Annual Camden reenactment relives American Revolution

Fire. Reload. March.

Cannons and muskets. Redcoats and Patriots. The British Southern Campaign.

Camden relived the American Revolution on Saturday when a historic field reverted to an18th-century battle site.

Dozens of reenactors aligned against one another, and with the pop-pop-pop of gunfire clouded in smoke, one by one American militiamen and soldiers fell to the ground.

For the 45th year at the Historic Camden Revolutionary War site, the display of Southern Campaign battle tactics honored the men who made America.

“It gives us a chance to teach people where your liberties come from,” said Teddy Johnson, a 30-year veteran reenactor who, on Saturday, fought as a militiaman against the British Army. “They’re coming from the heart and soul of the people that said, ‘Enough is enough.’”

Camden was the site of two battles in the American Revolution, including the Battle of Camden, which was one of the worst American defeats of the war.

British soldiers occupied Camden for about a year after the fall of Charleston in 1780, setting up headquarters in the home of Joseph Kershaw. Lord Charles Cornwallis and his army occupied the very field where Saturday’s skirmish took place.

Witnessing the reenactment for the first time were Shawn Graham and his two children, 12-year-old David and 9-year-old Katy, of Lexington.

After the battle, David and Katy helped Johnson and a crew of Patriots haul their cannon back to the American camp. Then Johnson and Robin Massingill, another Patriot soldier, helped teach them how to fire a cannon.

South Carolina history is Katy’s favorite subject in school right now; her favorite president is George Washington.

“It’s just fun learning about the past,” Katy said.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Annual Camden reenactment relives American Revolution."