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Guide -Book of Camden 
 
 Containing Description of Points of Interest 
 
 Together With 
 
 AN HISTOEUCAL SKETCH 
 
 Pioneer and Revolutionary Scenes 
 
 Battle of Camden 
 
 Battle of Hobkirk Hill 
 
 With Illustrations 
 
 ♦-^o 
 
 Published by 
 
 Edward Boltwood Hull 
 
 Camden, S. C. 
 
Copyrighted by Edward Boltwood Hull 
 1918 
 
 MAR -7 1918 
 
 ©GI.A492501 
 
 ?4 
 
 4^.' 
 
To 
 
 H. C. S. 
 
 at whose prompting 
 
 and 
 
 with whose kind assistance 
 
 this Guide-Book 
 
 has been prepared 
 
GUIDEBOOK OF CAMDEN 
 
 CAMDEN: DESCRIPTIVE FOREWORD. 
 
 Camden is a city of about 4,000 people, situated in 
 Kershaw county, in the Pine Belt region of central 
 South Carolina. It is reached by railroad from north, 
 south and west by well-appointed trains: in 18 or 19 
 hours from New York, in 13 hours from Washington, 
 in 36 hours from Chicago. From the far south of 
 Florida the journey by rail is made in somewhat less 
 than 24 hours; from Jacksonville in 11. Savannah, 
 Atlanta, Augusta, are all readily accessible, and the 
 journey to and from Charleston is accomplished in six 
 hours. Travelers from New York and Boston may 
 journey to Camden by large coastwise steamers to 
 Charleston or Savannah with three or four nights at 
 sea, according to the point of departure and the route 
 chosen. Camden is situated on the "Capital to Capital" 
 highway and may be reached by motor car from all 
 southern points. 
 
 Camden is served by three modern resort hotels and 
 many excellent boarding houses. Its reputation as 
 a health resort is established. The mild, but bracing 
 atmosphere of the winter months, the cheering southern 
 sunshine, have proved the delight of many thousands 
 of visitors. There is much that is attractive in the 
 scenery, while the flowers, hedges, shrubbery and 
 gardens are greatly admired. The town itself is 
 pleasing. The streets are broad and their shade 
 abundant, the houses comfortable and, many of them. 
 
[ 6 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 handsome. Indeed Camden's fine old places are not 
 the least of the town's attractions. 
 
 There is much of historical interest in Camden's 
 connection with stirring events to stimulate the student 
 and sightseer. 
 
 Camden has a modern lighting plant and well- 
 illumined highways; an excellent water system and 
 carefully protected water supply; police and fire 
 departments; a health officer; schools; an industrial 
 school for colored children; a Carnegie library; two 
 weekly newspapers; spacious public parks; handsome 
 public buildings; Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Pres- 
 byterian and Catholic churches; a Chamber of Com- 
 merce; two 18-hole golf courses; a polo club; a 
 riding and driving club; and a well-appointed modern 
 hospital. 
 
 There are two cotton mills and a cottonseed oil mill, 
 while a national bank and two state banks supply 
 banking facilities. The agricultural region about 
 Camden, though not one of the more highly productive 
 areas of South Carolina, is nevertheless of continually 
 increasing production and there are many large plan- 
 tations in the neighborhood where southern agriculture 
 may be seen to advantage. 
 
THE HISTORY OF CAMDEN. 
 
 The following Historical Sketch is founded upon the state- 
 ments set forth in "Historic Camden," by Thomas J. Kirkland 
 and Robert M. Kennedy. This excellent work is the authori- 
 tative history of local events and the account given in it of the 
 happenings of national history in which Camden figured is accu- 
 rate and full. To it any who wish a fuller account than the 
 following are referred by the compiler of this Guide. 
 
 Early History. 
 
 At the beginning of the historic period the inhabit- 
 ants of the regions about the present city of Camden 
 were Indians of the Wateree tribe. One of their 
 villages is shown on an early map within the present 
 limits of the town at a point marked now by the 
 Hermitage Cotton Mills. But at the time of the arrival 
 of the first white settlers the overlordship of the 
 Indians had been assumed by the Catawbas, and it is 
 with this latter tribe that the fathers of Camden had 
 principally to deal. It is their king, Haigler, who has 
 become, in a measure, the patron saint of Camden. It 
 it his effigy which adorns the steeple of Camden City 
 Hall where the visitor may perceive him at all times 
 and in all weathers vigilant in his task of indicating 
 the direction of the breezes which blow over Camden. 
 The relations of the Indians to the white settlers were 
 generally undisturbed and it is a fact to be recorded 
 to the credit of both the newcomers and the aborigines 
 that there was so little friction in the conduct of 
 mutual dealings. King Haigler throughout his life 
 was well disposed to the intruders, and he and Samuel 
 Wyly, an early Quaker settler, were even intimate in 
 
[ 8 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 their friendship. The Catawbas fought for the Amer- 
 icans, both in their Indian wars and in their struggle 
 for independence, and in the Civil War there were 
 twenty of them who fought for the Confederacy. 
 
 The first white settlers appeared early in the second 
 quarter of the eighteenth century. One, James Ousley, 
 received a grant of three hundred acres on the west 
 side of the Wateree river in 1733; by 1750 as many 
 as forty families were dwelling in this region spread 
 up and down on both sides of the river north and south 
 of the location of modern Camden. 
 
 In 1734 a township called Fredericksburg was laid 
 out on the east bank of the river, but this township 
 only roughly corresponded with the town which was 
 later established and for many years there continued 
 to be no real town. The site of Camden remained a 
 forest. 
 
 The settlers lived on isolated farms without any of 
 the regular accompaniments of village life. Even the 
 large accession to the population about 1750, when a 
 party of immigrant Irish Quakers appeared on the 
 scene, effected no large change in the manner of living 
 along the Wateree. One of these Quakers, however, 
 conducted a store under the name of Wyly and Com- 
 pany, and another, Daniel Mathis, must have lived 
 within the present bounds of Camden for his son 
 established his claim to the honor of being the first 
 white person born in Camden. The Quakers built a 
 meeting-house. This meeting-house and the Quaker 
 graveyard, which surrounded it, were within the limits 
 of the present Camden cemetery. Samuel Wyly con- 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 9 ] 
 
 veyed the land for the meeting-house in 1759 and the 
 Quaker place of worship was probably not long in 
 building after this. 
 
 The village began to take form. In 1758 there 
 appeared here a man with whose life and activity 
 Camden's early history is closely bound. This was 
 Joseph Kershaw. When he arrived the site of Camden 
 was still wooded ground, save, perhaps, where the 
 Mathis family lived. The country round about was 
 thickly dotted with farms, but Camden itself was as 
 yet non-existent. In the year of his arrival this indus- 
 trious man established a store on what he then called 
 Pine Tree Hill, a very slight eminence in the southeast 
 part of the town which later generations call Maga- 
 zine Hill. One of his partners, William Ancrum, sur- 
 veyed a tract of one hundred fifty acres, and it was 
 on this tract that the store and hill were situated. 
 Here was the beginning of the town ; for ten years the 
 forming village bore the name Pine Tree Hill. 
 
 In 1768, however, the town received its name, the 
 name it now carries, Camden. And why Camden? 
 The name, undoubtedly, was bestowed in honor of 
 Charles Pratt, an English statesman and follower of 
 the great Lord Chatham, who had recently been raised 
 to the peerage, under the title Baron Camden, for his 
 pleas on behalf of the American contentions in the 
 struggle between them and England. This struggle 
 was already acute when Camden received its name, and 
 this naming of the town after an English champion of 
 the colonial cause reflects the interest of South Caro- 
 lina. 
 
