General Horatio Gates tried to improve the rations for the American Army before letting them join the Battle of Camden.

On July 27, 1780, General Horatio Gates ordered his new “Grand Army” south from Deep Creek, North Carolina towards Camden, South Carolina to participate in the Battle of Camden. Against the advice of many of his subordinates, Gates chose a direct route to Camden through the barren countryside. The American army was already lacking food and supplies, but Gates was worried that if he did not move on this route of approach, he would fail to link up with the North Carolina militia that was assembled in northern South Carolina. Colonel Otho Holland Williams wrote that the route "was by nature barren, abounding with sandy plains, intersected by swamps, and very thinly inhabited."

On August 15th, Gates ordered rations of meat, bread, and molasses for his men (molasses being a substitute for rum, of which Gates had little). Williams wrote later “The troops of general Gates’ army, had frequently felt the bad consequences of eating bad provisions; but, at this time, a hasty meal of quick baked bread and fresh beef, with a dessert of molasses, mixed with mush, or dumplings, operated so cathartically, as to disorder very many of the men, who were breaking the ranks all night, and were certainly much debilitated before the action commenced in the morning. From a mixture of bad bread, undercooked meat, and the molasses, many of the Americans fell out sick on the night march towards Camden and others went into battle the next morning sick to their stomachs."