That date will mark the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Camden.

``I know it might take longer than that,`` said Craig, executive director of Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site, ``but that`s my dream.``

Historic Camden hosted a public hearing Thursday on a strategic plan to accomplish just that. For more than two years, Craig, Palmetto Conservation Foundation Project Director George Fields and Katawba Valley Land Trust President Lindsay Pettus, along with dozens of members of the Battle of Camden Project Advisory Council, have worked on the plan to learn from and protect the thousands of acres involved.

Fields said the project has four goals: to implement the plan, permanently preserve the site, interpret the battle site and create a national military park.

The project is complex, because it involves working with dozens of agencies and organizations, volunteers, paid researchers and landowners, he said.

``The immediate six acres comprising the national landmark site is owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and they have done a marvelous job of maintaining it since 1907. We hold the conservation easement for the surrounding 310 acres, but we`ve figured out the battle site is 1,229 acres,`` Fields said.

About 2,000 acres are needed to turn the area into a national park, Fields said.

Most of that is owned by Crescent Resources LLC, which has shown interest in the project, Fields said. Crescent, a Duke Energy subsidiary, purchased thousands of acres of timberland in Kershaw County from Bowater Timber, which granted the 310-acre conservation easement in perpetuity.

Another owner has expressed interest in helping the council obtain easements and some of the necessary acreage, Fields said.

Most of the site the council wants to protect is located north of Horton Road and includes smaller tracts. In all, the area the council seeks to protect includes 29 parcels owned by 20 entities, Fields said.

But no one wants to condemn properties.

``Instead, we are simply asking people who own land we`re interested in to consider us as buyers if they should ever decide to sell,`` Fields said.

That is just one recommendation the council is following, Pettus said.

``We determined early on that we wanted to develop community memberships and get as broad a group as possible to be involved,`` Pettus said. ``We still have a long, long way to go.``

`Reading the dirt`

Part of the plan involved unprecedented amounts of research, Fields said.

``We`ve also been `reading the dirt` to learn the battlefield`s secrets,`` Fields said.

That has included working with artifact hunters who have scoured the site for treasures.

``All the metal in the top 10 inches of soil has already been removed, so we`ve needed to get these collectors to come back and show us where they found things,`` Fields said.

Project members recognize that current landowners may not be pleased that people have trespassed on their property during the years looking for whatever remnants they can find of the battle.

``We are in no way condoning what these people did, but they have been very helpful to us now,`` Fields said.

The council is developing a plan that protects the forests, graves and archeological resources in the site area. It forbids artifact hunting but maintains public access.

Meanwhile, ``reading the dirt`` has yielded some surprising findings.

``We were very surprised at how much fighting appears to have taken place on the west side of Flat Rock Road,`` said Fields, showing artifact ``hot spots`` on a map. ``There`s still not complete agreement, however, over exactly where the battle started.``

The Battle of Camden is a story of a horrible patriot defeat that actually helped win the Revolutionary War. When British forces, moving north from Camden, met American troops coming back down along what is now Flat Rock Road the Virginia Militia collapsed, allowing the British to flank the entire American line.

``They slaughtered the escaping American forces all the way to Grannies Quarter Creek. The Americans learned so much from that defeat, though, that just 18 months later the British surrendered at Yorktown,`` Fields said.

Published records only describe the battle in general terms, Fields said.

``We want to know things like where the advanced guard of both armies first met,`` Fields said. ``When did the British actually attack, and what was the line of attack through the American lines? We need a more detailed understanding of the battle`s last stages when Americans fought their way off the battlefield.``

The council has already used data collected from the artifact hunters and created ``artifact intensity`` maps using global information system technology. However, the strategic plan shows more needs to be done. Fields said the council wants to obtain funds to conduct aerial infrared photo surveys and aerial digital photography and hire trained archeologists to cover the actual ``hot spots`` on the ground.

This would not only help them better interpret the battle but accomplish an equally important goal: to research, protect and honor the graves located there.

Fields estimated there are 400 to 600 British and American soldiers buried in the area, some in mass graves that have yet to be found. The sandy soil has most likely preserved at least the big bones of any soldiers buried on the battlefield, he said.

Much of the work is being catalogued on the Battle of Camden Web site at www.battleofcamden.org, operated by the Kershaw County Historical Society. There, visitors can find more information and help with the project through financial or historical contributions or by contributing their time.

``We have gotten so much information,`` said Fields. ``We`ve gotten as much free information through the Web site as we have with our paid researchers.``

Forward to the past

Another goal is to restore the battlefield site to what it looked like in 1780.

Although Fields said the council plans to conduct botanical surveys, accounts of the time indicate the area was covered by tall, longleaf pines with large canopies allowing for large open areas filled with wire grass.

Now, most of the trees appear to be slash pines.

``There`s a lot of brush and trash that has built up under those trees and obscures the view the soldiers would have had back then,`` Fields said. ``If we can get the land looking like it`s loved and respected, others will love and respect it.``

Fields said the council would try to preserve the trees currently in the area and plant new longleafs where needed.

If the council is successful in restoring the site`s natural look, visitors will have a better view than the soldiers did due to battle conditions, Craig noted.

Other recommendations include rejuvenating the park area with an oval drive and parking spaces and giving the area the appearance of the Revolutionary period, building a kiosk with interpretation panels describing and depicting the battle and constructing walking trails.

The National Park Service would require about 2,000 acres total in order to make the area a national park, Fields said. That would be needed to build public access to the site and park facilities. It would also mean closing a portion of Flat Rock Road to the public.

``This could be years from now,`` Fields said, ``but they would most likely route traffic up U.S. 521 and then up to DeKalb School Road, which would be used to access the park from the north.``

Right now, the council is taking it one step at a time. First, it is trying to raise $325,000 to pay a lien and purchase the 310 acres making up the conservation easement. Next, it wants to find a way to purchase the core battle site`s additional 700 acres. After that, it will explore purchasing the additional 1,000 acres to turn the area into a national park.

To help rally public awareness, Historic Camden and the historical society will host a Battle of Camden symposium April 1-2, 2004, in Camden, which will include a visit and walk around the site, Craig said.

Craig`s dream comes back into view.

``The years 2005 through 2007 will be the 225th anniversary of the entire Southern campaign of the Revolutionary War. We are looking into creating a `National History Corridor` from Charleston to Camden, through North Carolina and to Yorktown in Virginia where the war ended,`` Craig said.

She hopes to have museums, historical societies, fine arts centers and others focus on Revolutionary War history as a tourist attraction.

``We want people who visit Charleston to come here, people who come here to visit Cowpens and people who visit all these places to visit Yorktown,`` Craig said. ``And it`s not just about battles or skirmishes. If you have a place like the Fine Arts Center, put on a concert of music from the period.``