Teacher Resources
Camden
Inquiry Question
What is the difference between a militia and a professional army, and why did it matter at Camden?
Primary Sources
What Teachers and Students Use
General Horatio Gates to the President of Congress, August 20, 1780
PRIMARY · National Archives and Records Administration
5 analysis prompts
Lord Cornwallis to Sir Henry Clinton: Dispatch on the Battle of Camden, August 1780
PRIMARY · Public Record Office (National Archives, United Kingdom)
5 analysis prompts
A Narrative of the Campaign of 1780 (Otho Holland Williams)
PRIMARY · William Johnson (in Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene)
5 analysis prompts
Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site
INSTITUTIONAL · Historic Camden Foundation
5 analysis prompts
South Carolina State Records: Camden District Court and Loyalist Records, 1780-1781
PRIMARY · South Carolina Department of Archives and History
5 analysis prompts
Downloads
Ready to Print
Student packet, teacher guide with answer key, and quiz — each formatted for classroom printing.
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Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Students will explain the difference between militia and Continental regular forces in the Revolutionary War
- 2Students will analyze the sequence of events at Camden that led to American defeat
- 3Students will compare the leadership behaviors of Gates and de Kalb during the battle
- 4Students will evaluate what the Battle of Camden's outcome meant for the larger Southern Campaign
Explore Further
Camden in the Knowledge Graph
The lesson packet draws from these pages. Use them to extend the lesson or give students primary source context.
Comparative Study
Connected Towns
The corroborate prompts in the student packet point to these towns. Teachers can assign cross-town comparisons.
Hobkirk's Hill
SHARED EVENT
Hobkirk's Hill was fought just north of Camden in April 1781. The British abandonment of Camden after that battle was the direct consequence of Greene's pressure on the post system that Cornwallis had built around the Camden base.
Cowpens
SHARED PERSON
Tarleton's command at Camden fed directly into his defeat at Cowpens. The British Legion that pursued American survivors from Camden was the same force Morgan destroyed five months later.
Hobkirk's Hill
GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY
Hobkirk's Hill was fought near Camden as part of the same campaign.
Assessment
Camden in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history. · 5 questions · Answer key in Teacher Guide PDF
What makes Camden significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Camden during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more in the full quiz PDF
Ready to Print?
All three documents below — student packet, teacher guide, and quiz — are formatted for letter-size classroom printing.