II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3051 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the site of the Battle of Camden in South Carolina, 

as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2008 

Mr. GRAHAM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the site of the Battle 

of Camden in South Carolina, as a unit of the National 

Park System, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Battle of Camden 

5 Study Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


erowe on PRODPC61 with BILLS
2 

•S 3051 IS

1 (1) the Battle of Camden, which was fought on 

2 August 16, 1780, was a significant defeat for the 

3 Americans in the Revolutionary War; 

4 (2) Camden was an essential point of control 

5 for both the British and American armies in the 

6 Southern Campaign because— 

7 (A) the British used Camden as— 

8 (i) a logistical base for the invasion of 

9 North Carolina; and 

10 (ii) a key recruitment and organizing 

11 point for Loyalists in South Carolina; and 

12 (B) the Americans viewed Camden as the 

13 key to retaking South Carolina; 

14 (3) Major General Horatio Gates, commander 

15 of the American Southern Command, led an army of 

16 approximately 3,700 against Camden, which was de17 fended by British General Lord Charles Cornwallis 

18 with an army of approximately 2,200; 

19 (4) the Battle of Camden was one of the largest 

20 field battles of the Revolutionary War with both ar21 mies using a combination of infantry, cavalry, and 

22 artillery units; 

23 (5) soldiers from South Carolina, Georgia, 

24 North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New 

25 Jersey, and New York participated in the battle; 


erowe on PRODPC61 with BILLS
3 

•S 3051 IS

1 (6) 68 British soldiers and hundreds of Ameri2 cans died in the Battle of Camden; 

3 (7) many of the soldiers killed in the Battle of 

4 Camden were buried in unmarked graves at the bat5 tlefield site; 

6 (8) the lessons learned by the Americans at the 

7 Battle of Camden sowed the seeds for the eventual 

8 American victory in the Revolutionary War 14 

9 months later; 

10 (9) in 1962, the site of the Battle of Camden 

11 was designated as a National Historic Landmark; 

12 (10) development interests that are rapidly 

13 changing the use of surrounding land from forestry 

14 to residential and commercial use threaten the site 

15 of the Battle of Camden; 

16 (11) in 2002, the Palmetto Conservation Foun17 dation acquired and preserved 310 acres at the core 

18 of the Battle of Camden; 

19 (12) Historic Camden, an affiliated area of the 

20 National Park System— 

21 (A) is located approximately 6 miles from 

22 the site of the Battle of Camden; 

23 (B) was a colonial village founded in the 

24 1730s; 


erowe on PRODPC61 with BILLS
4 

•S 3051 IS

1 (C) was occupied by Lord Cornwallis from 

2 June 1780 to May 1781; and 

3 (D) was one of the few frontier settlements 

4 at which 2 Revolutionary War battles were 

5 fought; and 

6 (13) a March 2003 National Park Service re7 connaissance study concluded that further evaluation 

8 of the Battle of Camden and Historic Camden as a 

9 potential addition to the National Park System was 

10 warranted. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (2) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 

16 means— 

17 (A) the site of the Battle of Camden 

18 fought in South Carolina on August 16, 1780; 

19 and 

20 (B) the site of Historic Camden, South 

21 Carolina, which is a National Park System Af22 filiated Area. 

23 SEC. 4. BATTLE OF CAMDEN STUDY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

25 study of the study area to evaluate— 


erowe on PRODPC61 with BILLS
5 

•S 3051 IS

1 (1) the national significance of the study area; 

2 and 

3 (2) the suitability and feasibility of designating 

4 the study area as 1 or more units of the National 

5 Park System. 

6 (b) CRITERIA.—In conducting the study required 

7 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall use the criteria 

8 for the study of areas for potential inclusion in the Na9 tional Park System under section 8 of Public Law 91– 

10 383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–5). 

11 (c) CONTENTS.—The study required under sub12 section (a) shall— 

13 (1) determine the suitability and feasibility of 

14 designating the study area as 1 or more units of the 

15 National Park System; 

16 (2) include cost estimates for any necessary ac17 quisition, development, operation, and maintenance 

18 of the study area; and 

19 (3) identify alternatives for the management, 

20 administration, and protection of the study area. 

21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

22 on which funds are made available to carry out this Act, 

23 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

24 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 


erowe on PRODPC61 with BILLS
6 

•S 3051 IS

1 a report that describes the findings, conclusions, and rec2 ommendations of the study. 

Æ 


erowe on PRODPC61 with BILLS