The Life of General Hugh Mercer

THE LIFE

With brief sketches of General George Wash in ton J ohn Pau J ones Genera Geor e eedon g , l , l g W , J ame nr r M r Ball ashin o s Mo oe an d M s . a y W gt Who were friends and as soc iates of General Mercer

at Fredericksbur a so a sketch of Lod e No g l g . 4 A F f hi h h n n d A . M . o c n eral i o . . an W Ge s as , , W gt an d Mercer were members ; and a genealogical ab f t le o the Mercer family.

J O H N T G OQLRICK

I llustr a ted

NEW YORK W ASHING TON THE NEALE PUBLISHING C OMPANY 1 906

” ILLUSTR A T IONS

G enera l Hugh Mercer Frontisp iece

OPPOSITE PA G E r r as a coun r oc or in Penns vania 26 Hugh Me ce t y d t y l .

an d a ot ecar s o of u ercer The offi ce p h y h p H gh M ,

u ak r in ou se Prince on N. J The Q e Meet g H , t , .

Th e ba ttleﬁ eld of Princeton

’ Th e C ark ouse Prin ce on W ere G en ercer l H , t , h l M

Th e m onum ent to G eneral Hugh Mercer a t Fred

ericksb ur g , Va .

The grave of G en era l Merc er in La urel - Hill C eme

te P i a e hi a Pa . m onum en erec e b ry , h l d lp , , t t d y An i St . drews Soc ety

ri r The Ri si ng Sun Tavern , Frede cksbu g, Va .

J ohn Paul J ones ” The Sen r Box the ome of ercer Fre t y h M , d 88

Th e om e of ar th e m ot er of W ashi n n h M y , h gto

The m on um ent to ar the mo er of W a s in on M y , th h gt ,

G eneral G eorge W as hin gton as a mason and m em b er of 4 F Lodge No . A . F . and rederi cks

M21 9 785

THIS book is affectionately dedicated to

- e my Wife , a great granddaughter of Georg wa s i e and Mason, Who an int mat friend l r associate of Genera Hugh Me cer .

INTRODUCTION

A N INTRODUCTION is only necessa ry to this Life of Mercer in order to return thanks to others for what I have herein ob ta in ed to from them , as well as disclaim any very marked originality for some I things herein written . For instance, coul d n ot and do not claim any great origi na lity for the brief description of the e battl s of Culloden or of Princeton . Both have been described so often and by so ! hi many writers , that there is not ng new un e he d r t sun to be said about them . I only introduce them here that I may give a full and complete history of the life of Mercer ; without them I could not have done m so . I return thanks and acknowledge y e s lf under obligations to James D . Law, e Pa Esq . , of G rmantown , . ; Rev . J . Lindsay

Va . . Patton , Ashland, ; Judge Beverly R hm a V . Wellford, Ric ond, , and Corbin W . e m a . V . M rcer, Esq , Rich ond, , for some things that I have embodi ed in thi s small volume, and which appear with quotation

marks . 1 0 Introduction I was constrained to write of General Hugh Mercer because I thought that such a e he a s lif as lived , and such a death he died, should be written about ; and should be written about by some one who is identi ﬁed with Fredericksburg, the home of Mer c e I cer . How perfe tly or imperf ctly have performed the task which I have volunta r I ily undertaken, submit to the charitable criticism of my readers .

Respectfully,

J H N . OOLBI K O T G C . 1 1 0 Va . 9 6 Fredericksburg, , March , . CHAPTER I

TH E hl a Hig ands of Scotl nd , land of brown heath and shaggy wood—! land of ” — the mountain and the ﬁo od has always been celebrated in song and sto ry . Its

stern and wild mountains , its dark and si

e - the lent glens , its d ep lying lochs beneath hi shadow of the lls , its silent , whirling o a re e mists and sudden st rms , the sc nes of e d strang romance and ghastly trage y . It ’ is a very playground for the novelist s ex cited imagination and the poet ’ s wildest fancy . But withal , so barren in soil and nh harsh in climate , that the i abitants of the Highl ands early gave themselves up to the e of delights of the chas , or the dangers the

