Camden, Battle of

The greatest British victory in the American Revolution 16 August 1780, near Camden, South Carolina. The Americans had sent an army to South Carolina to attack the British headquarters at Camden. Lord Cornwallis collected his troops and attacked; though much inferior in strength, his force was of disciplined regulars, while the American force was largely composed of untrained militia, and the Americans were comprehensively defeated. They lost over 1,000 killed and wounded and about the same number of prisoners were taken, as well as a large quantity of stores, and at the time it seemed that the American cause was doomed. However, following the defeat by the French over the British fleet at Chesapeake Bay in 1781, Cornwallis was forced to surrender, effectively ending British hopes in the war.