What The Internet Taught Me About #HughMercer
'We are not engaged in a war of ambition, or I should not have been here. Every man should be content to serve in that station in which he can be most useful. I have but one object in view…the success of the cause; and God can witness how cheerfully I would lay down my life to secure it'>
(Hugh Mercer, c.1775-7. In Goolrick 1906: 39; cf. Thomas 1837: 572-3)
1 [Image: Hugh Mercer statue, Fredericksburg, Virginia, by Justinandsarah]
I confess: I had never heard of the remarkable adventures of Brigadier-General Hugh Mercer, M.D. – Scots Culloden veteran, friend of George Washington, and 'forgotten hero' of the American Revolution – before @LoveArchaeology Twitter led me to him. Apparently described as the 'bravest of the brave' by his Revolutionary colleagues (Embrey 1937: 119), three biographies have been devoted to his life,yet the most recent dates from 1975, and his Wikipedia entry is headed by the foreboding 'needs additional citations for verification'. Even John Trumbull's sketch of 'Hugh Mercer 'on Wikipedia is actually that of Mercer's son, taken in April 1791 as a posthumous study for his father's portrait.
2 [Image: Hugh Mercer entry, Wikipedia]
I wanted to know more, but time and logistical constraintsmeant that I had to rely on online sources. What could be achieved with this methodology?
What follows is Hugh Mercer's story, or, to be more accurate, the one which can be found on the internet. It is an exercise in how tweets can stimulate interest in history and the limitations of web-based down-the-rabbit-hole research. (Or paraphrasing Wikipedia and some fact-checking, whatever).
Conceived originally as a sort of Wikipedia+, with added archaeology, I got drawn into questions concerning the veracity of some of the legends that have accreted to Mercer. Denied physical biographies by lack of access and my internet-only methodology – and relying on the sometimes un-footnoted transcriptions of those biographies I had – it may have only served to muddy already murky waters, but I hope it serves to reignite interest in my subject.
Where available, hyperlinks serve as my footnotes, and I have placed the archaeological background to sites associated with Mercer in discrete sections marked by the Love Archaeology logo:
I now present a brief summary of Hugh Mercer's adventures (in case you want out early).
From Bonnie Prince Charlie to George Washington
3 [Image: Hugh Mercer plaque, Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Council]
All sources agree that Hugh Mercer was born to the Reverend William Mercer and Ann Munro in the Scottish coastal parish of Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, in 1726. Mercer then took a degree in the Arts in 1744 at Marischal College in Aberdeen, before going on to qualify as a medical doctor by 1745/6.
Yet, on January 3, 1777, Mercer found himself an American Brigadier-General of the Revolutionary Continental Army. That day would end with him being horrifically wounded in hand-to-hand combat at the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey, by Regulars (i.e., British Army soldiers) who had mistaken him for his close friend, George Washington. Although attended to by another American Founding Father, Dr. Benjamin Rush (who had also studied medicine in Scotland), Mercer died in agony nine days later.
Ironically, Mercer had previously served heroically and to great acclaim with British armed forces in America during the French and Indian War (1754-1761), the name given to the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. This worldwide conflict – effectively the first world war – pitted the global empires of France and Britain against each other, often in alliances with the other European powers and indigenous peoples of the lands they claimed.
Mercer had arrived in the British colonies of North America in 1747, working as a frontier medic in the dangerous and fluid borderlands of western Pennsylvania that abutted Native American and French territories. His desire for remoteness is likely explained by a simple fact: Mercer left Scotland when he did because he was a Jacobite outlaw, on the run from the British Army he had faced as a young surgeon's assistant under Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746.
Jacobite rebel, American frontier doctor, friend of Founding Fathers, General, Revolutionary martyr – he was even the great-great- great-grandfather of General George S. Patton – Mercer's story deserves to be rescued from relative obscurity, not least in his native Scotland.
Use With Caution: An Internet Literature Review
Mercer was a fundamentally impressive figure, but we must guard against the hero-worship which can over-burnish his legend. With this in mind, we note that the internet – see Wikipedia's references – relies fairly heavily on an online transcription John T. Goolrick's 1906 book, which has the snappy title:
'The life of General Hugh Mercer: with brief sketches of General George Washington, John Paul Jones, General George Weedon, James Monroe and Mrs. Mary Ball Washington, who were friends and associates of General Mercer at Fredericksburg: also a sketch of Lodge no. 4, A.F. and A.M., of which Generals Washington and Mercer were members: and a genealogical table of the Mercer family'.
It is very much of its time, and has been equally praised and criticized over the intervening years:
'John T. Goolrick, The Life of General Hugh Mercer (N.Y. and Washington, 1906) and Joseph M. Waterman, With Sword and Lancet: The Life of General Hugh Mercer (Richmond, Va., 1941) contain some useful facts, but they are always uncritical, often inaccurate, and must be used with caution'
As this quotation (Bell 1997: 448, n.1) suggests, Goolrick veers fairly uncritically toward hagiography, but he seems, nevertheless, to use a wide range of primary sources, many of which seem to check out. It must be noted, however, that I point out where primary sources quoted elsewhere on the internet contradict some of the more optimistic spin Goolrick applies to his (and our) hero.
I was unable to locate an Internet transcription of Waterman's 'With Sword and Lancet' (1941), although a scathing 1942 review by H.E. Wildes can be read here. Wildes criticized Waterman's 'sketchy' use of documents and 'paucity of material', adding that Goolrick's book remained the best in the field:
'Scotch-born Hugh Mercer, surgeon, veteran of Culloden and of Braddock's expedition, hero of Kittanning and of Trenton, promoter, land speculator and leader of inspiring genius, deserves a real biography. His life was rich in incident and sparkling with excitement; his personality was appealing and dynamic. Few would, however, guess from this biography that Mercer merited his wide acclaim' .
Thanks to Google Books, I have also had (partial) access to some pages of Alvin T. Embrey's 'History of Fredericksburg, Virginia' (1937), which corresponds, at least in those parts I can access, to Goolrick. Embrey had access – which can be independently corroborated – to primary documents like Mercer's Will, but was another huge admirer of the Scot: his chapter on Mercer is subtitled 'The Bravest of the Brave', a sobriquet apparently bestowed upon him by his fellow American officers during the Revolutionary War (although I cannot find any corroboration of this at the time of writing).
Beyond a few tantalizing fragments, I have not been able to find a transcription of Frederick English's 1975 biography, 'General Hugh Mercer, Forgotten Hero of the American Revolution', but the book can be purchased online. For what it's worth, Mercer's Wikipedia entry did not list or reference it (at least, it wasn't at the time of writing).
My own list of sources can be found at the end of this article – Mercer appears several times in pen-portrait form in short chapters that I could access via Google Books – but I must note here the excellence of the late Whitfield J. Bell's 'Patriot Improvers: 1743-1768' (1997), the footnotes and quotations of contemporary letters of which significantly enriched my account.
As would have been predicted, the internet is an amazing and evolving resource, but is no substitute for being able to access primary documents through the footnotes of books. What follows, then, is the Life of Hugh Mercer for which the web-based evidence seems legit (and that's all).