’ f o sea, the pursuit o arms , or the j y of battle . in um in Picturesque cost e , splendid mus l u s e on ar development , trained in the of e to arms , proud of th ir race, loyal their ﬁ clan , they boasted their delity to their e e friends , and that they n v r turned their backs to a foe . Restless , inclined to travel , quick to adapt themselves to new surround 1 1 1 2 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

ings , the Highlanders of Scotland sought their fortunes abroad, rising to fame and a b e wealth in many a Continent l country, coming the leaders in trade and commerce , in Colonial enterprise and in war, in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere . Fru e gal, industrious , persevering and brav , e success rewarded th ir undertakings . Characterised beyond all else by loyalty to o e their King, they were the m st d voted of the adherents of the ill - fated house of e Stuart, and they gather d around that fatal standard with romantic devotion . To their loyalty this land is indebted for not a few e e e of its b st citizens and noblest h ro s . The — land of the Highlanders Bonnie Scotland — has given to the world in all departments who c ons icu of life , great men have taken p ous parts in its history in war and peace . The men from the land of Bobby Burns have made their impress on the a g e and on the people among whom they have lived , and none occupies a higher ni che in its Hal l of Fame than General Hugh Mercer .

Hugh Mercer was born in Aberdeen , 1 2 c 5. Sco tland , in the year 7 He des ended on his paternal side from a long line of mi n ; isters of the Church of Scotland . The Rev wa s e William Mercer, his father, in charg Pit li o of the Manse at ts g , Aberdeenshire , The Life of General Hugh Merc er 1 3

1 720 1 48 from to 7 , and although some biog raphers of Mercer give the date of hi s birth 1 21 the o as 7 , records of this church sh w that he was baptised in 1 726 ; it is therefore o thought now, that more accurate hist ry should place his birth in the year 1 725. On his mother ’ s side he was closely related to the Munro family ; her name being Anna

Munro , daughter of Sir Robert Munro , who fought with conspicuous di stinction in the o t British Army at Fontenoy, on the C n i e e wh e n nt, and lsewhere ; and o, order d u home to oppose the yo ng Pretender, was killed in 1 746 while commanding British troops at the Battle of Falkirk . Mercer matriculated in the School of Medicine of Marschall College in the yea r 1 740 1 44 , graduating in the year 7 . He had hardly comm enced the practice of his pro ! fes sion ere Prince Charlie made hi s dash ” for a throne which startled and, for a s tu eﬁed while , p the British by its daring hi e hem and brilliancy, but w ch was very p

e . S e eral in its xistence The cotch , esp ciall hl s a l y those from the Hig and , were ways loyal to the House of Stuart , and ! Wha shall be King but Charlie ! ” as it was played on the ba gpipes by the kilted e e Highland rs , his admiration for the p ople d whom the Pretender represente , and his 1 4 The Life of General Hugh Mercer c Of onvictions of the justice his cause, stirred up the martial and patriotic spirit Ed of Hugh Mercer, who joined Charles ’ wa rd s Army as an Assista nt Surgeon . History and tradi tion are both silent as to ! when Mercer linked his fortune and hi s ” e fat to the cause of the Pretender . Whether he was on the fatal ﬁeld of Fal 1 7 1 746 e kirk on January , , we hav no rec 1 6 1 46 ord ; but on April , 7 , at Culloden, e e near Inv rn ss , he is found in the army of e uk um Prince Charl s . The D e of C berland wa s on that day in command of the Royal e hl n forc s against the Hig a ders , and when ﬁ the sun went down on the eld of carnage , Mercer shared with his chieftain the gloom — Of his defeat a defeat that marked the end of the ambition of the Pretender and the , hopes of the Stuarts . The victorious shouts of the army of the Duke sounded a veritable dirge to a cause that was then irrevocably e lost . The last grand stand had b en made, and all was over . e Sir Walt r Scott, with his splendid e g nius for picturing and portraying, in the ! ” hi Tales of a Grandfather, gives a grap c ac count of the Battle of Culloden ; an ex tract from which may not be inappropriate hi t to embody in t s sketch . Af er narrating the events of importance that led up to the The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 5

battle , the marching and the counter marching of the armi es of Prince Charles es eci and the Duke of Cumberland, and p ally the unsuccessful ni ght attack on April 1 5 e th by the Army of the Pretend r , Sir Walter Scott wrote ! As the lines approached e a ch other the arti llery opened their fire by whi ch the ’ Duke of Cumberland s army s ufi ered very little and that of the Highl anders a great e e deal, for the English guns being w ll serv d s nk made lane through the ra s of the enemy, while the French artillery scarcely killed a ai man . To rem n steady and inactive under this galling fire would have been a trial to

