Battle of Hobkirk's Hill

Battle of Hobkirk's Hill
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date April 25, 1781 Location Camden, South Carolina 34°16′28″N 80°36′26″W / 34.27444°N 80.60722°W / 34.27444; -80.60722Coordinates: 34°16′28″N 80°36′26″W / 34.27444°N 80.60722°W / 34.27444; -80.60722 Result Tactical British victory Strategic American victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Loyalists
Commanders and leaders
Nathanael Greene	Lord Rawdon
Strength
1,550 regulars and militia	900 regulars and militia
Casualties and losses
19 killed 113 wounded 48 wounded prisoners 41 captured 50 missing	39 killed 210 wounded 12 missing

 Great Britain

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. A small American army under Nathanael Greene defended a ridge known as Hobkirk's Hill against an attack by an even smaller British force led by Francis Rawdon. After a fierce clash, Greene retreated a few miles, leaving Rawdon's soldiers in possession of the hill. The battlefield marker is located at Broad Street and Greene Street north of the center of Camden.

Even though Rawdon was the victor, he soon fell back to Camden. Later in the day Greene sent a small force of cavalry and infantry to pick up the American wounded and stragglers. These soldiers drove off a troop of loyalist dragoons. Despite his tactical success, Rawdon found it necessary to abandon Camden two weeks later and withdraw toward Charleston, South Carolina. The battle was one of four contests in which Greene met tactical defeat, yet his overall strategy was successful in depriving the British of all South Carolina except Charleston.

Greene considered the battle a lost opportunity to defeat a significant British force of the British Army and compel them to abandon their outposts scattered across South Carolina for the safety of Charleston.

After the Battle of Guilford Court House, 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:

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