Scottish Rebel: Hugh the Jacobite
Battlefield Surgeon (1746)
The literature is particularly sparse for Mercer's formative years in Scotland: indeed, none of the sources know very much about his life before 1756 – I have seen few references to verifiable documents like parish records, and one possible university reference – but his approximate date and place of birth, names of parents, and his being at university between c.1740 and c.1744 are accepted by all.
At the age of 20, it seems that Mercer joined the Jacobite army of the Bonnie Prince, Charles Edward Stuart, as a surgeon's assistant in the Jacobites' attempt to depose the Hanoverian monarchy and return the Stuarts to the British throne. However, the Battle of Culloden (April 16, 1746) – a crushing defeat for the Jacobites – was a disaster for the young doctor, who eventually fled to Pennsylvania in March 1747 after a year on the run in his native Aberdeenshire, possibly by means of a ship sailing from Leith to Philadelphia. Ironically, however, his experience of life in a brutal American frontier war would push him into the arms of the Hanoverian armies and militias he had once opposed.
ARCHAEOLOGY: The Battle of Culloden
The best book on Culloden is Culloden: The History and Archaeology of the Last Clan Battle by Glasgow University's Dr. Tony Pollard (writes about the 'last pitched battle on British soil' here).
In terms of video, watch Dr. Pollard's lecture: 'Old Wounds, New Perspectives: The Archaeological Investigation of Culloden Battlefield' for a short background to the Jacobite risings and Culloden, given to Middle Tennessee State University on September 11, 2013. Dr. Pollard (@DrTonyPollard) also appears with Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) on this BBC film about the archaeology of the Jacobite Rebellion.
If you are interested in studying conflict archaeology, Love Archaeology's alma mater, the University of Glasgow hosts The Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, directed by Dr. Pollard and Dr. Iain Banks.
You can visit the Culloden Battlefield, which is curated by the National Trust for Scotland, or learn more about the site at their dedicated website. Glasgow University also has a great page about its archaeology:
5 [Image: Archaeology of Culloden, University of Glasgow]
British Hero: America, War Again,
and Friendship with George Washington
The sources agree that Mercer practiced medicine for approximately eight years (1747-1755) in a frontier settlement – given by Goolrick (1906: 23) as Greencastle – in the Conococheague Valley, western Pennsylvania. This area is to the east of what is now Mercersburg.
A plausible if unproven suggestion is that Mercer lived in this liminal, border, area to avoid unwelcome recognition as a Scottish rebel in the more populated east (Siry 2012). Shortly after Mercer left Scotland, George II issued 'An Act for the King's most Gracious, General, and Free Pardon' (also 'Act of Grace') to (most) Jacobites, but it appears as if this required the swearing of fealty to the Hanoverian monarch, so it may not have appealed to the young exile. In any case, Siry (2012) suggests that Mercer heard of this in 1754 on the outbreak of the French and Indian War and 'he no longer had to fear arrest'.
If not arrest, Mercer had war to fear: his location ensured that he could not avoid the French and Indian War (c.1754-61), which erupted over the disputed borders between New Britain, New France, and those remaining Native American lands that the French and British had yet to claim:
6 [Map: Wikicommons French and Indian War, Wikipedia, by Hoodinski]
Mercer and his Incredibly Confusing
French and Indian War History
Regarding Mercer's service history in the French and Indian War, this is the most accurate statement that can be made from my internet methodology: Hugh Mercer was involved. All sources agree on this. The actual details, outlined below, have been so embroiled in legend and the repetition of rumor that George O. Seilhamer, writing in 1905, wrote:
'It is surprising that these fictions should have been repeated from their inception in 1824 to the present time with almost unanimous approval, while no writer ever attempted to ascertain the truth in regard to Mercer's services in the French and Indian War'.
Event: General Edward Braddock's disastrous military expedition against Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh) and its French and Native American defenders ends in Braddock's death and a bloody rout.
Mercer: Seilhamer (1905) suggests that, as no-one mentions him in contemporary documents, Mercer was very likely not involved. Goolrick (1906) claims that Mercer was with Braddock, was wounded, then had to trek alone back to his own lines. Wikipedia doesn't put Mercer with Braddock, but does have him coming to the aid of the wounded who returned, joining up with British forces as a result of 'the same butchery he remembered at Culloden'. Young (2013) offers you your pick of the above, adding the suggestion that Mercer went to the aid of the survivors at Fort Cumberland, 70 miles west of his home.
Event: All agree that Mercer was made a Captain of the Pennsylvania militia in March 1756.
Mercer: We are safest when we take the following view from Seilhamer (1905) – 'That Dr. Mercer was active in promoting measures for the protection of the Conococheague frontier in the autumn of 1755 and the winter of 1755-56 may be assumed, but we have no knowledge of his movements until March 6, 1756, when he was commissioned a captain in the service of the province of Pennsylvania. From that time until his removal to Fredericksburg, Va., after the close of the French and Indian War…the sources of information concerning him are ample and trustworthy'.
Event: September 8, 1756, saw Lt. Col. John Armstrong's infamous attack on the Native American Delaware village of Kittanning in western Pennsylvania (40-miles NE of Fort Duquesne), as the colony tried to protect itself from French forces by means of force projection in the aftermath of the Braddock disaster. For more on the Kittanning Raid, read James P. Myers' 1999 article.
6b [Image: Kittanning Path Map, Myers 1999]
Mercer: Wikipedia states that Mercer was wounded at Kittanning before enduring a 100-mile solo trek back to his own lines. Goolrick (1906) places the trek before Kittanning, although has Mercer being wounded in Armstrong's expedition before being given a silver memorial medal in recognition of his bravery by Philadelphia. Young (2013) has Mercer being badly wounded, and that this was 'probably' at Kittanning. The ever-cynical Seilhamer (1905) argued that, 'Captain Mercer participated [at Kittanning] and was wounded; that he was reported as carried off by his ensign and eleven men, who left the main body in their return to take another road; and that upon the return of the expedition to Fort Lyttleton he had not yet arrived'.
7a [Map: Forts in Kittanning episode, Libraries PSU]
It seems almost certain that Mercer was involved in the attack and was shot in the arm or wrist. Myers (1999: 411) talks about Armstrong's report of the Kittanning Raid – written on his return to Fort Lyttleton September 14 – as mentioning that Mercer had been involved in a rear-action and was reported missing.