[ 10 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 In 1771 a court-house was built. A Presbyterian 
 Church was established. A petition, 1772, for the 
 establishment of an Episcopal Church shows that the 
 town was growing. 
 
 And now the young town, growing and prospering, 
 but still unincorporated, became the scene of stirring 
 events with which its name to its greater renown is 
 indissolubly linked. They were, however, sad days 
 for the people of Camden. 
 
 Revolutionary Times. 
 
 1. To the British Occupation of Camden. 
 
 It was not till 1780 that Camden became especially 
 prominent. Before this, and as early as November, 
 1774, Camden had had its share in the Revolutionary 
 struggle. In that month William Henry Drayton, 
 presiding at a Circuit Court at Camden, had delivered 
 the first of a series of stirring appeals which did much 
 to establish public opinion in South Carolina on the 
 American side. This first appeal was so effective that 
 the Grand Jury responded with a vigorous presentment, 
 a veritable "Declaration of Independence,'* that bears 
 a number of distinctively Camden names. From this 
 time forward the leading spirit here was pronouncedly 
 Revolutionary, though Camden was not without its 
 quota of Loyalists, drawn largely from the Quakers. 
 And when the fighting began, Camden, from the first, 
 did its share. Men from here fought in the defense of 
 Charleston in 1776 and thereafter Camden supplied 
 men to the rebel armies. 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 11 ] 
 
 In 1780 a magazine was erected on Pine Tree Hill 
 in Camden at a cost of nine thousand pounds and 
 Joseph Kershaw, now bearing the title of colonel, was 
 made custodian. Just at this time, 12th May, 1780, 
 Charleston fell to the British, and the conqueror, Clin- 
 ton, sent General Cornwallis into the interior with 
 2,500 men to subdue the rebellious centers. Two weeks 
 later a detachment under Bannastre Tarleton, after 
 defeating a regiment of Americans under Colonel 
 Buford, at a point forty miles north of here, and well- 
 nigh killing all its members, fell back upon Camden 
 with half a hundred prisoners he had spared. This 
 was the beginning of the British occupation of Camden. 
 On 1st June, 1780, Cornwallis entered the town and 
 made it a fortified post with all the celerity he could 
 command. 
 
 The occupation lasted until the 8th May in the fol- 
 lowing year. In the meantime two battles had been 
 fought in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 2. Battle of Camden— August 16, 1780. 
 
 The first of these encounters took place on the 16th 
 of August on a field eight miles north of Camden. It 
 is famous not because of its results, which, though not 
 inconsiderable, were nothing more than a delay to the 
 ultimate American triumph, but because it was prob- 
 ably the most complete rout suffered by either side in 
 any important engagement of the war. Here General 
 Horatio Gates exchanged his northern laurels for south- 
 ern willows. Here De Kalb, the Alsatian soldier of 
 fortune and friend of America, fell mortally wounded. 
 
[ 12 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 a grievous loss to the southern Revolutionary army. 
 Here that army itself was virtually annihilated. 
 
 Gates had superseded De Kalb in command of the 
 small southern forces at the end of July, 1780, soon 
 after the Bristish entered Camden. From that moment 
 to the day of his disaster he pursued his campaign 
 with vigor. Two days after assuming command he 
 left Wilcox's Mill in North Carolina for Camden. On 
 August 6th he entered South Carolina. The following 
 day he came up with General Casewell and his North 
 Carolina brigade, replenished his supply of provisions, 
 and pushed on to Lynches Creek, twenty miles north- 
 east of Camden. At this point he found the young 
 English general, Lord Rawdon, across his path with 
 three regiments. These he caused to fall back to Log 
 Town in Camden, without a battle. Then he moved on 
 to ''Clermont," Colonel Rugeley's place, thirteen miles 
 north of Camden. Here he spent the 13th of August. 
 
 On the next day his forces were increased by 700 
 Virginians under General Stevens, but Sumter, who 
 here joined him, he sent off once more after detaching 
 to him one hundred Maryland Continentals and North 
 Carolina militia. Historians have averred that after 
 Gates took command of the southern army he com- 
 mitted, in the words of Trevelyan, ''every fault that 
 any general could have found time to commit," and 
 this sending off of Sumter and the choice troops under 
 him on a "fool's errand" is listed among the greatest 
 of these errors. Sumter's task was to take Carey's 
 fort across the Wateree river from Camden. This he 
 accomplished successfully on the 15th, the day after his 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 13 ] 
 
 departure, a fruitless victory that cost Gates his valu- 
 able help on the 16th ! 
 
 General Gates's army at this time amounted to 3,600 
 men, of whom 2,000 were seasoned Continentals. The 
 presence of this army in close proximity to Camden 
 had rendered the British position perilous. General 
 Cornwallis, who, on hearing of Gates's approach, had 
 hastened up from Charleston and collected his forces, 
 found himself far in the interior of a hostile country, 
 surrounded by swamps, cut off by Sumter in the rear 
 and faced by an American army half as large again as 
 his — an uncomfortable position. 
 
 He had an army of 2,331 men, including officers. 
 But in spite of the disparity of numbers, he made up 
 his mind to strike. He accordingly set out for Cler- 
 mont on the night of the 15th August, planning to 
 attack his enemy at daybreak. 
 
 Gates, at the same time, had determined to occupy 
 a strong position near Camden, on Saunders Creek, 
 which had been selected for him by his engineer, and 
 he, too, undertook a night march on the 15th. 
 
 We then have the striking situation, two hostile 
 armies marching toward each other through the night 
 on the same road ! The inevitable meeting took place 
 at two in the morning. Up to this hour the British, 
 marching at speed, had covered eight miles of the 
 forested way ; the Americans, under no apparent neces- 
 sity for haste, but five. The place of meeting was 
 one mile north of a creek named Gum Swamp, an ele- 
 vated sandy plateau about two miles long and one mile 
 wide, enclosed by streams and boggy swamps, with 
 
[ 14 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 the road running through the midst. Today it is in 
 part under cultivation, in part covered by scrub oaks 
 and low growth; on that disastrous morning it was 
 shaded by tall pines. 
 
 After the first clash the armies recoiled. Armand's 
 American cavalry had behaved badly and fled the field ; 
 a few combatants had fallen ; each side had taken pris- 
 oners. The armies then formed in battle line and 
 waited for day to come to begin the battle. Corn- 
 wallis, who had left Camden in order to fight, was now 
 eager for it. Gates and his generals decided that there 
 was no alternative and prepared accordingly. But 
 not wisely! For upon his worst troops the American 
 general placed the responsibility of attack. 
 
 Morning came. Through the still, slightly hazy, 
 atmosphere, one of the American officers descried the 
 British a short way down the road. He brought word 
 to General Gates, who, deciding that now was the 
 moment for attack, sent Colonel Williams galloping off 
 to General Stevens, in command of the Virginia militia 
 on the American left wing, with the order to attack. 
 General Stevens immediately advanced at the head of 
 his troops to the encounter. 
 
 The British were not idle. Cornwallis, perceiving 
 the Americans opposite his right in movement and 
 diagnosing the movement as an attack, sent General 
 Webster, in command of his 23rd and 33rd regiments 
 of regulars, to meet the approaching Americans. 
 
 The rest is sad reading. At the first clash the entire 
 Virginia brigade took to its heels and the North Caro- 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 15 ] 
 
 linians joined in the disgraceful panic. Only the Con- 
 tinentals stood. 
 
