Battle of Hobkirk's Hill

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.