Thanks to Brandon C. Downing's article, 'The Kittanning Destroyed Medal' (2012), $12 on JSTOR, the frequent, unreferenced mentions of Mercer receiving a 'silver memorial medal' as a result of the Kittanning Raid now make sense: Armstrong and his troops did receive a medal – the first given for bravery in British North America – from the Corporation of the City of Philadelphia. The impression, deliberate or otherwise, given by most of Mercer's biographers was that he alone received it for his epic trek home. Sharp biographical practice aside, we are fortunate that some examples can be found:
7b [Image: Kittanning Destroyed Medal, Libraries PSU]
STOP PRESS: How The Internet Led Me to
Hugh and his Kittanning Medal
While finishing off this blog, I discovered an incredible pdf in OMSA. I then phoned – across the actual ocean – the wonderful Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, a museum dedicated to his life within the business Mercer established in Fredericksburg after the French and Indian war. This is what I found out:
Presented to Mercer by Colonel Armstrong, who had been given them by Mayor Shute of Philadelphia, Hugh's medal remained in his family for nearly 200 years. Then, on January 13, 1953, his great-great grandson, Hugh Mercer Curtler, donated it to Fredericksburg's City Council. The OMSA journal then adds, 'Apparently, the medal was accompanied by a letter written by Colonel Hugh Mercer in January, 1835, which reads:
'Medal to Gen Mercer, by the City of Philadelphia 'This highly valued medal, in memory of my venerated father, was presented to him by the Corporation of the City of Philadelphia for his bravery and good conduct as Captain of Infantry in the destruction of Kittanning, an Indian Settlement in the Colony of Pennsylvania, under Colo Armstrong in Sept 1756, soon after my father came from Scotland in early life. 'We were then British Colonies, and those Campaigns (commonly called Braddock's War in 1755-'56, when Washington too commenced his military career) were between the Colony of Pennsylvania and the French and Indians – Kittanning was near Pittsburg, now one of the most flourishing cities in the U. States - the French had a fort there, called Du Quesne - afterwards Fort Pitt. 'Jan'y 1835 – H. Mercer'.
It was incredibly exciting to phone Genevieve Bugay, manager of Mercer's Apothecary, to have it confirmed that they have it in their museum. Violent in its depiction, it is very much of its time:
7c [Image: Mercer's Kittanning Medal, HMAP]
(I know: it's an awesome piece of history and material culture).
If we have cleared up the mystery of his medal, what remains uncertain is how Mercer got back from Kittanning, given that he might have got one just for participating, and not necessarily for an epic solo trek. Armstrong's contemporary report listing as Mercer being missing does at least suggest that it may have occurred (Myer 1999: 411). Here goes:
Dried Clams and Snake Supper:
The Legend of a 100-mile Trek
The story goes that, separated from his men at Kittanning, Mercer trekked alone for 14 days and 100 miles before reaching safety. The following is widely reported on the Internet as being from the Pennsylvania Gazette dating to September 23 or 30, 1756:
'We hear that Captain Mercer was 14 Days in getting to Fort Littleton. He had a miraculous Escape, living ten Days on two dried Clams and a Rattle Snake, with the Assistance of a few Berries. The Snake kept sweet for several Days, and, coming near Fort Shirley, he found a Piece of dry Beef, which our People had lost, and on Trial rejected it, because the Snake was better. His wounded Arm is in a good Way, tho' it could be but badly drest, and a Bone broken'.
We know from Myers (1999: 417, n. 2) that there certainly were reports in the Gazette about Kittanning on September 23 and 30, but the online archives are behind a paywall, so I couldn't check them.
I want to believe: because if the Gazette entry is accurate, but embellished, it shows mythologizing happening in Mercer's own lifetime, which would be awesome. (Thanks to M.R. Wood for this point).
The Forbes Expedition and Revenge at
Snake-eater or no, it is evident that Mercer impressed his peers and the wider public in 1756/7, being promoted to the rank of Major on December 4, 1757 (See Pennsylvania Archives, Bell 1997: 449) and put in command of all Pennsylvania troops west of Susquehanna (Goolrick 1906: 28; Bell 1997: 449).
1758 saw the tide turn for the British as William Pitt (the Elder) became Secretary of State in the Newcastle/Pitt Ministry (c.1757-1762) and more resources were sent to fight the French and their allies (Siry 2012). This strategy can be seen in the Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne (this being the third British attempt) at the Forks of the Ohio River.
7d [Image: Fort Duquesne, Wiki: "French Forts 1754" by Thomas Cool]
Brigadier-General John Forbes was another of those Scottish doctors-turned-soldier in America – they seem to be everywhere, as this 2009 book by Roger L. Emerson demonstrates – but his own health ensured that effective leadership of the expedition fell to Henry Bouquet. George Washington, hero of Braddock's disaster, commanded a contingent of Virginians.
The main body of 6,000 men – 2,000 mainly Highland Scottish Regulars with the remainder militias from Virginia and Pennsylvania – advanced excruciatingly slowly toward Fort Duquesne along the road they had to build through the wilderness (Washington bitterly disagreed with this, preferring to follow the route he took with Braddock in 1755). By mid-September, the British were close enough to send out the Highlanders for a reconnaissance mission, but it was crushed when it tried to storm the fort itself, with Wikipedia reporting that the Scots' heads and kilts were displayed on Duquesne's walls.
Another disaster involved Mercer and Washington. On November 12, Forbes sent both men to ward off a French night sally/sortie, but their split forces ended up firing on each other in the darkness. 35 men died, but the French raid was their last hurrah: with a 10th of the men and low on supplies, the French burnt Fort Duquesne on the night of November 24, 1758, and fled; the British entered the next day.
Mercer's good work here over the following months would build both a firm basis for the future Pittsburgh, but also for his later career in the Revolutionary Continental Army.
How Hugh Helped Build Pittsburgh
Mercer was entrusted to build the temporary precursor to Fort Pitt, known in contemporary maps as 'Mercer's Fort', in what would become Pittsburgh. This stabilized British control over the Ohio Country, disputes over which had sparked off the French and Indian War. Concerning Mercer's capabilities for such an important role, Jeffrey Amherst, overall British commander in North America, wrote to Bouquet: 'I am very sensible of his zeal and attachment to the King's Service and his judgment and alacrity in executing whatever may tend to the honor of his Majesty's Arms' (Siry 2012; after Waterman 1941: 56).
8 [Image: Fort Duquesne, Pittsburgh, Dr. Jen Novotny]
In charge of 200 men, Mercer's eight-months' work at the fort – which he apparently described as 'huddled up in a very hasty manner' – involved 'building a saw mill' and 'trying to make tar', along with planting vegetable gardens, offering medical advice, and preparing for the expected French counter attacks (Bell 1997: 449). Life at Fort Mercer was nothing if not varied.
Fun Facts: a Fort Mercer – named after Hugh's construction – features in the 2010 Rockstar video game Red Dead Redemption (see below). The name Fort Mercer also reappeared in the Revolutionary War in the guise of a 1777 fortification on the Delaware River, named in his honor.
8a [Image: Red Dead Redemption's 'Fort Mercer', RedDead.Wikia]
Promoted to Colonel on April 23, 1759 – the year in which Britain turned the tide in this global war – Mercer revealed a comic side when it was proposed to send some of his garrison home for recuperation:
'My Opinion as to their going to the Settlement you shall have all the freedom in life: I never knew any other Advantage accruing to Soldiers, I mean ours, from being in Towns on the frontier, than black eyes, Claps, & eternal flogging; and unless Carlisle & Shippensbg are of late miraculously altered in point of Morals, the old game at either of those seats of Virtue and good manners would undoubtedly be play'd over; especially as it is intended the men should receive their Pay there, to enable them, more & more, besides having their pockets pick'd by Tavern keepers' (Bell 1997: 449, Shippen Papers IV, 39 (HSP)).
