Mission History

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In April 2023, Camden, South Carolina hosted historic ceremonies to honor the soldiers whose remains were recovered from the Camden battlefield. Military and political representatives from multiple countries converged on Camden to participate in the 3-day event. Every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces helped provide full military honors for the fallen. And 12 American soldiers were laid to rest in a...

In the fall of 2022, archeologists and forensic anthropologists undertook a rare project to excavate the graves of a limited number of soldiers who fell in the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780. The graves had been harmed by years of industry and had been targeted by relic hunters. Leaders of the Camden Burials Project made the difficult choice to remove the remains of the soldiers and rebury th...

As the summer of 1781 fades, the British high command chooses to establish a supply base at Yorktown, Virginia. With the main force of the British southern army in Virginia, the American southern army reestablishes control of nearly all of South Carolina and Georgia. At the same time, American Commander-In-Chief George Washington, and his French allies, recognize an opportunity. They rush the Amer...

In January, 1781, five months after the disastrous American loss at the Battle of Camden, the southern armies meet for the sequel in South Carolina. The American army uses its new strategy, and the result is phenomenal. The outcome launches a race as the British army chases the American army through North Carolina. Then, the American southern army begins a grueling campaign to retake territory in...

A new American commander arrives in the South to lead the reconstructed Continental army. But as the bulk of the southern army regroups and plans a new strategy, a force of rugged frontiersmen from the Appalachian Mountains win a stunning victory. The Battle of Kings Mountain turns the tide of the war, though the combatants will only realize it over the course of time. Meanwhile, in the North, an...

As the war in the northern colonies turns to a stalemate, it engulfs the southern colonies. The British capture critical port cities in Georgia and South Carolina, and then expand their dominance inland. During the campaign, a small engagement becomes nearly as infamous in American history as the Boston Massacre. Then, in a forest of pine trees north of the small town of Camden, South Carolina, th...

In the space of one year, the Americans have lost one of their most prominent cities, New York, and their capital city, Philadelphia. American general George Washington makes a final push to retake Philadelphia, but the British retain control. Then, when the war of independence seems to be at its lowest point, an American force wins a shocking battle near Saratoga, New York. The victory earns a Eu...

In the wake of the Battle of Brooklyn, the Continental Army is reeling. The British army takes control of New York and batters the colonial fighters at nearly every turn. By December, 1776, the joy of the historic summer is long gone. General George Washington needs a spark to reignite the fire of his soldiers and the entire American cause. He wins two daring battles that keep colonial hopes alive...

A Virginian named George Washington becomes Commander-In-Chief of the new Continental Army. An audacious plan by a young colonial colonel forces the British commander in Boston to make a choice that seemed unthinkable a year earlier. Many colonists rejoice as 13 colonies declare their independence, but then brace for the all-out war that will surely follow. It begins in New York in August, 1776, w...

Years of escalating tension between Britain and some of British colonies in America explodes into violence in 1770 with a riot in New York and an infamous massacre in Boston. Colonists talk of revolution, and King George III orders his troops in America to stop the growing rebellion. When British troops exchange gunfire with colonial militiamen at Lexington and Concord, an unofficial war begins. C...

Season One of Mission History transports you to America in the 1770s and 80s. We’ll follow the path of the American Revolutionary War with a focus on two units, one from America and one from Scotland, who fought in nearly every major engagement. We’ll trace the experiences of the generals, the battlefield commanders, and the men and women on the front lines. From the cities of Boston, New York, an...