Hugh Mercer
Hugh Mercer (
January 17,
1726 –
January 12,
1777) was a brigadier general of the
Continental Army and a close friend to
George Washington. Both a fallen hero and a rallying symbol of the
American Revolution, he died as a result of his wounds received at the
Battle of Princeton.
Born near
Rosehearty,at the manse of Pitsligo Kirk,
Aberdeenshire,
Scotland to Presbyterian Minister, Reverend William Mercer of Pitsligo Parish Church and Ann Monro. At 15, he attended the
University of Aberdeen, Marischal College, studying medicine and graduated a Doctor. He was assistant
surgeon in the army of
Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. He was present at the
Battle of Culloden Moor when Charles' Army was crushed on
April 16,
1746, and any survivors were hunted down and killed. As a fugitive in his own homeland in 1747, Hugh fled
Scotland after months in hiding. Mercer bought his way onto a ship and moved to America, settling near what is now
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and practiced medicine for eight years.
In 1755, when General
Edward Braddock's army was cut down by the French and Indians, Mercer was shocked by the same butchery he remembered at Culloden Moor. He came to the aid of the wounded and eventually took up arms in support of the army that a few years back was hunting him; this time not as a surgeon, but as a soldier. By 1756 he was commissioned a
captain in a Pennsylvania
regiment and accompanied Lieutenant Colonel
John Armstrong's expedition on the raid of the Indian village of
Kittanning in September 1756. During the attack, he was badly wounded and separated from his unit. He trekked 100 miles through the woods for fourteen days, injured and with no supplies, until he found his way back to Fort Shirley, where he was recognized and promoted. He rose to the rank of
colonel and commanded garrisons. It was during these trying times that Colonel Mercer developed a life-long and warm friendship with Colonel George Washington. It was at the recommendation of some of the gentlemen from Virginia that Mercer moved to
Fredericksburg, Virginia, to begin his medical practice anew at the conclusion of the war.
When Hugh Mercer arrived at the childhood home of George Washington in 1760, he was well received as a war hero and a Scotsman. Fredericksburg was a thriving Scottish community that must have been a happy sanctuary for a Scotsman who could never again see his homeland. He became a noted member and businessman in town, buying land and, involving himself in local trade. He became a member of Fredericksburg
Masonic Lodge in 1767, and sat as its Master a few years later. Two members of this same lodge would later become American Presidents
(George Washington and James Monroe (affiliated)), and eight are recorded as being generals of the American Revolution
(George Washington, Hugh Mercer, George Weedon, William Woodford, George Rogers Clark, Thomas Posey, Gustavus Wallace, and the Marquis de Lafayette (honorary in 1824); far more than any other group, institution or organization save the pre-Revolution British Army, and this Lodge is still in existence today (External Links: see Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge #4).
Soon after this, Mercer opened a physician's
apothecary and practice. One of his most famous patients was Mary Washington, the mother of George Washington, who trusted him, and he prospered as a most respected doctor in the area. He married Isabella Gordon and fathered five children: Ann Mercer Patton, John Mercer, William Mercer, George Weedon Mercer, and Hugh Tennant Mercer. In 1774, George Washington sold his childhood home of
Ferry Farm to Mercer, who wanted to make this prize the land that he and his family would settle for the remainder of his days, but the
American Revolution would change everything.
Mercer was only to remain in Fredericksburg for fifteen years, leaving in 1776 to join the
Continental Army. During 1775 he was a member of the Fredericksburg Committee of Safety. On April 25, 1775, Dr. Mercer was one of the members of the Independent Company of the Town of Fredericksburg who sent a letter of concern about the king's removal of gunpowder from the magazine at Williamsburg to then Colonel George Washington. In an August vote, Mercer was denied the leadership of any of the three regiments newly formed by the Virginia Convention, but on September 12 he was elected Colonel of the Minute Men of Spotsylvania,King George, Stafford, and Caroline Counties. On November 17 Mercer was one of 21 members chosen for the Committee of Safety of Spotsylvania County. January 11, 1776, Dr. Hugh Mercer was appointed Colonel to the 3rd Virginia Regiment of the Virginia Militia, and the next day George Weedon was appointed Lieutenant Colonel. On March 5th they were sworn in to Continental service. Future president James Monroe, as well as Thomas Marshall, father of future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall, also served as officers under his command. In June of 1776 Mercer received a letter from the Continental Congress, signed by John Hancock, appointing him Brigadier-General in the Armies of the United Colonies and requesting him to report to headquarters in New York immediately.
