More than 800 soldiers died in the Battle of Camden in a place where Flat Rock Road runs today.

Traffic whizzes by the former Revolutionary War battlefield in Camden, with little attention paid to the small plaque and concrete marker that commemorate the day American and British forces clashed there, Aug. 16, 1780.

But history buffs in Kershaw County and around South Carolina are hoping to change that.

The Palmetto Conservation Foundation and other groups are working to establish a national military park that would restore the area to what it looked like during the late 1700s, adding an information center and historical markers.

"This is a really important jewel in American history," said Joanna Craig, director of Historic Camden. "It needs to be protected."

The groups are trying to buy the core of the 1,300-acre battlefield -- designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 -- to protect it until money comes through to make it a national park. That area, about 1,000 acres, is where the majority of the battle took place.

Current owners of the 1,300-acre battlefield site include Crescent Resources, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, and about 19 individuals. Roughly 10 houses are on the battlefield site.

George Fields, director of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, said leaders are hoping much of the money for a national park will come from Congress. Project leaders are working with Kershaw County's congressman in hopes that some money will be included in the federal budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

Fields called the Battle of Camden site a national treasure. "I think it is the premier battlefield in the whole country that is unprotected."

A STRATEGIC PLAN

For the past 223 years, the battlefield site -- eight miles from the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Park on Broad Street, where the British had a fort during their occupation in 1780 -- has remained rural, with no commercial development.

The biggest disturbance to the battlefield site has been the paving of Flat Rock Road.

A former owner of much of the land, Bowater Industries, established a 310-acre conservation easement at the core of the battlefield site in August 2000.

A condition of the easement was establishing a vision for the land, prompting the creation of an advisory council of local, state and federal leaders to come up with a strategic plan.

The plan recently presented by the advisory council includes clearing out brush and planting tall pine trees, which were prevalent on the former battlefield. More historic markers would be erected throughout the site, and an information center would provide educational information, including exhibits, literature and films.

The plan also includes buying the 310 acres. On behalf of the advisory council, the Palmetto Conservation Foundation borrowed money for the $325,000 purchase. The council is raising money to buy the land by a required deadline of Dec. 8, 2006, so it will be fully protected.

The advisory council's next purchase would be an additional 700 acres.

But establishing the national park will require 2,000 acres, because facilities cannot be built on the battlefield, Fields said. The remaining 1,000 acres needed for that will be purchased last.

The total price tag for the 2,000 acres of land could reach $3 million.

Fields said it is possible a national park might not require the land on which many area houses are built. They are on the southern portion of the battlefield, where little fighting took place. However, the advisory council is hoping to negotiate with landowners in the area, and Fields said gaining easements could be a way to create the national park without displacing families.

A BOOST TO TOURISM

Craig, of Historic Camden, predicted a national park would increase tourism substantially.

Historic Camden Revolutionary War Park averages 25,000 to 27,000 visitors a year. But Craig expects a huge boost if the battlefield on Flat Rock Road becomes a national park.

"Heritage tourism is the No. 1 type of tourism today," she said.

If a national park cannot be established in Camden, leaders say they will work toward a state park, or a park operated by Kershaw County, the city of Camden or a nonprofit agency. Fields said leaders should know within three years what kind of park will be at the site.

But Fields said he fully expects national park status and funding to be granted.

"My personal expectations are very high because I think it deserves to be a national park."