 The battle really was decided in this first clash. The 
 American commander tried personally to rally the 
 flying patriots, but Tarleton, with his cavalry, was 
 among them, carrying terror and even greater panic, 
 and Gates himself was swept away, on his fleet race 
 horse, in the flood of retreat, taking his reputation with 
 him. When the rout was complete, Webster turned 
 his red-coated following against the exposed flank of 
 the Continentals under De Kalb. Even now the brave 
 men, deserted by the militiamen, were making a game 
 fight and were not being altogether whipped. But 
 Tarleton, having finished off all those agile militiamen 
 who had not found refuge in the swamps, threw his 
 cavalry into the struggle and this ended it. De Kalb 
 fell, wounded to the death. The Continentals scattered 
 and found their only hope of safety with those patriots, 
 who had earlier left the field, in those wooded and 
 swampy havens where cavalry could not follow. 
 
 The pursuit was driven home. As a result of a few 
 minutes' hot struggle, and the battle had been over in 
 incredibly short time, the southern army was a ruin. 
 Tarleton did not leave off harrying and butchering 
 until he had gone twenty-two miles beyond the place 
 of battle. 
 
 General Gates did not pause till he reached Charlotte, 
 nor leave his saddle till on the fourth evening at Hills- 
 boro in North Carolina he had placed two hundred 
 miles of road between him and the spot of his defeat! 
 The reputation of Horatio Gates was gone ; the fidelity 
 
[ 16 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 and affection of his admirers in Congress was stretched 
 beyond repair, and never again was he entrusted with 
 the care of the safety or honor of an American army. 
 
 In this battle the British lost 324 killed and wounded. 
 On the American side the militia made no return. The 
 loss among 2,090 Continentals was 849. The impor- 
 tance of the battle may not be measured by the detail of 
 losses. It was not, truly, one of the decisive battles of 
 the Revolution, although the victory was one of the 
 most complete British soldiers ever achieved, and its 
 importance comes entirely from the fact that it delayed 
 the American triumph and discouraged the American 
 heart. Following closely upon the news of the fall of 
 Charleston, the news from Camden reached the people 
 of the north when the popular mind was already 
 depressed. The French alliance seemed to have 
 brought no profit; the armies lay idle; American 
 finance was in a deplorable condition. Men were say- 
 ing that the war was a failure. Benedict Arnold was 
 plotting to be the General Monk of the American Revo- 
 lution and restore George the Third in America as 
 Charles the Second had been restored to his throne in 
 Great Britain a hundred and twenty years before. To 
 a people in such an atmosphere came the news from 
 South Carolina that the principal city of those parts 
 had fallen to the enemy and that the southern army 
 had been destroyed. In this lies the importance of the 
 battle. 
 
 Before dismissing the subject, it must be recorded 
 what befell the hero of that field, the brave De Kalb. 
 He had fallen wounded on the battlefield. He was 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 17 ] 
 
 brought into Camden and there died on the third day 
 and was buried with military honors by the British. 
 
 3. Battle of Hobkirk Hill— April 25th, 1781. 
 
 The second of the battles fought in the vicinity of 
 Camden took place eight months later, on the 25th 
 April, 1781, and was fought within the present bounds 
 of Camden. 
 
 The intervening eight months had witnessed the 
 carrying out of a policy of terrorism directed against 
 the South Carolinians by the British invaders, and for 
 this extreme policy Camden had proved a ready base. 
 Deluded by the collapse of the American army in the 
 August battle into thinking that nothing was now 
 needed to finish rebellion in the South but a little firm- 
 ness, the British commanders commenced executing 
 and imprisoning recalcitrant Americans with a free- 
 dom they had hitherto denied themselves. Into Cam- 
 den were fetched the wounded and prisoners from 
 many minor battlefields. Hangings became so common 
 as no longer to excite particular attention from the 
 inhabitants. Deportations of leading men of the 
 American party also took place, and among those exiled 
 was Joseph Kershaw, the founder of Camden. He and 
 his brother were sent to Bermuda and on the way the 
 brother died. Among the prisoners in Camden that 
 year was a youth whose destiny was to lead him to the 
 White House many years later. This was Andrew 
 Jackson. Of his prison experiences in Camden he 
 carried through life a reminder in the form of a scar 
 upon the cheek from a wound inflicted by a British 
 
[ 18 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 officer because he refused to black the gentleman's 
 boots. 
 
 For the new policy of terrorism the English found 
 ready excuse in the many instances of violated parole 
 of which the Americans were guilty, while aid and 
 comfort were undoubtedly rendered by those whom 
 necessity only had caused to submit, but whose sym- 
 pathy with the rebel guerrillas was so strong as to 
 constitute constant temptation. The ruthlessness with 
 which the British carried out their policy and the inflex- 
 ibility with which they interpreted violations of the 
 rules they had established resulted in strengthening, 
 rather than weakening, the devotion of the colonists to 
 the cause of separation. 
 
 Camden was meanwhile transformed into a military 
 station. In the center of the town a stockade was 
 erected, while forts were put up at the four corners of 
 the village to give greater protection to the town and 
 garrison. Lord Rawdon was in command, a young 
 man afterwards distinguished for his service in India 
 and ennobled under the title of Marquis of Hastings. 
 Under him was a garrison which varied in size as 
 detachments were sent out or other garrisons called 
 in, but numbering generally close to a thousand men. 
 
 The military situation in the South altered with the 
 winter. After General Nathaniel Greene had assumed 
 command of the remnant of Gates's army in December, 
 1780, and after a few small victories had been achieved 
 by the American forces, notably at Cowpens, Corn- 
 wallis went north from South Carolina to retrieve what 
 had been lost. At Guilford Court House, in North 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 19 ] 
 
 Carolina, he met General Greene and won one of those 
 fruitless victories, in reality defeats, by which the 
 British campaigns in the South were distinguished, 
 and in March, 1781, he departed for Wilmington, N. C. 
 
 It was then that General Greene conceived the bril- 
 liant plan of a descent upon the British garrisons in 
 South Carolina. The move was certain either to draw 
 Cornwallis back into South Carolina and so free North 
 Carolina and Virgina of the presence of his army, or 
 to result in the capture, or at least withdrawal, of the 
 British garrisons. The truth was, though this was not 
 clear to contemporary eyes, that for the British the 
 game was about up. Every alternative was an alter- 
 native of disaster. And General Greene forced a 
 choice. In this case Cornwallis did not follow Greene. 
 He chose instead the fatal road which led to Yorktown ; 
 and the ragged, starving American army, numbering 
 barely 2,000 men, went off unhindered to its work in 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Greene went straight for Camden. He arrived here 
 on the 19th of April. He maneuvered in this neigh- 
 borhood for several days, occupying various positions 
 and, finally, on the evening of Tuesday, the 24th, camp- 
 ing on Hobkirk Hill immediately north of that upper 
 section of Camden then called Log Town, situated 
 between what are now De Kalb and Chestnut (or 
 Boundary) streets. Rawdon, in Camden, had all along 
 been aware of his adversary's movements, but on the 
 night of the 24th, he received information from an 
 American deserter that determined him to seek battle. 
 This news was that the Americans were out of provi- 
 
[ 20 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 sions, and, what was more important, that they lacked 
 cannon. This information was correct when given, 
 but the morning of Wednesday, the 25th, which found 
 the British preparing for battle, also found the Ameri- 
 cans rejoicing at the arrival, between nine and ten, of 
 an abundance of provisions and of two cannon sure to 
 strengthen Greene's position greatly. 
 
