Towns

SC, USA

Camden

Lesson plans and classroom materials.

Camden 1780: Why Armies Break

6-8 · 2 class periods

What you'll get

  • 5 primary sources with analysis prompts
  • Quiz with answer key (5 questions)
  • 3 printable handouts
Print full packet
6-82 class periodsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sourcesCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.3: Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasksD2.His.1.6-8: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts

Learning Objectives

  1. Students will explain the difference between militia and Continental regular forces in the Revolutionary War
  2. Students will analyze the sequence of events at Camden that led to American defeat
  3. Students will compare the leadership behaviors of Gates and de Kalb during the battle
  4. Students will evaluate what the Battle of Camden's outcome meant for the larger Southern Campaign

Essential Questions

  • What is the difference between a militia and a professional army, and why did it matter at Camden?
  • What does leadership under pressure look like — and what do Gates and de Kalb each show us?
  • How can a military disaster lead to a different and better strategy?

Procedure

Primary Sources

General Horatio Gates to the President of Congress, August 20, 1780

National Archives and Records Administration · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

Lord Cornwallis to Sir Henry Clinton: Dispatch on the Battle of Camden, August 1780

Public Record Office (National Archives, United Kingdom) · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

A Narrative of the Campaign of 1780 (Otho Holland Williams)

William Johnson (in Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene) · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site

Historic Camden Foundation · INSTITUTIONAL · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

View source

South Carolina State Records: Camden District Court and Loyalist Records, 1780-1781

South Carolina Department of Archives and History · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

View source

Handouts & Materials

Camden Event Timeline

timeline

Students place key events in chronological order and add details

Primary Source Analysis

graphic organizer

Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents

Key Figures Profile

worksheet

Research template for Revolutionary figures

Camden in the American Revolution

Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.

1.

What makes Camden significant in Revolutionary history?

AIt was the site of important Revolutionary events
BIt had no connection to the Revolution
CIt was founded after the Revolution
DIt was a British stronghold throughout the war
2.

Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.

TTrue
FFalse
3.

Name one event that occurred in Camden during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.

4.

Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?

ADifferent people experienced events differently
BIt makes history more confusing
COnly one perspective is ever correct
DPerspectives don't matter in history
5.

Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.