That's fairly top-end lolz for 1759, and it worked: his soldiers stay'd put (Bell 1997: 449, + refs.).
ARCHAEOLOGY: The French and Indian War
There are some truly superb pieces of material culture associated with the war in this online chapter of 'The Backcountry War', from 'Clash of Empires: The British, French, and Indian War, 1754-1763', including Mercer's Kittanning medal featured above.
Braddock Expedition: The National Park Service has more on General Braddock's Road and his Grave (including the initial, hasty, pit dug on the orders of George Washington, who then got the fleeing British soldiers to trample over it so that the French wouldn't notice the disturbed earth and dig it up).
9 [Images: Braddock's Original Grave, Dr. Jen Novotny]
Kittanning Raid: Beyond the 'Kittanning Destroyed Medal' seen above, parts of the Frankstown-Kittanning Path used by Armstrong and Mercer can still be found (Myers 1999: 406)
10 [Images: Kittanning Path archaeology, Myers 1999: 406]
In terms of material culture, Armstrong's very, very cool hand-drawn map of Ki style="text-align: center;"ttanning survives (Myers 1999: 409).
11 [Images: Armstrong's hand-drawn map, Myers 1999 + acknowledgements]
Fort Pitt: The 'lower remnants' of the rampart walls built when Mercer was in command (under General John Stanwix) have been excavated:
12 [Images: Fort Pitt Trench 3, Dr. Jen Novotny]
More generally, recent work has been done on The Archaeology of French and Indian War Frontier Forts (Babits & Gundulla 2013), like at Fort Edwards, West Virginia.
The French and Indian War:
Sparkplug of Global Conflict and American Revolution
The French and Indian War was a key event in the countdown to the American Revolution. As the US Department of State notes: 'The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American revolution'.
Washington's War? See here for more on George Washington's critical involvement in the earliest actions of the French and Indian War in the 1754 engagements at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity.
When Hugh met George (Washington)…
…is something that no-one on the Internet knows. Given the lack of information over Mercer's whereabouts in the period 1755 to March 1756, it is difficult to say. Here, Goolrick (1906: 28-9) notes:
'Whether Hugh Mercer [first] met George Washington at Braddock's defeat [1755], or at the headquarters of the Forbes expedition against Fort Duquesne [1758], there seems to be some conflict of opinion and statement among his biographers. The time and place of that meeting is of no very material moment. One thing seems to be absolutely certain, that they did meet, and an attachment sprang up between them which lasted as long as Mercer lived. And, further, that as a result of that meeting and that attachment, on the advice and at the suggestion of Washington, Virginia became the home of Hugh Mercer, and the State of Pennsylvania lost him as a citizen'.
Years later, during the Revolution, Washington also seems to have supported Mercer's advancement within the Continental Army (Goolrick 1906: 31; Embrey 1937: 121). This was after a long friendship forged in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Mercer moved in 1761.
General Practice in Virginia, 1761-1775:
Medicine, Masons, and Ferry Farm
Mercer was discharged on January 15, 1761, which reflected the ending of effective French offensive capacity throughout North America and the demobilization (or transfer to other Seven Years' War theatres) of many soldiers. Having befriended many Virginians, Mercer followed Washington to Virginia.
On February 12 (Bell 1997: 449-450), he wrote to Henry Bouquet, his CO on the Forbes Expedition:
'…all Prospect from the Pensylva Service failing, I determin'd upon applying myself to the Practise of Physick, and this Place was recommended as likely to afford a genteel subsistance in that Way. Whether it will answer my expectation, I cannot yet judge; but from the reception I met with the Gentlemen from here, have reason to imagine it worthy a few months' trial'.
The yearning he felt for military service did not immediately wane. Hearing that a permanent army might be raised, Mercer took a break from the medical practice and apothecary business he was establishing to write Bouquet again (Bell 1997: 450, from Papers of Henry Bouquet).
'I might again appear in a Military Capacity; For I must own I would prefer something genteel in that Way, to the drudgery of Business. Is there any likelihood of such a Measure taking Place?'.
Unfortunately for Mercer, there wasn't, and he would remain in Fredericksburg until 1775. In his work, he was successful, treating George Washington's younger brother Charles, his mother Mary (see below), and his step-daughter Patsy Custis. This information can be found in Bell (1997: 450), who had access to Mercer's account book covering the period 1771-5. Mercer had literally hundreds (some 300+) of families on his books in the early 1770s, entered into medical partnerships with fellow doctors, and had some of his correspondence on medical matters to John Morgan – who, like Benjamin Rush, had studied medicine in Edinburgh – read to the American Philosophical Society.
Outside of work, Mercer joined the still extant Masonic Lodge, No. 4, alongside George Washington and – amazingly – as many as five other future generals of the American Revolution. The Lodge lists them as Washington, Mercer, George Weedon, William Woodford, Fielding Lewis, Thomas Posey, and Gustavus Wallace. See here for MountVernon.org's article on Washington, Mercer, and Freemasonry.
Mercer was also involved in St. George's Episcopal Church, and managed a 'lottery to raise £450 for a new church and organ' (Bell 1997: 450, from the Virginia Gazette, July 14, 1768). At an unknown date, Mercer married George Weedon's sister-in-law, Isabella Gordon, daughter of John, the local tavern-owner (Goolrick 1906: 105-6; Bell 1997: 450). They would have five children, and Mercer may have been trying to secure their inheritance when he maintained his claim to western land grants given as a reward for military service in the French and Indian War (Bell 1997: 450, + Mercer 1773 correspondence refs.).
While practicing medicine in the midst of what was a very Scottish community in which Scots-born 'Father of the US Navy' John Paul Jones lived for a time, Mercer purchased Ferry Farm – George Washington's boyhood home – where a famous cherry tree may (or may not) have once stood. In paying £2000 for this property in 1774, Mercer proved that his business interests – beyond medicine, he also owned a ferry service – were profitable, and he felt confident (Goolrick 1906: 38; Bell 1997: 451 + refs).
Facing Fredericksburg on the opposite bank of the Rappahannock River, George would have called Ferry Farm home from 1738 until he inherited Mount Vernon in 1754. As with Washington's Mount Vernon estate (see here and/or below), there is a lot of cool archaeological work being done with Ferry Farm, like the field school and 3D-scanning project.
We now know that the house inhabited by the Washingtons was a wooden structure covered in clapboards, with chimneys at either end of its 1.5 storeys. Evidence of the small Christmas Eve fire of 1740 – burnt charcoal and plaster – was also discovered, as were the kitchens and slave quarters. Thousands of C18th artifacts were unearthed, including this pipe with Masonic stamp:
13 [Image: Ferry Farm Masonic pipe, GWF]
Read more about the archaeology of Ferry Farm on the George Washington Foundation (GWF) website. MountVernon.org have a page of their digital encyclopedia devoted to the farm. Please note that the GWF are holding Archaeology Day on February 16, 2015.