 General Greene's position was strong anyway. Hob- 
 kirk Hill is a not inconsiderable elevation quite steep 
 on its southern side, that up which Lord Rawdon must 
 approach, wooded (in 1780), and stretching for a 
 quarter of a mile in either direction from Broad street. 
 On the crest, the American forces were disposed. One 
 wing, the right, under Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, 
 occupied ground now covered by the buildings of the 
 Kirkwood Hotel, while the left, Marylanders, reached 
 about to what is now Lyttleton street and perhaps 
 beyond. On either side of the road itself holding the 
 center were, right center, the Second Virginians under 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Hawes, and, left center, the tried 
 First Marylanders under Colonel Gunby. The newly 
 arrived cannon were stationed on the road itself, then 
 not sunken, as at present. Beyond the left wing, some- 
 where in the woods, were the remnants of the Delaware 
 regiment with Captain Kirkwood in command, and 
 still further out, two companies of pickets at a junction 
 of roads near where is now the Sarsfield Golf Club. 
 Behind the center were stationed reserves, a troop of 
 light infantry under Captain Smith, while Colonel 
 Washington's cavalry were still further to the rear. 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 21 ] 
 
 The visitor to the battlefield can explore every comer 
 of it in half an hour. 
 
 The British sallied forth at ten in the morning and, 
 following the circuitous route of the Pine Tree Creek 
 on the east of Camden, first encountered the pickets at 
 the left beyond the American line. The sound of the 
 shots, brought forth by this meeting, caused Greene's 
 forces on the hill, then engaged in enjoying the newly 
 received provisions, to form for action. Shortly there- 
 after the British troops, driving Kirkwood's band 
 before them, appeared at the foot of the hill, and 
 received a welcome from the cannon in the road. This 
 was Rawdon's first knowledge of the artillery rein- 
 forcement to the American army. 
 
 His troops seemed about to break. Posted before 
 them in an exceedingly advantageous position, was an 
 enemy numerically superior, unexpectedly provided 
 where he had been supposed to be deficient. Hesitation 
 was natural. 
 
 General Greene immediately undertook the attack, 
 seeking to envelope both flanks of the small band 
 opposed to him, and at the same time he sent Washing- 
 ton's cavalry to the British rear to cut off retreat. 
 Ford and Campbell, commanding respectively the left 
 and the right wings, advanced from both ends of the 
 American line; the two regiments in the center 
 descended the hill more slowly, trailing their arms and 
 prepared to charge bayonets. The maneuver promised 
 to grind Rawdon between the jaws of a Titan, while he 
 was crushed at the same time by a frontal attack. 
 
[ 22 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 Lord Rawdon brought up his reserves to attack, in 
 their turn, the flanks of the American enveloping 
 forces, so that now every available man was in the 
 battle line, and his situation, though relieved, was 
 precarious. 
 
 At this instant, the American machine, which had 
 been operating with precision, went wrong. Captain 
 Beatty, in command of one of the companies of Gunby's 
 regiment, left center, fell. His men, in violation of 
 instructions, began firing their muskets, and then broke 
 and retired, taking with them in the confusion the 
 company next in line. Colonel Gunby, to restore his 
 line, ordered his remaining companies to retire also, so 
 that the regiment might reform. The order was mis- 
 understood as one for retreat. The entire regiment 
 became confused and the confusion spread west of the 
 road to Ford's regiment, whose commander had just 
 fallen mortally wounded. Both regiments precipitately 
 retired, purposing to reform back from the top of the 
 hill. By the time the reformation was complete the 
 British held the hilltop and were in possession of the 
 two cannon. The battle was now fully under way. 
 The musketry of the contending forces shattered the 
 atmosphere. A Camden youth, Samuel Mathis, records 
 in his diary : "Between eleven and twelve o'clock heard 
 a very heavy fire of cannon and musketry, lasting fif- 
 teen minutes." Confusion and fierce fighting marked 
 the battle from now forth. As the American line was 
 pierced, Greene drew back his wings. However, there 
 was no rout. The Americans continued to inflict heavy 
 losses on the enemy. The reserves under Captain 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 23 ] 
 
 Smith and the cavalry of Washington, reappearing from 
 their fruitless "cutting off of the British retreat," 
 recaptured the artillery and carried both pieces from 
 the field. 
 
 Like the first battle of Camden, this second fight was 
 over in incredibly short time, there being evidence that 
 it did not last beyond half an hour. The American 
 general brought his men off in good order. 
 
 Tactically this was a British victory. The Ameri- 
 cans had been driven from the field. The achievement, 
 if brilliant, was, however, fruitless. Lord Rawdon's 
 loss in killed and wounded, 258, was almost equal to 
 the American loss, while proportionately much greater, 
 as the English force was smaller. If the heavens wept 
 that day — and Mathis records "Afternoon hard Rain" 
 — it was not for Greene the celestial tears were shed. 
 
 The inevitable had been delayed by a few days. 
 Rawdon's precarious position in Camden had been 
 made but a little less precarious because he had driven 
 General Greene from Hobkirk Hill. Sumter and 
 Marion were busy cutting off his sources of supplies 
 and endangering his communications with his base at 
 Charleston so that it made little difference how gal- 
 lantly he fought or how many victories he won at the 
 end of his ravelling line. On the 8th May he com- 
 menced his withdrawal from Camden. The following 
 day the young Irishman shook its soil from his military 
 boots, burned of his supplies what he could not carry 
 away, and departed, never to return. After a summer 
 campaign in defense of his other posts and after one 
 more sanguinary combat with his opponent of Hobkirk 
 
[ 24 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 Hill, at Eutaw Springs, he withdrew to Charleston, and 
 next year South Carolina was free. 
 
 On the departure of the British, the people of Cam- 
 den began to enjoy the fruits of victory, to rebuild what 
 had been burnt, to recall the exiles, to savor peace after 
 suffering. 
 
 For many years the field of Hobkirk gave up relics 
 of this bloody struggle for American freedom, a pocket 
 pistol, a rusted bayonet, buttons from the uniforms of 
 brave men who gave their lives that April morning a 
 hundred thirty-odd years ago. 
 
PARKS AND STREETS. 
 
 Camden is fortunate in the manner in which its 
 streets are laid out and in the abundance of squares or 
 parks for the adornment of the city and the recreation 
 of her people. 
 
 The first survey of the town was one made by Wil- 
 liam Ancrum in 1758, when he and Joseph Kershaw, 
 his partner, first came to the inland settlement. The 
 earliest plan extant, approximately of the date of 
 1774, shows a town laid out about a central square at 
 the junction of Broad and Bull streets. This is far 
 below (south) the present business center of the city 
 and the old square is now hardly distinguishable from 
 the surrounding open country. Gordon, Campbell, 
 Church, Broad, Market, Lyttleton and Mill streets are 
 present in this plan as north-and-south streets, while 
 York, King, Bull, Meeting and Wateree streets inter- 
 sect them at right angles. 
 
 The village, however, grew northward, largely as a 
 result of fires which, more than once, swept the older 
 town. The higher ground, it is likely, had its own 
 inherent appeal which attracted residents away from 
 the flatter region. In 1798 we find a plan showing the 
 town extending northward as far as Chestnut (or 
 Boundary) street, and marked upon it another square, 
 at the junction of Laurens and Broad streets, the pres- 
 ent Monument Park. This plan also shows four other 
 parks in the upper town. Two of these, Kershaw Park 
 and Hampton Grove, now form valuable and decorative 
 parks. The other two, though less completely 
 
[ 26 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 developed and much less elaborately treated, are still 
 extremely useful. They are situated between Gordon 
 and Campbell avenues, one just south of Chestnut (or 
 Boundary) street and the other just north of De Kalb 
 street. These five parks were a splendid gift of the 
 founders of the town to their descendants and suc- 
 cessors. 
 
