The British Army was sick and undermanned when the Battle of Camden started

While the American Army's condition is well-documented, the condition of the British Army is overlooked during the Battle of Camden. The outpost at Camden was not a healthy place in 1780. Lord Rawdon, commanding the forces at Camden, had a force of about 1,000 men, many of whom were sick and undermanned, therefore unfit for duty. With the arrival of General Horatio Gates and his movement south from North Carolina, General Lord Cornwallis ordered other British outposts to send forces to Camden. Cornwallis himself arrived to take personal command on August 13th. Of the nearly 3,500 men on the rolls, only around 2,300 men were fit for duty on the evening of August 15th when the army began its march north.

Cornwallis believed that he could not defend Camden with the men he had. Therefore, he began to think about other ways to manage his forces against the American forces further in the Battle of Camden. By moving to confront Gates he was hoping to catch him off guard and give himself a chance to move the sick out of the town before the Americans arrived. Cornwallis knew he was outnumbered, but he hoped the element of surprise and his experienced troops would give him the upper hand.