lord Francis Rawdon
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings KG PC , styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783 and known as The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Irish-British politician and military officer who served as...
included the 63rd (The West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, the Volunteers of Ireland
Volunteers of Ireland
The Volunteers of Ireland was a British provincial military unit during the American Revolutionary War which was added to the British regular army....
, the King's American Regiment
King's American Regiment
The King's American Regiment was a British provincial regiment which was raised and served in the American Revolutionary War.It was raised in New York in December, 1776 by Colonel Edmund Fanning as the Associated Refugees. It served in the attacks on Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery...
, the New York Volunteers
New York Volunteers
The New York Volunteers was a American Loyalist provincial regiment which was served in the British Army during American War of Independence.It was raised in Halifax, January 1776. Two companies were in the 1776 New York campaign. It was at the raids on Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery...
, the South Carolina Royalists and a small detachment of cavalry.
The town of Camden was situated on a gentle elevation. To the south and southwest lay the Wateree River
Wateree River
The Wateree River, about 75 mi long, is a tributary of the Santee River in central South Carolina in the United States, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean...
and to the east was Pinetree creek. A ring of redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
s, constructed by the British during their year long occupation of the town, stretched from the Wateree to the Pinetree and covered the northern approaches. Upon arrival on April 20, 1781 at Camden, it was apparent that the Continentals had lost the element of surprise as Rawdon's forces were prepared on all fronts. Being unable to storm the town or surround the entire circle of fortifications, Greene chose to encamp his army about a mile and a half away on a small elevation called Hobkirk's Hill, blocking Great Waxhaw Road. As he did not have enough men to besiege Camden, Greene, hoping to draw Rawdon into an attack on the position, organized the camp so that battle positions could be taken quickly in the event of an alarm.
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
. Greene detached some of the South Carolina militia under Colonel Carrington
Edward Carrington
Edward Carrington was an American soldier and statesman from Virginia. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army, serving as Quartermaster to General Nathanael Greene’s Southern campaign...
to the east with some of his artillery to cover the road from Charleston. Finding the terrain too marshy for the artillery, Carrington removed the cannon to a position of safety and awaited further orders. On April 24, having received updated information that the additional forces were not on their way to join the Camden garrison, Greene ordered Carrington back to Hobkirk's Hill.
Early the next morning a Continental deserter, sometimes identified as a drummer, made his way into Camden. He was brought before Rawdon and informed the British commander of the Continental Army's dispositions and that they had no artillery. Fearing that Generals Marion and Lee were on their way to join Greene and believing the Continental artillery was many miles away, Rawdon decided it was a judicious time to attack.
Battle
Picket (military)
In military terminology, a picket refers to soldiers or troops placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance. It can also refer to any unit performing a similar function...
detected the British forces which had gained the American left by a long march skirting a swamp next to the ridge occupied by the Continental Army.
The advanced pickets, under Captain Robert Kirkwood, were able to delay the British advance giving Greene time to give orders and line is forces up for battle. He placed the Virginia Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell on the extreme right with another Virginia Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Hawes to their left. On the extreme left, Greene placed the 5th Maryland under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Ford, with the 1st Maryland commanded by John Gunby
John Gunby
John Gunby was an American planter and soldier from Somerset County, Maryland who is considered by many to be "one of the most gallant officers of the Maryland Line under Gen. Smallwood"...
to their right. The artillery was placed in the center with North Carolina militia in the rear.
Having extricated his forces from the woods and forced back the pickets, Rawdon arranged his forces and slowly advanced up the ridge towards the waiting Continentals. Greene, perceiving the British forces were presenting a narrow front, ordered an attack. He instructed Campbell on the right to wheel his men to the left and engage the British on their flank with Ford to take his men and make a similar movement on the left. Greene ordered the two remaining regiments in the center to advance with bayonets and confront the enemy head on, while Washington was to take his cavalry around the British left flank and attack the enemy in the rear. The forceful movement of the Americans and the unexpected contribution of their artillery to the exchange inflicted heavy casualties on the British, but their line held.
During the advance of the 1st Maryland on the British left, Captain William Beatty jr., who was in command to the right of the 1st Maryland regiment, was killed causing his company to stop their advance. Gunby ordered his men to stop their advance and fall back with the intention of reforming their line. At this time, Benjamin Ford of the 5th Maryland was mortally wounded throwing his troops into disorder. When the Continental flank began to fall apart, Lord Rawdon and the Volunteers of Ireland (Rawdon's Personal Regiment) charged. The Maryland troops rallied briefly to fire a few rounds and then fled. Lord Rawdon, although outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, and without artillery, took the field.
Casualties
The British casualties were 39 killed,210 wounded and 12 missing.The American casualties may be ascertained from two documents written by Colonel Otho Holland Williams, General Greene's deputy adjutant-general. The first of these, a ‘List of the officers killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, in the action before Camden, the 25th of April, 1781’, details 1 officer and 18 enlisted men killed, 5 officers and 108 enlisted men wounded, 2 officers captured (one of them wounded) and 136 enlisted men missing. Williams wrote, “The greatest part of those who are missing had not well understood the order to rally at Saunder's creek; some were killed; 47 of them were wounded, and are in the enemy's hospital; we have tidings of about one third of the remaining number, and hope they will be able to join us”. The second of these documents is a letter from Williams to his brother, dated April 27, in which he wrote, “Capt I. Smith of the Third, and Capt Lunt [Lieut] Bruff are both prisoners, last wounded. Lieut Trueman is a prisoner, and it is said thirty-nine privates of our army are taken, besides a number wounded, the whole amounting to about fifty” This would indicate that 2 officers and 39 enlisted men were taken prisoner apart from the 1 officer and 47 enlisted men who were wounded and captured. The total American loss at Hobkirk’s Hill would therefore appear to be 19 killed; 113 wounded; 48 wounded prisoners; 41 unwounded prisoners and 50 missing unaccounted for, some of whom were killed.
Aftermath
Washington and his cavalry never made it to the action. Their circuit to reach the British rear took them to Rawdon's hospital and commissary area, where they took 200 prisoners. Thus laden, they were too late to assist in the battle, and joined Greene's army on its retreat from the battlefield.The American retreat did not last long. Rawdon withdrew most of his forces to Camden, leaving only a company of dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s at the battlefield. That afternoon, Greene sent Washington and Kirkwood back to Hobkirk's Hill, where they ambushed and drove the dragoons away; Greene turned the army around and reoccupied the site. Colonel Gunby was castigated by Greene for his actions that caused the line to break. A court martial that was immediately convened found that his "spirit and activity were unexceptionable" but that his order to fall back was "in all probability the only cause why we did not obtain a complete victory", without mentioning the failures of Washington and his cavalry's late arrival.
Rawdon returned to Camden, where Watson's men joined him on May 7. However, the ongoing presence of Greene on one flank and South Carolina militia general Thomas Sumter
Thomas Sumter
Thomas Sumter nicknamed the "Carolina Gamecock" , was a hero of the American Revolution and went on to become a longtime member of the Congress of the United States.-Early life:Thomas Sumter was born near Charlottesville in Hanover County, Virginia in 1734...
on another, and the fact that Marion and Lee were wreaking havoc with his supply and communications with Charleston, convinced him that he could no longer hold Camden. On May 9, Rawdon abandoned Camden, retreating to Moncks Corner
Moncks Corner, South Carolina
Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,952 at the 2000 census....
.
It is notable that the future seventh president of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, witnessed the battle. He was being held by the British at the Camden District jail as a prisoner of war.