Richard Caswell

Once a lawyer and surveyor who fought for the royal governor at Alamance, Richard Caswell reinvented himself as a leading Patriot of the American Revolution. After commanding the decisive victory at Moore’s Creek Bridge, he rose to govern North Carolina and later served again despite suffering defeat with Gates’s army at Camden.

Title

Governor and Major General

War & Affiliation

Rev War, Patriot

Date of Birth - Death

August 3, 1729 - November 10, 1789

Richard Caswell

Reposted from battlefields.org

A lawyer and surveyor prior to the American Revolution, Richard Caswell fought on the side of Royal Governor William Tryon at the Battle of Alamance. Caswell served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. He led the Patriot forces in the pivotal Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. The victory catapulted Caswell to the governorship of North Carolina. He commanded militia in Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates's army and participated in the Patriot disaster at Camden in August 1780. Following the War for Independence, Caswell again served a term as governor.

Follow Their Journey

Battlefield

Image of a split rail fence along the side of a road with a historical marker sign reading Battle of Camden

Camden Battlefield

Camden, SC 29020

Disastrous Patriot defeat in central South Carolina