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The Battle of Camden in the American Revolutionary War
In 1776 German Johann de'Kalb was serving as a Brigadier General in the French army
and came to the attention of Silas Deane, the American commissioner in Paris. He was
impressed by de Kalb’s experience and on the 7th of December 1776 promised him a
commission as Major General in the American Army. De Kalb was of German peasant
origins, but rose to general officer rank through his ability. This was very unusual in a
time when this was the exclusive domain of the nobles.
A few months later Silas Deane introduced de Kalb to Marquis de Lafayette, whom he
had also promised a commission as Major General.
De Kalb, Lafayette and 14 other French offices sailed from France and landed in
Charleston, South Carolina on the 17th of June 1777. They traveled 800 miles to
Philadelphia and after a delay the continental congress confirmed the commissions.
Johann de Kalb was a great admirer of General George Washington and served with him
through the severe winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In 1778 Marquis de Lafayette
lead an abortive expedition against Canada with General de Kalb as his second in
command.
General de Kalb was given command of the Maryland division. On the 3rd of April 1780
General Washington sent General de Kalb, with his Maryland and Delaware divisions
from Morristown, New Jersey, to relieve the British siege of Charleston, South
Carolina. De Kalb marched from Philadelphia to Delaware and took ships to Petersburg
Virginia. Then he marched to Hillsboro, North Carolina and arrived on the 22nd of June
1780. When he arrived in Charleston he found that the British had taken the city and
arrested Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the southern army of General George
Washington. General de Kalb took command of the southern army and marched to Deep
River, North Carolina where he expected to be re-enforced by the North Carolina and
Virginia Militias. But by the 17th of July neither of these militias had arrived because
they refused to serve under a foreign general.
When the continental congress learned of this situation they replaced de Kalb with
General Horatio Gates. Gates gave de Kalb command of the right wing and he
commanded the left wing. After a conference with his subordinate officers, General de
Kalb urged General Gates to immediately attack a large British force at Camden South
Carolina. But Gates delayed until the British learned he was there. Finally on the 14th of
August General Gates marched to Camden with 1,400 regulars and 2,000 colonial militia.
The terrain offered no chance for re-supply and his troops suffered from dysentery
and hunger. The result was disastrous. On the 10th of August 1780 General Gates lead
his troops into a trap set by Lord Cornwallis and his 2,200 regular troops.
General Gates’ colonial militia fled at the first attack. His regulars were quickly
surrounded and almost wiped out. General Gates fled the battlefield and did not regroup
until he was 60 miles away. The Battle of Camden ruined Gates’ career. He was replaced
and lived the rest of his life in disgrace. The British immediately took advantage of
General Gates’ blunder and attacked the right wing.
General de Kalb did not know the left wing had collapsed and ordered an attack. He
fought courageously and encouraged his troops to continue to fight, but the attack
failed. De Kalb’s horse was shot from under him. He was shot in the head and he
suffered eleven other musket and bayonet wounds. Only 324 British troops were killed,
but the Americans suffered over 2,000 casualties and lost a large amount of supplies
and military equipment.
The British General Cornwallis ordered that de Kalb be brought to Camden. Dr. Isaac
Vardrey Alexander treated him, but he died five days later on the 19th of August 1780
in Camden, South Carolina. General de Kalb was buried in an unmarked grave, but later
his remains were reburied in the Presbyterian cemetery in Bethesda Maryland. A
monument honoring General de Kalb was erected on the battlefield.
An official inquiry into the conduct General Gates was ordered, but charges were never
pressed. He died the 10th of April 1806 in New York City.
Although his army was defeated at Camden, General de Kalb is honored as a major
figure in the American struggle for independence from England, a hero and American
patriot. His friends described him as a noble, generous, diligent, friendly and obliging as
well as moderate in food and drink. Everyone who met him noticed his fine qualities.
General George Washington visited General de Kalb’s grave and said:
“… Here lies the courageous de Kalb. The magnanimous stranger who came to a
distant land to fight our battles and to water the tree of freedom with his blood.
If God had wanted, nevertheless that he could live on among us to divide the fruits
of this tree with us… .”
Dr. Isaac Vardrey Alexander died in 1812 and was buried in the Presbyterian Meeting
House Cemetery in Camden, South Carolina.
Isaac Vardrey’s son, Isaac Brownfield Alexander, was born in 1812 two weeks after his
father's death. He and his brother both attended Brown University in Providence Rhode
Island. They travelled to New England on horseback with a servant to attend to
their needs.
He was a silversmith and a recognized artist. As a wedding present he was given a
house, Tangelwood, on Laurens Street in Camden, South Carolina. This house has been
continuously owned and occupied by the family. He was buried in the Old Presbyterian
Cemetery at the end of Church Street in Camden, South Carolina.
Margaret Elizabeth Alexander, daughter of Isaac Brownfield Alexander, was born in
1850. Her brother G. G. Alexander was mayor of Camden in 1882 and her brother Isaac
H. Alexander was a doctor of medicine.
A Daughters of the American Revolution certificate dated 9 January 1908 states she is
a descendent of Abraham Alexander, who signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence. In 1978 her grandson, Dr. Charles Edward McCreight, installed a
memorial window (Window 21, St John the Evangelist) in the St. Paul's Episcopal Church
in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
The following are two Obituaries of Margaret Elizabeth McCreight, née Alexander
transcribed from original newspaper clippings in the possession of her great-grandson
William Randolph McCreight.
Obituary 1: Death of Margaret Elizabeth McCreight née Alexander
“ ... Mrs. Margaret E. McCreight, widow of the late E. O. McCreight and daughter of the
late I. B. and Mrs. Elizabeth E. Alexander, died at her home on Lyttleton Street
Saturday forenoon of valvular heart trouble following an attack of pneumonia in January
from which she never fully recovered. Funeral services were conducted at the home
Sunday afternoon at 4:30 by Rev. Jesse C. Rowan and the remains were buried in the
Camden cemetery immediately after. Mrs. McCreight left surviving three sons: Robert
G, of Columbia, Edward O. of Jacksonville, and Beverly R. of this city. She also left one
sister, Mrs. Annie F. Hershman, and two brothers, Mr. G. G. and Dr. I. H. Alexander, of
this city. Mrs. McCreight was a devout Christian and a faithful member of the
Presbyterian Church, a devoted mother and a kind neighbor, who will be greatly missed.
The surviving relatives have the sympathy of the community in their bereavement... .”
Obituary 2: Death of Margaret Elizabeth McCreight née Alexander
“... Our entire community was deeply saddened on Saturday last upon learning that Mrs.
McCreight, widow of the late E. O. McCreight Esq., had breathed her last. For some
time her health had not been good, but the announcement of her death came as a
distinct shock to her host of friends. There was no more amiable and highly esteemed
lady in our community than was the deceased. She numbered her friends by the number
of her acquaintances. So genial, so kind, so sympathetic, truly a sainted mother has
fallen on sleep. Mrs. McCreight was a sister of Mr. G. G. Alexander and Dr. I. H.
Alexander, of our city, besides whom and a number of other relatives; she is survived by
three sons: Messrs Robert, Eddie, and Beverly. For these well known and popular young
men, as well as for the other bereaved ones sincere sympathy is felt. For many years
Mrs. McCreight had been a consistent and faithful member if the Presbyterian Church
and her place there and in the home will be hard to fill. The funeral services took place
from her late residence on Lyttleton Street on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock, and
were conducted by her pastor, Rev. J. C. Rowan... .”
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