 In the names of the streets of modern Camden are 
 many reminders of persons prominent in the history 
 of town, state, or nation. 
 
 Wyly street commemorates an early Quaker settler; 
 Gordon street bears the name of Thomas Knox Gordon, 
 the Justice who presided at the first Court held in 
 Camden, 5th November, 1772; Laurens street recalls 
 the name of an illustrious Revolutionary family; De 
 Kalb street, of course, is named for the hero of the first 
 battle of Camden ; and Rutledge street brings to mind 
 still another hero of the early days, John Rutledge. 
 Lafayette avenue, more recently laid out, is named for 
 the Marquis of Lafayette, the distinguished friend of 
 America, whose visit to Camden, in 1825, was an event 
 in the history of the city. 
 
 These names are still those by which the streets are 
 commonly known. An attempt has been made, how- 
 ever, to introduce a more scientific nomenclature 
 employing numerals, and house numbers are every- 
 where based upon this system. Under this system the 
 north and south streets are avenues and the east and 
 west streets, streets. For convenience certain of the 
 equivalents are given here, as follows: Avenues, Mill 
 street=2d avenue, Fair=3d, Lyttleton=4th, Market, 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 27 ] 
 
 which extends no further north than De Kalb street, 
 equals 5th, and Broad=6th. Of the streets, De Kalb= 
 11th, Laurens=14th, Chestnut=-17th, and Greene= 
 20th. Chestnut street is also sometimes called Bound- 
 ary street and Broad street below De Kalb is often 
 spoken of as Main street. 
 
 HOUSES AND GARDENS. 
 
 The architecture of the older houses of Camden is 
 distinctively Southern, marked as it is by the broad 
 galleries extending across one or more sides of the 
 houses and often carried up to the eaves with two plat- 
 forms or stories. In many of the houses the main 
 entrance is almost a full story above ground level and 
 is reached by a long exterior flight of steps and this 
 arrangement produces its own distinctive effect. On a 
 short section of Broad street between Laurens and 
 De Kalb streets is a group of houses with gable-ends 
 to the street which recalls the arrangement so charac- 
 teristic of Charleston and generally accounted quaint 
 and charming. 
 
 The gardens about so many of the houses, old and 
 modern alike, contribute to the beauty of the town. 
 Evergreen shrubs and trees, and vines which flower in 
 the winter, make the gardens almost as pleasing in the 
 dead season of the year as in the spring and summer, 
 though it is not until late March and April that they 
 are seen to best advantage. The gardens in the 
 grounds of the Court Inn on Mill street are of great 
 age and of unusual extent. The arched evergreen 
 walk, which measures one dimension, is 500 feet in 
 
[ 28 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 length. A curious maze is another feature of this 
 garden which in its more usual aspects is fittingly rep- 
 resentative of South Carolina gardens. 
 
 PLACES, BUILDINGS AND OTHER OBJECTS 
 
 OF INTEREST. 
 
 Indian Mounds. 
 
 The Cherokee Indians, who occupied territory in this 
 vicinity, are supposed to have been the builders of the 
 mounds along the Wateree river. These Indian mounds 
 were not originally places of burial, but were sites of 
 residence, probably those of the council houses or the 
 houses of the chiefs. The reason that to the Cherokee 
 Indians, and not to the Wateree Indians, the building 
 of these mounds has been attributed, is that an early 
 traveler among the Indians, John Lawson, who visited 
 the Waterees in 1701, reports them to have been alto- 
 gether indolent and they have been, in consequence, 
 judged incapable of erecting these colossal monuments, 
 while the Cherokees are known to have been more 
 energetic. 
 
 1. Adamson Mound: 
 
 This large Indian mound, one of the largest, is easily 
 accessible. It is just a mile west of Camden and about 
 one-half mile north of the Columbia road. Those inter- 
 ested in ethnology will be repaid for the walk by a 
 glimpse of this relic of the aborigines. 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 29 ] 
 
 2. Chestnut "Mound." 
 
 This so-called mound, a short way south of Camden, 
 is not a true Indian mound, like the Adamson mound, 
 or the other mounds up the river, but when examined, 
 in 1886, proved to be an old Indian burying ground. 
 Hardly less interesting in this character it has been a 
 source for the recovery of many Indian relics, pottery, 
 pipes and stone axes. 
 
 Pine Tree Hill — Magazine Hill — Cornwallis House. 
 
 This low hill in the southeastern corner of Camden 
 is intimately connected with the early history of the 
 town. Here Joseph Kershaw, the man who, more 
 than any other, deserves the title of founder of Camden, 
 established his store in 1759, and called the spot Pine 
 Tree Hill. By this name the town was known for 
 several years. 
 
 When the Revolutionary War was in progress, a mag- 
 azine, or arsenal, was built at the southeastern base of 
 the hill at the cost of 9,000 pounds. Kershaw was put 
 in charge. On this hill Kershaw had already built a 
 residence for himself. When the British took Camden 
 in 1780 both house and magazine fell into the hands 
 of the conquerors. The magazine, already partially 
 fortified by the Americans, they transformed into a 
 redoubt as part of the system of fortifications of the 
 town. From its shape it came to be known as the 
 "Star" redoubt. The house became the British head- 
 quarters while the occupation lasted, and from this cir- 
 cumstance it came to be known as the Cornwallis house 
 
[ 30 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 by a figure of speech in which the name of the British 
 commander was made to do service for that of the 
 invaders generally. 
 
 Comwallis, himself, occupied the house for but a 
 short time. It was a large three-storied building, very 
 fine for the time, surrounded by handsome trees and 
 beautiful grounds. As a penalty for his prominence 
 in the cause of the rebellion, the owner, Kershaw, was 
 deported, but his family were allowed to occupy an 
 upper room for a time. However, young Lord Raw- 
 don, when he took command, turned Mrs. Kershaw and 
 her children out. 
 
 When the British evacuated Camden in 1781, Rawdon 
 ordered the destruction of the "Star" redoubt, and 
 General Greene, when he entered the town, completed 
 the work of demolition. Nothing now remains of the 
 old magazine but a heap of brickbats. 
 
 The destruction of the Cornwallis house was reserved 
 for later times. During the Civil War the mansion 
 was used as a Confederate storehouse. It was burned 
 the day on which a detachment from General Sherman's 
 army entered Camden in February, 1865, or on the 
 evening of that day. The Confederate commissary, 
 Captain John H. Devereux, ordered its destruction to 
 prevent its falling into the hands of the United States 
 troops. There is some question as to whether the order 
 was indeed executed, and the supposition is general that 
 it was the Federal forces who actually caused its 
 destruction in accordance with the announced policy 
 of destroying all such buildings. The point has not 
 been quite determined. 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 31 ] 
 
 Old Court House. 
 
 It has been explained elsewhere that the town of 
 Camden grew away from its original site, northward, 
 away from Pine Tree Hill and the old square at the 
 junction of Broad and Bull streets. A short distance 
 north of the old square, on the west side of Broad 
 street, there still stands the old Court House, built in 
 1826, but now no longer used as a court-house, a digni- 
 fied structure of classic architecture, with four fluted 
 columns two stories high across its front, through 
 which rises to the second floor a flight of stone steps. 
 For about 80 years this building was the administra- 
 tive center of the county, but it is now the property of 
 the Daughters of the Revolution. Interesting relics of 
 the historical period have been gathered there. 
 
