The Battle of Camden in South Carolina was a lopsided victory for the British during the American Revolutionary War. Despite the proliferation of dysentery among his men, Continental General Horatio Gates chose to engage British General Charles Cornwallis’s force on the morning of August 16, 1780. The illness depleted the Patriot advantage in troop numbers, and the British pressed forward aggressively as the sole side in possession of bayonets. With the encounter resulting in nearly 2,000 Patriots killed or taken prisoner and heavy losses of artillery, Gates was removed from command and replaced by Nathaniel Greene.
It influenced US imperialism grandly. The novel was a prime motivator towards the US's rapid naval growth and renewed foreign policy, and inspired an international naval race.