14 [Image: Ferry Farm excavations, GWF]
When Good Neighbors Become Good Friends:
Mercer and the Washington Family
14b [Image: Mary Washington journey to Mercer's Apothecary, Google]
As a physician, Mercer had regular contact with Washington's mother, Mary. Embrey (1937: 122) notes that Mercer's account book, which had been at the Clerk's Office in Fredericksburg for many years, contained several entries pertaining to 'Madam Washington'. One source claims that Mercer treated Mary for the pain of the breast cancer by giving her a 'mild opiate' on a daily basis. We have a letter from another Fredericksburg medic, Elisha Hall, to his cousin (Benjamin Rush) asking for advice on Mary's treatment. Some other sources for Mary, who lived around the corner from Mercer's apothecary (see above) in a house which still stands, have been collated by Paula S. Felder here, and there is a fascinating website devoted to her life.
15 [Image: Mary Washington House, Preservation Virginia]
Embrey (1937: 124) also tells us that George Washington managed his and Mary's landholdings on the Rappahannock River from a desk he maintained in Mercer's apothecary. Visits seemed to have been reciprocal, and Goolrick (1906: 32) adds that Mercer 'occasionally paid a visit to the future "Father of the Country" at Mount Vernon', an estate and house that still exists:
ARCHAEOLOGY: Mount Vernon, Va.
Mount Vernon has a superb website, and has much on Washington's involvement in actions in which we know that Mercer was involved. The website also has a world-class archaeology section – which doesn't shy away from the archaeology of slavery – that you could easily lose hours navigating.
16 [Image: Washington's trunk plate, Mount Vernon]
The above image – of a copper trunk plate inscribed 'Gen: Washington' – is from Mount Vernon's South Grove Midden excavations. The midden was the main repository for the Washington family's domestic trash in the decades prior to the Revolution (esp c.1735-1765). There is a dedicated midden website containing object biographies of the trunk plate, and a 2013 Popular Archaeology article.
Fun Fact: Washington's next-door neighbor for a period was Scot George Buchanan (d. 1762), a Glaswegian merchant who named his Glaswegian property 'Mount Vernon' due to the fact that his Virginian estate bordered that of the Washington family. The area retains the name to this day.
What was Hugh Mercer actually like?
I have found two sources – Goolrick (1906: 31) and Embrey (1937: 121) – who quote Englishman Dr. J.F.D. Smythe's 1784 recollection of visiting Mercer before the war broke out:
'I arrived in Fredericksburg and put up at an inn kept by one [George] Weedon, who is now a general officer in the American Army, and who was then very active and zealous in blowing the flames of sedition. In Fredericksburg, I called upon a worthy and intimate friend, Dr. Hugh Mercer, a physician of great eminence and merit, and, as a man, possessed of almost every virtue and accomplishment. Dr. Mercer was afterwards Brigadier-General in the American Army, to accept of which appointment I have reason to believe he was greatly influenced by General Washington, with whom he had been long in intimacy and bonds of friendship. For Dr. Mercer was generally of a just and moderate way of thinking and possessed of liberal sentiments and a generosity of principle very uncommon among those with whom he embarked'.
It is a picture of a pleasant person, and one which corroborates evidence for his relaxed nature and sense of humor notable in the correspondence from his period in charge of Mercer's Fort, as quoted above.
Archaeology: Dr. Mercer in Fredericksburg (1761-1775)
Wonderfully, a quick Google – other Internet search engines are available – will find you Washington Heritage Museums' preserved doctor's surgery, where Dr. Mercer practiced medicine in his c. 1771/2 apothecary:
17 [Image: Apothecary exterior, Preservation Virginia]
In terms of material culture, the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop contains Mercer's 'Kittanning Destroyed' medal, described above. Discussing the (1920s) restoration of the apothecary by the Citizen's Guild of Fredericksburg, Embrey (1937: 122) notes that 'the shelves and drawers were found intact, the fronts of some of the drawers bearing labels in Dr. Mercer's own handwriting'.
Embrey includes a letter written by the restoration architect, Edward W. Donn, Jr. (dated August 20, 1928), in which he describes his standing building survey and its archaeology:
'The excavations about the site brought to light some relics of old bottles , very much oxidized, an old drilling foil and several other articles...'.
Revolution! American Patriot: Gunpowder and Plot
Mercer's loyalty to the British Army – and it could be argued that it was only born out of necessity in the French and Indian War and a love of adventure – proved a one-off: In 1775, he joined Fredericksburg groups that shared military intelligence with their fellow Revolutionaries, being part of an assembly that wrote to Washington, alarmed at the news that Scot Lord Dunmore (see below), the very-soon-to-be-last Royal Governor of Virginia, had, at night on April 20/1 begun removing the gunpowder from the Williamsburg Magazine. Bell (1997: 451) has Mercer offering to lead men to Williamsburg.
18 [Image: Williamsburg Magazine, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation]
Goolrick (1906: 33) quotes a letter dated April 25 – saying that it was written by Mercer, although it may have been a group effort – which explains why they did not march on Williamsburg:
'We are not sufficiently supplied with powder ; it may be proper to request of the gentlemen who join us from Fairfax and Prince William to come provided with an over-proportion of that article'.
On April 30, Goolrick (1906: 34) reports that Alexander Spotswood confirmed to Washington the decision of the Fredericksburg militia to stay:
'I am extremely glad to inform you that after a long debate it was agreed that we should not march to Williamsburg'.
You can learn more details about the incident here. This practice of emptying magazines in areas of dubious loyalty to the British Crown had led to Battles of Lexington and Concord, where the first firefights of the Revolution occurred on April 19, i.e., the day before Williamsburg's 'Gunpowder Incident' [See the 'shot heard around the world'].
ARCHAEOLOGY: Colonial Williamsburg
If you can't visit Colonial Williamsburg, you can still visit its amazing website. Beyond the wonderful podcasts and videos, not to mention educational materials, it has pages devoted to archaeology, where to find it on site, and a kids' archaeological page to boot. The CW Foundation looks at colonial archaeology and material culture, involving urbanization, community development, zooarchaeological method, GIS, and archaeobotanical research. Annual field-schools are undertaken with the College of William and Mary.
19 [Image: Colonial Williamsburg, CWF]
Rivalry! 1775, Patrick Henry, and the Lack of Trust in Scots-American Loyalists
In August, 1775, Wikipedia notes that Mercer was prevented from leading the Virginian regiments – there were three of 1,000 men each – because he was a 'Northern Briton'. Here, Goolrick (1906: 39-41) expands: It had been decided that the commander of the 1st Regiment would be the commander-in-chief. When it came to the vote, Patrick Henry of 'Give me Liberty, or give me Death!' fame was elected over Mercer, despite the fact that only the latter had (extensive) military experience (Selby 2007: 50). Goolrick (1906: 40) suggests that there were some doubts over Mercer's American loyalties as he had not been born in the colonies (to be fair, Lord Dunmore was a case in point). It should be pointed out here, however, that, like Mercer, Henry's father was from Aberdeenshire in Scotland.