 The City Hall Weather Vane — Effigy of King Haigler. 
 
 The most curious of the relics of Camden's early days 
 is the weather vane now to be seen on the steeple of 
 the city hall. The vane is an ideal representation of 
 Haigler, King of the Catawbas, an Indian chief of the 
 time of the first settlement of Camden. Haigler was 
 the friend of the early Quaker settlers and was intimate 
 with Samuel Wyly, the storekeeper. He seems to have 
 been of so much real service to the pioneers as to 
 become in a sense "patron saint" of the struggling set- 
 tlement. In his death — he was murdered by lurking 
 Shawnees in 1763 — the people of Pine Tree Hill suffered 
 a personal loss. 
 
 The figure of the weather vane is five feet one inch 
 in height. It is cut from iron and is gilded. The 
 
[ 32 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 artist was a Frenchman, one J. B. Mathieu, whose pro- 
 fession was the making of profiles, "warranted correct 
 likenesses." Mathieu lived here from 1815 to 1834, 
 and the likeness of Haigler was made by him some 
 time prior to 1826, in which year it was raised to the 
 top of the steeple on the market at King and Broad 
 streets in the old town. Here it stayed till 1859, when 
 it was removed to the new market on the west side of 
 Broad street. Again, January, 1886, it was moved to 
 its present position. 
 
 The town clock above which King Kaigler stands 
 perched, drawing his bow, is contemporary with the 
 vane and has accompanied it at each move. 
 
 Revolutionary Cannon. 
 
 The old iron cannon which are to be seen in the yard 
 of the Hobkirk Inn were removed to their present posi- 
 tion in the 80*s. Previous to this, they had been on 
 Magazine Hill, where, up to its destruction, they 
 guarded the yard of the Cornwallis house, and were 
 on notable occasions used for firing salutes. One of 
 these cannon, it will be observed, bears the fleur-de-lis 
 of France and it is supposed that this gun was captured 
 at the siege of Louisburg and that it was brought to 
 Camden by the British when they held the town. 
 
 The cannon in Kershaw Park likewise bears the 
 fleur-de-lis. 
 
 Grave of Agnes of Glasgow. 
 The old Presbyterian churchyard near the present 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 33 ] 
 
 Camden cemetery contains a low headstone with the 
 following inscription : 
 
 Here Lies 
 
 The Body of 
 
 Agnes of Glasgow 
 
 Who Departed This Life 
 
 Feber 1780 Aged 20 
 
 This grave and stone are interesting because around 
 them a curious legend has grown up. The manner of 
 inscription in which the heroine is described as "of 
 Glasgow," the fact that unlike most of the graves of 
 the period, this is marked by an engraved stone, account 
 probably for the growth of legend. The story, in 
 various forms, is interesting. 
 
 First form : Agnes is said to have been an attractive 
 Scotch maiden, who, having given her heart to a British 
 soldier in America, came to this country to join him. 
 She forgot, however, before embarking to ascertain his 
 exact whereabouts and discovered on arrival in Amer- 
 ica that the task of finding her lover was an arduous 
 one. She wandered, so it is said, from camp to camp, 
 from New England to South Carolina, and reaching 
 Camden at last found that her betrothed was lying in 
 the churchyard. A broken heart soon brought her own 
 death. Lord Cornwallis, touched, had her buried and 
 her grave marked. 
 
 Second form: In the second version Agnes is said 
 to have been the mistress of Lord Cornwallis and to 
 have died of a broken heart induced by the neglect of 
 her military lover. Cornwallis's remorse is made 
 
[ 34 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 responsible for the marking of the grave and the honor 
 thus bestowed upon the poor girl. 
 
 A too accurate modern historian has pointed out that 
 the date of Agnes's death, as recorded upon the grave- 
 stone itself, was several months before the British 
 entered Camden. 
 
 The spot is interesting and the riddle intriguing. 
 
 Grave of De Kalb 
 
 The yard of the Presbyterian Church on De Kalb 
 street holds a grave and monument of peculiar inter- 
 est. Here is buried that brave Revolutionary general, 
 De Kalb, who sacrificed his life at Camden for a cause 
 not his own and whose dust brings honor to the city 
 which holds it as a sacred memorial. 
 
 John Kalb was an Alsatian peasant, soldier of for- 
 tune, and friend of America. It was on entering the 
 French army as a youth that he assumed the "de" and 
 began calling himself "Baron," an innocent pretension, 
 to quicken promotion. Previous to the revolt of the 
 colonies he had visited America on a mission for the 
 French government. In 1776 he came to give his serv- 
 ices to the young republic, and he rose rapidly in the 
 service. At the battle of Camden he was second in 
 command to General Gates and might better have been 
 second to nobody. Here it was that in rallying his 
 troops after the first disaster, when his superior was 
 already leaving the field, he received his mortal wounds 
 from which he died a few days after in Camden. The 
 British recognized his merit and his bravery and 
 accorded him military honors at his burial. 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 35 ] 
 
 The monument which the citizens of Camden erected 
 over his grave in recognition of his zeal and services 
 bears the following inscriptions : 
 
 South face: 
 
 Here 
 Lie the Remains 
 
 OF 
 
 Baron De Kalb 
 A German by Birth but 
 
 In Principle 
 A Citizen of the World 
 
 East face: 
 
 His Love of Liberty 
 
 Induced Him 
 
 To Leave the Old World 
 
 To Aid the Citizens of the New 
 
 In Their Struggle 
 
 FOR 
 
 Independence 
 
 His Distinguished Talents 
 
 And Many Virtues 
 
 Weighed With Congress 
 
 To Appoint Him 
 
 Major General 
 
 In Their 
 
 Revolutionary Army 
 
[ 36 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 West face: 
 
 He Was Second in 
 
 Command in the Battle Fought Near 
 
 Camden 
 
 On the 16th August 
 
 1780 
 
 Between the 
 
 British and Americans 
 
 AND 
 
 There Nobly Fell 
 
 Covered With Wounds, While 
 
 Gallantly Performing 
 
 Deeds of Valor 
 
 in 
 
 Rallying the Friends 
 
 AND 
 
 Opposing the Enemies 
 
 Of His 
 
 Adopted Country 
 
 North face: 
 
 In Gratitude 
 
 For His Zeal and Service 
 
 The Citizens of Camden 
 
 Have Erected 
 
 This Monument 
 
 Other Memorials. 
 
 Kirkland Memorial, at the junction of De Kalb and 
 Broad streets, is a fountain for watering horses. It 
 bears the following inscription : 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 37 ] 
 
 To Richard Kirkland 
 
 C. S. A. 
 
 In Commemoration of His Heroism 
 
 At Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862. 
 
 Christlike Compassion Moved Him 
 
 To Leap Over the Stone Wall, a Mark 
 
 For Hostile Guns, and Carry Water 
 
 Again and Again, to the Suffering 
 
 Foe Fallen Thick in Front. 
 