Just before the
Battle of Manhattan, Washington ordered two forts built to repel the
British Navy. On the New York side of the Hudson,
Fort Washington was constructed and on the New Jersey banks, Mercer himself overseen the building of the earthen fortification named
Fort Lee. Though bravely defended, the British captured Ft. Washington on November 16, 1776 and Ft. Lee four days later. The retreat to
New Jersey became known as
"the Crisis of the Revolution", in which the enlistment of the supermajority of Washington's beaten and down-trodden soldiers ended on that New Year's Day. Although it is only rumored that Hugh Mercer exclusively originated Washington's daring plan to cross the
Delaware River and surprise the
Hessians at the
Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, what is confirmed is that he was a major contributor. What we do know is that Mercer had a center role in the capture of the Hessian troops at Trenton after the crossing and was recorded to have distinguished himself in its execution. Because of the win at Trenton (and a small monetary bonus), Washington's men agreed to a ten-day extension to their enlistment. When Washington decided to face off with Cornwallis during the
Second Battle of Trenton on (January 2, 1777), Mercer was given a major role in the defense of the city.
|
Mercer Memorial and Thomas Clarke House, Princeton, NJ |
Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777; while leading a vanguard of the 350 Americans, General Mercer's encountered two British regiments and a mounted unit. A fight broke out at an orchard grove and Mercer's horse was shot from under him. Getting to his feet, hewas quickly surrounded by British officers who mistook him for George Washington and ordered him to surrender. Outnumbered, he drew his saber and began an unequal contest. He was finally beaten to the ground by saber, muskets and bayonet thrusts. In learning of the British attack and seeing some of Mercer's men in retreat, Washington himself entered the fray, rallying his men and pushing back the British regiments but Mercer was found with multiple bayonet wounds in his body and blows to his head and left on the field to die. Legend has it that a beaten Mercer with a bayonet still impaled in him did not want to leave his men and the battle, so was given a place to rest on the white oak tree's trunk while those who remained with him stood their ground, thus the tree is forever known as "the Mercer Oak". Hugh Mercer was then carried to the field hospital in the Thomas Clarke House (now a museum) at the eastern end of the battle field. In spite of medical efforts by
Benjamin Rush, Hugh Mercer lay dying. When George Washington heard of the fate of his old friend, he asked his aide-de-camp (and nephew) Major George Lewis along with Dr. Rush and under a pre-arranged flag of truce with Cornwallis to remain and watch over the final moments of this dying hero. After nine agonizing days, General Hugh Mercer passed away on January 12, 1777.
Because of Mercer's courage and sacrifice, Washington was able to proceed into Princeton and rout the British forces there. He then moved and quartered his forces to Morristown in victory. Because of those victories, Washington's army reenlisted, the French finally approved arms and supplies to the Americans and a stunned Cornwallis pulled his forces back to New York to reassess the surprising American successes. Thus ended for the Americans the Ten Crucial Days of "the Crisis". America still had the means to fight its rebellion and in England, the royal government started losing support for the war. The freedom that Hugh Mercer fought and died for was for an American nation and succeeding generations of his family have distinguished his same courage. One famous descendant was from Hugh's daughter, Ann Mercer and her husband, Robert Patton by the name of General
George Smith Patton of
World War II. It was Patton's courage and determination that earned him the reputation as America's best commander of armed forces in history; the same courage and determination that has often been exhibited by his famous Scottish ancestor, General Hugh Mercer.
Other famous direct descendants of Hugh Mercer were Confederate General
Hugh Weedon Mercer and songwriter
Johnny Mercer.
|
General Hugh Mercer Memorial Statue, Fredericksburg, VA |
In the city of Fredericksburg, the APVA continues to maintain a renovated version of Mercer's apothecary shop to this day at 1020 Caroline Street and outside of Kenmore Mansion and near the resting place of Mary Washington, a statue stands to honor General Hugh Mercer.
Mercer County, New Jersey;
Mercer County, Ohio;
Mercer County, Pennsylvania;
Mercer County, Kentucky;
Mercer County, West Virginia; and
Mercer County, Illinois are named for him.
*
Hugh Mercer at Rosehearty Community Web*
Hugh Mercer at Virtual American Biographies*
Hugh Mercer: An Unexpected Life*
Hugh Mercer Apothecary*
History Point: Central Rappahannock Regional Library*
Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge #4*
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