Here, John E. Selby (2007: 50) adds the important note that many Revolutionaries were suspicious about Scots as many Scottish-born colonists were Loyalists. Articles in Wikipedia about Loyalists, Loyalists Fighting in the American Revolution, Toryism, and United Empire Loyalists provide more background, and Arthur Herman's 'How the Scots Invented the Modern World' contrasts the popularity of Loyalism amongst Scottish-born Americans with strong Patriotism amongst the Scots-Irish.
In any case, Washington was aghast at the thought of Henry's lack of military experience: Selby (2007: 50) quotes his response – 'I think my countrymen made a capital mistake, when they took Henry out of the senate to place him in the field; and pity it is, that he does not see this, and remove any difficulty by a voluntary resignation'. The negative reaction to Henry's appointment led to Mercer removing himself from the election for the colonelcy of the 2nd Regiment (Selby 2007: 50; cf. Thomas 1837: 572-3).
In any case, Mercer was elected as Colonel to the Minute Men – so called because, in theory, they could be ready for battle within 60 seconds – of four Virginian counties. Goolrick (1906: 33) quotes the order:
'Election of officers of minutemen and regulars for Caroline, Spotsylvania, King George and Stafford counties, Virginia, September 12, 1775. At a meeting of the select committee for the district of this county, the counties of Caroline, Stafford, King George and Spotsylvania, the following officers were elected: Minutemen Hugh Mercer, Colonel…'.
Promotion: Colonelcy of 3rd Virginia Regiment, January 10, 1776
On January 10, 1776, Mercer was appointed the first commander of the 3rd Virginia Regiment (Bell 1997: 451), which the Virginia Convention had previously decided not to fund (Selby 2007: 51), presumably after the fiasco of the elections of the leaderships of the 1st and 2nd Regiments. Goolrick (1906: 39) quotes Mercer as having offered his service to the Virginia Convention with the promise that he would 'serve his adopted country and the cause of Liberty in any rank or station to which he may be assigned'. Goolrick (1906: 41) also includes the minutes from the Virginia Convention:
'Wednesday, January 10, 1776, Convention proceeded by ballot to the appointment of a Colonel of the Third Regiment, and there was a majority of the whole Convention in favor of Hugh Mercer. Resolved, therefore, that the said Hugh Mercer be appointed Colonel of the Third Regiment'.
Spotsylvania county's Committee of Safety – described by Wikipedia as a type of 'shadow government' set up by the Americans (and normally in control of the militias) – responded to Mercer's promotion with the following statement, as recorded by Goolrick (1906: 41-2):
'The committee of the county, to express their approbation of the appointment of Col. Mercer, and to pay a tribute justly due to the noble and patriotic conduct which that gentleman has uniformly pursued since the commencement of our disputes with the Mother Country, which was so strikingly displayed on that occasion, entered into the following resolve: Resolved, That the thanks of this committee be presented to Colonel Hugh Mercer, Commander-in-Chief of the Battalion of Minute Men in the District of this County, and the counties of Caroline, Stafford, and King George ; expressing the high sense of the importance of his appointment to that station, and our acknowledgements of his public spirit in sacrificing his private interest to the service of his Country. ALEXANDER DICK, Clerk.'
This website lists his service with the 3rd Regiment as being from February 12, 1776, to June 5, 1776.
Mercer's first job on taking command of the 3rd Regiment was to deal with the mutinous behavior of a group of soldiers amidst the generally chaotic background of the resignation of Henry due to the removal of overall command from his position as Colonel of the 1st Regiment (Selby 2007: 88-9).
Whereas Goolrick (1906: 44-5) suggests that Mercer quelled the mutiny with a firm, but calm, reprimand, Selby (2007: 89) – whose account is well-footnoted with Virginia Gazette references (2007: 350) – suggests that Mercer's rebuke was met with the mutineers' threat of calling a court of enquiry, and that Mercer 'had to apologize publically to the company. He meant nothing personal, he assured them'. This disparity – compare Goolrick (1906: 44-5) with Selby (2007: 89, 350) – drives home the point that Goolrick, being a cheerleader for Mercer, can ignore facts that challenge his hero narrative.
Promotion Again: JOHN HANCOCK and General Mercer, June 5, 1776
Mercer was appointed to the Continental Army as a Brigadier-General by the Continental Congress on June 5, 1776. The order (Goolrick 1906: 46) from George Washington was sent by John Hancock:
'President of Congress to General Mercer, Philadelphia, June 6, 1776. Sir: I am directed by Congress to inform you that they yesterday appointed you a Brigadier-General in the armies of the United Colonies, and that they request you will immediately on receipt hereof set out for headquarters at New York; for which purpose I am commanded to forward you this by express. Should you take Philadelphia in your way, I must beg you will do me the favor to call at my house, as it is highly probable I shall have something in charge from Congress ready for you at that time. I do myself the pleasure to enclose your commission; and have the honor to be, sir, Your most obedient and very humble servant,
Goolrick (1906: 46-7) includes Mercer's reply (note the reference to our old friend, Lord Dunmore) -
'Williamsburg, June 15, 1776.
Sir: I had the honor yesterday to receive your letter of the 6th inst., together with a commission, appointing me a Brigadier-General in the army of the United Colonies. Give me leave, sir, to request of you to present to the honorable Congress my most grateful acknowledgements in this distinguished mark of their respect.
I was on duty with part of my regiment before Gwinns Island, where Lord Dunmore has taken possession, when your instructions reached me; in consequence of this I shall use my utmost diligence, after settling the accounts of my regiment, to wait on you in Philadelphia, I have the honor to be, sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
Lord Dunmore and Hugh Mercer:
From Culloden Allies to Virginia Foes
21 [Image: Lord Dunmore, CWF & Va. Historical Society]
Remarkably, John Murray (Lord Dunmore) – whom we met above trying to empty the Williamsburg Magazine the year before – had, at the age of 15, accompanied his father on campaign with Bonnie Prince Charlie, serving as Charlie's page boy. Imprisoned after the Battle of Culloden (his father was sent to the Tower of London), Dunmore received a partial pardon in 1650 and joined the British Army. Like Mercer, Dunmore moved to America, settling at first in Virginia, before eventually becoming Royal Governor on September 25, 1771.
Quite the coincidence, then, that Dunmore's base on Gwynn's Island was besieged by his former ally. In July, 1776, the month after Mercer's letter, Dunmore was dislodged from the island by General Andrew Lewis, never to return. He was the last Royal Governor of Virginia.
'Times That Try Souls': Crisis of the Revolution, 1776
For the American's ill-fated New York and New Jersey Campaign, Washington appointed Mercer commander of the 'Flying Camp/Army' in July, 1776. This unit was a strategic reserve designed to protect New Jersey while Washington's Continentals defended New York (Kwasny 1998: 57).
More details on Mercer's movements and interactions with Washington can be found in Google Books in Mark V. Kwasny's 'Washington's Partisan War, 1775-1783'. Kwasny (1998: 63) informs us that Mercer convinced (the already naturally aggressive) Washington to look to take the initiative against the Regulars whenever possible, although this was problematic during a period when the Americans were on the back foot. That said, we do know that Mercer led a diversionary raid against Staten Island on October 15 with c.600 militia and Continentals, capturing 20 prisoners in the action (Kwasny 1998: 81-2).