 "Greater Love Has No Man Than This" 
 
 He Fell at Chickamauga, Aged 20 
 
 A Tribute From the School Children of Camden 
 
 A. D. 1910 
 
 The Dickinson Monument, in Monument Square, at 
 the junction of Laurens and Broad streets, is a memo- 
 rial to Lieutenant-Colonel James Polk Dickinson and 
 serves to show Camden^s connection with the Mexican 
 War. Dickinson, who was born in Camden in 1816, 
 assisted former Governor Pierce M. Butler to raise the 
 Palmetto regiment of South Carolina and was second 
 in command to Colonel Butler. At Vera Cruz, where 
 the regiment took its part in the landing operations of 
 General Scott's army, Dickinson was wounded, and, 
 later, at Churubusco, on the same day on which his 
 leader was killed, 25th of August, 1847, he fell mortally 
 wounded. The monument records that he died on the 
 12th September at Mixchoag. His last words to the 
 De Kalb Rifle Guards, uttered in the midst of battle 
 when he caught up the Palmetto banner from the fallen 
 flag-bearer, are worth recording for their theatrical 
 
[ 38 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 eloquence: "Here, soldiers, is your standard! You 
 once pledged your sacred honor never to desert it. 
 Come, redeem your pledge! Rally round it. And 
 thrice honored be the name that tops the list !" 
 
 The Confederate Monument, in Monument Square, 
 was "erected by the women of Kershaw county in 
 memory of brave sons who fell during the Confederate 
 War defending the rights and honor of the South," as 
 the monument itself records. The east face of the 
 monument carries the following inscription: "They 
 died for home and country and are gratefully remem- 
 bered wherever they lie," and the following verses : 
 
 "Countless eyes have scanned their story, 
 Countless hearts grown brave thereby; 
 Let us thank the God of glory 
 We had such to die." 
 
 The monument to Civil War Generals, in Kershaw 
 Park, is a handsome pergola and fountain with six 
 pillars upon which are inscribed the names of six sons 
 of Camden who rose to high command during the Civil 
 War. These six generals were Major General J. B. 
 Kershaw, and Brigadier Generals James Cantey, James 
 Chestnut, Z. C. Deas, J. D. Kennedy and J. P. Ville- 
 pigue. 
 
 Revolutionary Battlefields. 
 
 1. Battlefield of Camden. The visitor reaches the 
 scene of Camden's first Revolutionary battle, that which 
 took place on 16th August, 1780, by a drive of eight 
 miles along the road to Lancaster, a continuation of 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 39 ] 
 
 Broad street in Camden, branching from the Charlotte 
 highway a mile or so before De Kalb, the village 
 through which the Southern Railway passes. The field 
 of battle, now marked by a boulder in memory of 
 General De Kalb, is spread out on both sides of the 
 highway. Today it is largely wooded ground. At the 
 time of the battle it was forested by pines, probably 
 much more open than the low growth which now stands. 
 The American troops as arranged for battle on that 
 disastrous morning were extended both east and west 
 of the road, the Delaware and Second Maryland regi- 
 ments being to the west, while the North Carolina and 
 Virginia militia, whose panic precipitated the rout, lay 
 to the east. 
 
 2. Battlefield of Hobkirk Hill. This interesting 
 battleground is within the present city of Camden. Its 
 center is near the junction of Greene street (named 
 very suitably after the American general) and Broad 
 street, in the Kirkwood section of the city. Where 
 Broad street passes over the brow of the hill, the Amer- 
 ican commander, Nathaniel Greene, had placed his two 
 cannon pointing southward along the road toward 
 Camden. The cut had not been made in 1781, so that 
 this central position was a commanding point. The 
 present visitor to the field who takes his position at this 
 point (above the cut) will be so placed as to compre- 
 hend the disposition of the opposing forces in the clear- 
 est manner. To the west, along the ridge of the hill, 
 now occupied by several houses, he will readily take in 
 the position occupied by the American right. Where 
 
[ 40 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 the Kirkwood hotel stands the First Virginia regiment 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell held the right wing. 
 Next east, just west of the road, were the Second Vir- 
 ginians, under Lieutenant-Colonel Hawes, who fell that 
 day. To the east of the road were stationed Colonel 
 Gunby's First Marylanders and beyond were the Sec- 
 ond Maryland regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Ford. 
 On this side the line extended to the low land beyond 
 Lyttleton street. 
 
 It was at this center of the battleground, where we 
 have assumed the visitor to be standing, that the Amer- 
 icans first gave way. Here first the British breasted 
 the hill. Here took place the gallant and successful 
 struggle, in which Greene himself took part, to recap- 
 ture and withdraw the two pieces of artillery. 
 
 Quaker Graveyard. 
 
 Many of the early settlers of the Wateree region were 
 Quakers. As early as 1759 a four-acre tract of land 
 was purchased by them for the site of a meeting-house 
 and graveyard, and the graveyard may still be seen 
 within the bounds of the present Camden cemetery. 
 The Quakers long since left this neighborhood, but the 
 old graves serve as a reininder of the God-fearing men 
 who had so much to do with laying the foundations of 
 Camden. 
 
 Lafayette Cedar, 
 
 The Marquis of Lafayette visited Camden in March, 
 1825, on his tour of the United States. At that time, 
 tradition records, some cedar trees were set out before 
 his place of entertainment as temporary decorations, 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 41 ] 
 
 but what was intended to be temporary became perma- 
 nent. One of the cedars took root and flourished, at least 
 so tradition says. At any rate the cedar, which may 
 be seen in the yard of the present Kershaw county 
 court-house, bears indubitably the name of "Lafayette 
 Cedar" today. 
 
 Miscellaneaus Objects of Interest, 
 
 Camden's two cotton mills may prove of interest to 
 many among the visitors to the town. These are the 
 Hermitage Mills, about a mile from town to the east, 
 and the Wateree Mills, also to the east, but nearer the 
 city, and in fact just beyond the Sarsfield Golf Club, 
 and plainly to be seen from the course. 
 
 The Camden Beef Cattle Farms on the further side 
 of the Wateree river is an interesting, because a bold 
 and successful, venture in agricultural enterprise. 
 
 Of importance to Camden and of interest to the vis- 
 itor is the plant of the Wateree Power Company on the 
 Wateree river, seven miles above Camden. This con- 
 cern, which is a subsidiary of the Southern Power Com- 
 pany, gives promise of adding very largely to the indus- 
 trial opportunity of Kershaw county. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 There is an architectural peculiarity about the Pres- 
 byterian Church on De Kalb street, which is certain to 
 draw the attention of the observer, for the steeple is 
 at the end of the building furthest from the street. It 
 is the yard of this church which holds the grave and 
 
[ 42 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 monument of General De Kalb, which is among the 
 objects of interest of Camden. The other Protestant 
 churches are situated as follows: Grace Episcopal 
 Church at the corner of Lyttleton and Laurens streets, 
 the Methodist Church on the east side of Lyttleton 
 street between Laurens and De Kalb streets, and the 
 Baptist Church on Broad street at the corner of Lafay- 
 ette avenue. The Catholic Church, the Church of Our 
 Lady of Perpetual Help, is at the corner of Lyttleton 
 and 18th streets. 
 
 CAMDEN HOSPITAL. 
 
 The Camden Hospital was opened on 1st December, 
 1913. It is equipped in the modern style and occupies 
 a commodious and handsome building. There are 
 wards for both colored and white races, the two for 
 colored persons at the north end of a long corridor and 
 those for whites at the south end. All are exactly the 
 same in character and each has a normal capacity of 
 four beds. The private rooms for pay patients are on 
 the second floor, and altogether the hospital has a 
 normal capacity of twenty-four beds, though this can 
 be increased. 
 
 The operating rooms, diet kitchens, bath rooms, 
 administration rooms and parlor, together with some 
 rooms for nurses, are on the first floor of the main 
 building, while the kitchen, store room, laundry, and 
 dining room for nurses are under the wards, in the 
 basement. 
 
