The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina. A small American force under Nathanael Greene occupying Hobkirk's Hill, north of Camden, was attacked by British troops led by Francis Rawdon. After a fierce clash, Greene retreated, leaving Rawdon's smaller force in possession of the hill. When Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis retreated to Wilmington, he ordered Rawdon to defend South Carolina with a command of 9,000 British and Tory soldiers. Rawdon's primary post was in Camden, a key British base, though the British maintained outposts across the state and in Georgia. In an effort to chase down and eliminate one of the major Patriot threats, Rawdon dispatched a 900-man detachment, commanded by Colonel John Watson. This detachment was half of Rawdon's Camden garrison. Tory spies kept Rawdon informed of Greene's whereabouts. When Rawdon learned that Greene was marching toward Camden, Rawdon recalled Watson and prepared to defend the important British supply center. On the morning of April 25, 1781, Rawdon was still under the impression that the Continental army was without its artillery.

The advanced pickets, under Captain Robert Kirkwood, were able to delay the British advance giving Greene time to give orders and line his forces up for battle. Having extricated his forces from the woods and forced back the pickets, Rawdon arranged his forces and slowly advanced up the ridge towards the waiting Continentals. During the advance of the 1st Maryland on the British left, Captain William Beatty Jr., who was in command to the right of the 1st Maryland regiment, was killed causing his company to stop their advance. Gunby ordered his men to stop their advance and fall back with the intention of reforming their line. At this time, Benjamin Ford of the 5th Maryland was mortally wounded, which threw his troops into disorder. When the Continental flank began to fall apart, Lord Rawdon and the Volunteers of Ireland charged. The Patriots withdrew a few miles and went into camp near Camden. The American defeat at Hobkirk's Hill was blamed on Gunby. The tactical mistake he made by pulling back his men to reorganize his regiment started an unfortunate chain of events. A court of inquiry found him guilty with causing the defeat, but did not call for his removal from command. The American retreat did not last long. Rawdon withdrew most of his forces to Camden, leaving only a company of dragoons at the battlefield.