Mercer and the Rise and Fall of Fort Lee, NJ
22 [Image: Hudson, Forts Washington and Lee, Library of Congress]
Mercer's troops constructed Fort Lee, New Jersey, on the opposite bank of the Hudson River to Washington's Fort Washington in a bid to deny passage to the Royal Navy. We can only assume that Washington remembered his friend's success with Fort Mercer in the French and Indian War. Fort Lee - read more about its inauspicious name here - was ill-starred and short-lived, however: in a disastrous period for the Americans, which had seen the Regulars take New York City in September, Fort Washington fell on November 16, 1776, in the aftermath of the American defeat at the Battle of White Plains on October 28. Four days after the fall of Fort Washington, the (now abandoned) Fort Lee was taken by the British:
23a [Image: Battle of Fort Washington, by Oneam]
It was at this critical juncture that Thomas Paine, on the retreat with Mercer and Washington, began his 'American Crisis' series, the first of which opens with the line:
'These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman'.
23b [Image: Regulars scale The Palisades toward Fort Lee, NY Pub. Lib.]
The Icy Delaware River: Washington and Mercer, December 25/6, 1776
24 [Image: Washington crossing the Delaware, Met Museum]
However you look at it, Mercer was connected in time and often place to many of the great figures of the American Revolution. Most importantly, however, Mercer was particularly close to Washington, being actively involved in the plan to cross the icy Delaware River – perhaps making the original suggestion – in order to surprise isolated Hessian soldiers (British mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey (where battles were fought on December 26 and January 2, 1777). The idea that Mercer came up with the Delaware plan is stated in Goolrick (1906: 49) as being reported by Mercer's aide-de-camp.
25 [Map: First Battle of Trenton, Mount Vernon]
Whoever had the idea, the surprise amphibious attack on Trenton was a total success, at least temporarily turning the tide of the war in the Americans' favor. A fully-referenced account of this battle can be found here at MountVernon.org.
Damn Rebel! The Battle of Princeton,
26a [Map: Battle of Princeton, MountVernon.org]
On January 3, the day after the second Trenton battle (also known as Assunpink Creek), Mercer led one of Washington's wings on the approach to Princeton in a bold attempt to capture the town and threaten the rear of Lt. General Charles Cornwallis' army.
Read more here about the importance of American military intelligence in the lead-up to the Battle of Princeton, and in particular the wonderful 'Spy Map' researched by militia Colonel John Cadwalader and given to Washington on New Year's Eve. This amazingly detailed map gave the Americans a highly accurate bird's-eye-view of the area and a huge tactical advantage on the day:
26b [Map: Cadwalader's Plan of Princeton, Dec. 31, 1776, Library of Congress]
As with the Crossing of the Delaware, it seems that there was some scholarly debate in the past as to whether Mercer suggested this daring plan, but I am no wiser to modern views on this. In any case, Kwasny (1998: 103-4) adds the detail that Mercer commanded c.350 veteran troops with the task of taking control of the main bridge to the south of Princeton.
As Mercer's detachment entered the Clarke Farm orchard on Princeton's southern outskirts, Mercer's vanguard encountered 276 Regulars – whose numbers included Mercer's fellow Scot, Captain William Leslie – commanded by Lt. Colonel Charles Mawhood. Where Leslie was killed instantly by a musket ball through the heart, Mercer was fated for worse: his horse shot from under him and separated from his troops, the Regulars – who thought he was Washington – demanded his surrender with the words:
'Surrender, you damn rebel!'
Refusing, and advancing with his saber drawn, Mercer was clubbed and bayoneted, being left for dead with seven bayonet wounds.
One legend has it that Mercer refused to be taken immediately from the fray, and asked to be propped up against what would become known as the Mercer Oak, but this is likely untrue, although the tree was there at the battle and only died in 2000 (with scions and a sapling grown from one of the original tree's acorns now at the site). What is certain is that Mercer was taken with the wounded of both sides to the Thomas Clarke House (see below) at the eastern end of the battlefield, where he died 9 days later on January 12, despite the efforts of Dr. Benjamin Rush.
The Americans won at Princeton, but losing Mercer and other important men was, nevertheless, a major blow.
27a [Image: Memorial to Hugh Mercer with Thomas Clarke House, Roy Edwards]
Pro Patria Mori? Dr. Rush and the Deaths of General Mercer and Captain Leslie
In the aftermath of Mercer's horrific death, his corpse was put on public display in Philadelphia 'where it was exhibited as evidence of British savagery' (Bell 1997: 451, as witnessed by Jacob Mordecai).
American anger was also stoked by witness accounts like that of Dr. Jonathan Potts, who reported in a letter dated January 5 that the Regulars robbed the mortally wounded Mercer, 'even to taking the cravat from his neck, insulting him all the time' (Bell 1997: 451, letter in Continental Congress Papers).
27b [Image: Death of General Mercer, Yale Art Gallery]
In the final coincidences of what was, if I may be allowed to say, a particularly Scottish battle, Potts had studied for his M.D. in Edinburgh with Rush, the Founding Father who, while in Scotland (1766-8), had befriended the aforementioned William Leslie, the Scottish Captain being painted at the moment of death by Trumbull on the right of The Death of General Mercer. In this painting, Rush is advancing towards the stricken Mercer while Leslie falls; in the middle, Washington rides in on his horse (all being a-chronological, of course: Washington arrived later after rallying the troops who had turned back).
Touchingly, Rush would ensure that Leslie got a fine burial: this blog and Wikipedia entry (both footnoted) describe how the 26-year-old Scot's body was recovered from the battlefield. Originally put on a British wagon, the wagon was in turn captured by the Americans. While treating Mercer and others in the Thomas Clarke House, Rush – who may have previously given Leslie a letter asking any American captors to parole him to Rush's house in Philadelphia – heard of the discovery, and asked Washington to bury Leslie at an appropriate spot on the Americans' subsequent march to Morristown. Thus, in the village of Pluckemin, NJ, a young British soldier was buried with full honors in a funeral attended by Rush and Generals Thomas Miffin, John Sullivan Henry Knox, and George Washington. Rush paid for a headstone after the war and, although the original was replaced, the grave marker still bears the legend:
In Memory of the Hon.ble Capt.n WILL.M LESLIE, Of the 17th British Regiment, Son of the Earl of Leven in Scotland. He fell Jan.y 3.d 1777 Aged 26 Years at the battle of Princeton. His friend Benj.n Rush M.D. of Philadelphia hath caused this Stone to be erected as a mark of his esteem for his WORTH and of his respect for his noble family
A worthy digression, but we end, though, with Hugh Mercer. Rush recalled years later that Mercer had said to him two days prior to the Battle of Princeton that he 'would never submit to lose my liberty. Sooner than bow my neck to the Yoke, I will cross the mountains, & incorporate myself with the Indians. I will live & die a freeman'. In a sad addendum, Bell (1997: 451, n. 19) notes that Rush wrote this recollection on the back of a letter dated April 25, 1803, sent to him from Hugh's son, Hugh Jr.