 The hospital building was erected with a fund of 
 about $40,000 provided by Bernard M. Baruch, of New 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 43 ] 
 
 York, as a memorial to his father, Dr. Simon Baruch, 
 the distinguished surgeon and physician, who was for 
 many years a successful practitioner in Camden. It 
 is supported by private contributions and by the income 
 of the Burdell Trust Fund, a bequest of approximately 
 $100,000 from Captain John Burdell, a prominent citi- 
 zen of Kershaw county. Captain Burdell died in 
 December, 1911, and his will directed that the income 
 of the fund should be applied to the alleviation of the 
 suffering of the poor, white and colored, of Kershaw 
 county. In 1912 Mr. Baruch, by his determination to 
 build the hospital building, made possible the present 
 satisfactory application of the Burdell fund. 
 
 The charity of the hospital is extended to residents of 
 Kershaw county only ; but private patients are accepted 
 from anywhere. 
 
 THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY. 
 
 The Carnegie Library is situated in Monument 
 Square at the junction of Laurens and Broad streets. 
 It occupies a red brick building of pleasing appearance, 
 first opened to the public on 3rd January, 1916. The 
 small collection of books first moved to the new quarters 
 is being systematically increased; there is shelf room 
 for 9,000 volumes, and the building is so planned as 
 to make further enlargements easily feasible when 
 necessity requires. 
 
 The library is free to all white residents of Camden. 
 The library association, an incorporated body, is com- 
 posed of all white residents who pay annual dues of 
 one dollar, and the direction of the business of the 
 
[ 44 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 library is in the hands of a board elected annually by 
 the association. 
 
 Transient visitors and other nonresidents may enjoy 
 the privileges of the library by complying with certain 
 regulations fixed by the board of directors. 
 
 The building is the gift of Andrew Carnegie. At the 
 instance of the Camden Civic League application was 
 made to the secretary of the Carnegie Corporation in 
 1914. In 1915 it was decided to build the library, the 
 principal conditions imposed being that the city should 
 furnish a site and pledge itself to provide, for upkeep, 
 ten per cent, of the donated sum, which was $5,000. 
 These conditions being accepted, and a site selected and 
 provided, work was begun and the building carried to 
 completion during 1915. 
 
 BROWNING INDUSTRIAL HOME AND 
 MATHER ACADEMY. 
 
 The Browning Industrial Home and Mather Acad- 
 emy, situated at De Kalb and Campbell streets, is the 
 outgrowth of Mather Academy, established soon after 
 the Civil War and enlarged in 1887, when the Brown- 
 ing Industrial Home was established. The School and 
 Home are under the auspices of the Woman's Home 
 Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 but are undenominational in their work, which is the 
 education and training of Negro boys and girls. There 
 are five buildings in the group and sixteen acres of land 
 in the property. 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 45 ] 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 Those who enjoy a moderate winter climate similar 
 to the autumn climate of New England, New York and 
 the northern tier of northern states, will find the tem- 
 peratures of Camden from November to April, inclu- 
 sive, delightful. The climate of Camden varies from 
 month to month, November and March, the right and 
 left wings of the winter, resembling a Massachusetts 
 September, or, perhaps, a Massachusetts May ; Decem- 
 ber, January and February, a New England October, 
 with touches of a November tinge. Occasionally snow 
 falls in midwinter, like late fall snowstorms in the 
 North, and cold, raw days do occur. Often when it 
 rains without, a corner by the roaring pinewood fire is 
 in favor within. But the South Carolina sun is power- 
 ful. When it shines after rain, the thermometer rises 
 and a disagreeable day is transformed in five minutes 
 into the most perfect of perfect days. During much of 
 the winter overcoats are left hanging in the closet, but 
 there are also many days which may best be described 
 as "light overcoat" days, while there are times when 
 winter clothing is imperatively needed. 
 
 There is nothing enervating about winter in central 
 South Carolina; on the contrary, it is always bracing 
 and refreshing. Those who wish for summer weather 
 and August temperatures in January and February are 
 frankly told they had better go further south to find 
 them and advised to visit Camden in March or April; 
 those, however, who like weather in which they may 
 be out of doors all the time they wish, who like sunshine 
 
[ 46 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 through air with a little tang to it, who like, in short, a 
 moderate warm climate, will find Camden weather as 
 perfect in kind as their hearts may desire.* 
 
 Weather Records. 
 
 The following statistics are supplied by the United 
 States Department of Agriculture, Weather Bureau. 
 The statistics as to relative humidity are taken from 
 the Columbia, S. C, records. The other records are 
 those of the Camden station of the department. The 
 average temperature and average precipitation figures 
 are drawn from all back authentic records, including 
 the James Kershaw record, which began in 1791 and 
 closed in 1815. The records have been drawn down to 
 the close of 1916. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 1. Average temperature 51.8 
 
 48.3 
 
 46.4 
 
 47.4 
 
 54.2 
 
 62.4 
 
 2. Average precipitation 2.41 
 
 3.41 
 
 3.40 
 
 3.95 
 
 3.76 
 
 3.04 
 
 3. Maximum temperature — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Highest of record. 85 
 
 82 
 
 78 
 
 75 
 
 94 
 
 93 
 
 4. Minimum temperature — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lowest of record. 23 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 
 5. Average relative humidity- 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 A. M 77% 
 
 79% 
 
 81% 
 
 78% 
 
 78% 
 
 74% 
 
 8 P. M 57% 
 
 64% 
 
 62% 
 
 59% 
 
 55% 
 
 53% 
 
 *Not the least of the beauties of Camden "weather" is the late hour at 
 which the sun sets. Owing to Camden's position near the western boundary 
 of the zone of Eastern Standard Time the sun apparently sets from 30 to 40 
 minutes later than in the northeastern United States. This, added to the 
 length of day due to greater nearness to the equator, lengthens the afternoon 
 almost to dinner time, even in the season of shortest days at Christmas. 
 
V*. 
 
A*^t-r.|» 
 
GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. [ 47 ] 
 
 RESORT FEATURES. 
 
 There are three resort hotels in Camden open during 
 the winter. There are also a number of boarding 
 houses which cater to the wants of northern visitors 
 during the season. 
 
 The "season" lasts from the middle of November to 
 the middle or end of April and attains its height in the 
 months of February and March. During the season 
 visitors to Camden take advantage of the opportunity 
 for golf afforded by the two golf courses, both of eigh- 
 teen holes, one that of the Camden Country Club, the 
 other that of the Sarsfield Golf Club. Both are highly 
 developed courses. In February and March the Polo 
 Club plays weekly and biweekly games of polo and 
 some time in March a tournament to which visiting 
 teams are invited, is played in Camden. The Riding 
 and Driving Club has provided a half-mile track and 
 other facilities for sport and recreation, while the nat- 
 ural advantages of the neighborhood make informal 
 riding and driving through the woods, over the soft 
 country roads or along the more finished and finer sur- 
 faced highways, one of the features of winter life in 
 Camden. Among the recurring features is the Annual 
 Horse Show held each spring under the auspices of the 
 Riding and Driving Club. 
 
 Sportsmen take advantage of the opportunities 
 offered for shooting and fishing in a region of field and 
 forest. Motorists find that, though the majority of 
 roads are not well adapted for automobiling, the main 
 
[ 48 ] GuiDE-BooK OF Camden. 
 
 highways which lead to Charlotte, N. C, Columbia, 
 S. C, and other neighboring points, give considerable 
 range for motoring, and pleasure driving by motor has, 
 in fact, increased from year to year. 
 

 
 
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