After Trumbull's paintings, another idealized version of Mercer's death is depicted (below) on the Princeton Battle Monument (1922), which is, in its drama, nevertheless a fitting memorial to this forgotten hero of Scotland and of a United States he did not live to see:
28 [Image: Battle of Princeton Monument, Kara Kozikowski]
Archaeology and Art: American Victory at Princeton
The Internet is replete with accounts of what happened after the fighting at the Clarke Farm (e.g., MountVernon.org's 10 Facts about the Battle of Princeton), but for our purposes, it is sufficient to note that Washington rallied the troops and went on to take Princeton. This famous 1784 painting of Washington by Charles Willson Peale (a Scots-American who fought with the militia at Princeton) shows the fatally wounded Mercer lying at his feet:
29 [Image: 'George Washington at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777' (1784) painting, Princeton]
Click on the following hyperlinks to find more information on the Thomas Clarke House and the Princeton Battlefield. A pdf from the Princeton Battlefield Trust about efforts to preserve the house and the battlefield can be downloaded here. You can also watch The Civil War Trust's 'Campaign 1776' video of the same aim: http://vimeo.com/111135230.
Marked 'College' on the Cadwalader map, this building is Princeton's Nassau Hall, which was held by c.200 British Regulars when Washington's forces moved north after Mercer's fatal skirmish. It can be seen in the background of the Peale portrait. The damaged caused by the short American siege which ended the battle can still be seen:
31 [Image: Nassau Hall battle damage, Princeton]
Hugh Mercer: Burial(s) and Legacy
We know that Mercer speculated on lands in the west, something confirmed by his holdings at his death. Embrey (1937: 122) reports Mercer's Will – dated March 20, 1776 – was 'probated in the Court House at Spotsylvania, and is recorded in Will Book E, page 169'. Embrey's work on compiling the grantor index for the City of Fredericksburg can be accessed at this searchable webpage.
Mercer's Will saw 2000 acres of land in Kentucky given to his son William, and another to his 2000 acre package to his son George. His son John got 3000 acres on the Ohio River, and his daughter Ann 1000 acres on the Ohio River and another 1000 on the Miami River. A posthumous child was given 2000 acres of Kentucky land, which was part of 5000 acres given to Hugh by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ann, William, John, and George also received land in Stafford County opposite Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River that Hugh Mercer had bought 'from General George Washington'.
Originally buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia (in a funeral supposedly attended by some 30,000 mourners), Mercer's remains were transferred within the city to his current place of rest in Laurel Hill Cemetery in 1840 by Philadelphia's Saint Andrew's Society, who have the sword Hugh Mercer raised toward the Regulars as he was cut down. Shown below, it was presented to the society in 1841, Mercer joined it in 1757, by the granddaughter of the Continental Army's Surgeon-General, Dr. John Morgan (who, like everyone else at the battle, also studied medicine at Edinburgh in the 1660s). Morgan received it from Mercer at Princeton:
32 [Image: Hugh Mercer's Princeton sword, St Andrews's Society]
There remains nothing left for me to say about the remarkable Hugh Mercer, except leave you with the words written in 1777 by Congress and, finally, erected with his Fredericksburg statue in 1902:
Sacred to the memory of HUGH MERCER, Brigadier-general in the Army of The United States. He died on the 12th of January, 1777, of the Wounds he received on the 3rd of the same month, near Princetown, in New Jersey, Bravely defending the Liberties of America. The Congress of the United States, In testimony of his Virtues, and their Gratitude, Have caused this Monument to be Erected'
Internet Sources (at least, the ones I remembered to note down)
The life of General Hugh Mercer: with brief sketches of General George Washington, John Paul Jones, General George Weedon, James Monroe and Mrs. Mary Ball Washington, who were friends and associates of General Mercer at Fredericksburg: also a sketch of Lodge no. 4, A.F. and A.M., of which Generals Washington and Mercer were members: and a genealogical table of the Mercer family, by John T. Goolrick (1906)
History of Fredericksburg: The History of an Old Town, by John T. Goolrick (1902)
The Kittochtinny Magazine: A tentative record of local history and genealogy west of the Susquehanna. v. 1, Jan.-Oct. 1905. Chambersburg, Pa.: G.O. Seilhamer (1905)
Patriot-improvers: 1743-1768, by Whitfield Jenks Bell (1997)
Liberty's Fallen Generals: Leadership and Sacrifice in the American War of Independence (Military Profiles) Steven E. Siry (2012)
The Glory of America: Comprising Memoirs of the Lives and Glorious Exploits of Some of the Distinguished Officers Engaged in the Late War With Great Britain, by R. Thomas (1837)
Essays on David Hume, Medical Men and the Scottish Enlightenment: Industry, Knowledge and Humanity (Science, Technology and Culture, 1700-1945), by Roger L. Emerson (2009)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20020524&id=B_EyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4358,7312492 (Goolrick's grandson's article)
Washington's Partisan War, 1775-1783 By Mark Vincent Kwasny (1998)
The American Generals, John Frost 'Hugh Mercer' (2012)
https://archive.org/stream/pottersamericanm03lossuoft#page/484/mode/2up
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?5913-A-real-Scottish-American-Hero
http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/ten-facts-about-the-revolutionary-war/10-facts-about-the-battle-of-princeton/#TodayInHistory
https://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2011/06/the_death_of_mercer_at_the_bat.html
http://www.clanmunro.org.uk/hughmercer.htm
http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Mercer__Hugh.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hugh-mercer-dies-from-wounds-received-in-battle-of-princeton
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/army/p/mercer.htm
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars16011800/p/monogahela.htm
http://www.nps.gov/fone/braddock.htm
http://www.revolutionarynj.org/revolutionary-neighbor/bios/hugh-mercer.pdf
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/french-indian-war
Princeton Battle Field - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/princeton.html
Thomas Clarke House - http://www.visitprincetonbattlefield.org/visit-princeton-battlefield/clarke-house-history/
http://www.revolutionarynj.org/revolutionary-neighbor/bios/hugh-mercer.pdf
The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783, John E. Selby (2007)
English, Frederick. General Hugh Mercer, Forgotten Hero of the American Revolution. New York: Vantage, 1975
Goolrick, John T. The Life of General Hugh Mercer. New York: Neale, 1906.
Waterman, Joseph M. With Sword and Lancet: The Life of General Hugh Mercer. Richmond: Garrett & Massie, 1941.
Acknowledgements and Thanks
Thanks to Roy Edwards, Kara Kozikowski, and my friend and colleague Dr. Jen Novotny for kindly allowing me to use their photographs and for their encouragement. I also had a lovely phone call with Genevieve Bugary at Hugh Mercer's Apothecary Shop.
M.R. Wood, Dr. Elizabeth Pierce, Dr. Ryan K. McNutt , Dr. Terence Christian, and my mother Marjory Horne were the brave souls who proof-read the text.
Thanks also to Dr. Adrian Maldonado and Christy McNutt for technical **advice **on formATTing.
As they say, all remaining errors and omissions are the result of my small brain.
(If you get this far, you're my hero. Thank you)