- the best disciplined troops , and it is no wonder that the Highlanders showed great impatien ce under an a nnoyance pec uliarly irksome to their character ; some threw to themselves down escape the artillery, c some called out to advan e , and a few broke rank their s and ﬂed . ! The cannonade lasted for about an hour ; at length the Clans became s o impa tient that Lord George Murr ay wa s about e to give the order to advanc , when the Highlanders from the centre and right o wings rushed , without orders , furi usly a down, after their usual manner of att ck in g , sword in hand , being received with 1 6 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

fire n - heavy both of ca non and grape shot . They became so confus ed that they got hud dled e together in their ons t, without any d istinction of Clans or regiments . Not r withstanding this disorder, the fu y of their charge broke through Munro ’ s and ’ hi Burrel s regiments , w ch formed the left ’ of the Duke of Cumberland s line ; but that General had anticipated the possibility of e such an event, and had strengthen d his second line so as to form a steady support in case any part of his first should give wa vict ri y . The Highlanders , partially o al ous , continued to advance with fury, and though much disordered and partly dis armed (having thrown away their guns e fi e on the v ry rst charge) , they rush d on ’ Sem ill s e p Regiment, in the s cond line, with e ad o unabat d fury . That ste y c rps was e fi e drawn up thre deep , the rst rank kn el

in . ing, and the third stand g upright They reserved their fir e until the fugitives of Burrel ’ s and Munro ’ s broken regiments had escaped round the flanks and through e i the intervals of the second lin . By th s time the Highlanders were within a yard of ’ the Sem ill s bayonet point , when p battalion poured in their fire with so much accuracy that it broug ht down a great many of the

c e . assailants , and for ed the r st to turn back The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 7

n A few pressed on , but u able to break ’ through Sempill s Regiment were bayon e ﬁ ted by the rst rank . The attack of the Highlanders wa s the less efficient that on this oc casion most of them had lai d aside their targets , expecting a march rather e than a battl . ! While the right of the Highl and line e al sustained th ir nation character , though c Ma cDon not with their usual suc ess , the na lds on the left s eemed uncertain whether e ul wa s th y wo d atta ck or not . It in vain e Lord G orge Murray ca lled out to them , ‘ ’ u Claymore, telling the m rmurers of this haughty tribe ‘that if they behaved with their usual valor they would convert the left into the right and that he would in fu ’ e Ma cDonnald tur call himself . It was

' equally in vain that the gallant Keppoc h few a charged with a of his ne r relations , e whil his Clan, a thing before unheard of, i a rema ned st tionary . ! The Chief wa s near the front of the e e wa s in n my and exclaim g, with feelings ‘ n d that can ot be appreciate , My God, have ’ the children of my tribe forsaken me ! At c that instant he re eived several shots , a l which closed his e rth y account , leaving him only time to a dvise his favorite nephew m to shift for hi self . 1 8 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

The three regiments Of the M a cDon na lds were by this time aware of the rout e of their right wing, and retreat d in good o order upon the sec nd line . A body of cavalry from the right of the King ’ s army was comm anded to attack them on their re ﬁr treat, but was checked by a e from the e who to t French pick ts , advanced suppor M a cDonna l s h m the d . At t e sa e moment another decisive advantage was gained by ’ the Duke s army over the Highland right wing . A body of horse making six hundred e cavalry, with thr e companies of Argyle e e e a shire Highland rs , had b en d t ched to take poss ession Of the Park walls ; the three compa nies of infantry had pulled down the east wall of the inclosure and put to the sword about a hundred of the insurgents to e whom its defens had been assigned . They

then demolished the western wall , which e o p rmitted the drago ns , by whom they were d e accompanie , to ride through the inclosur

and g et out upon the open mo-or to the west e ward , and form so as to threaten the r ar ’ e i and ﬂank of the Prince s s cond l ne . ! Abb a chie a Gordon of , with his Lowl nd e i e wa s r d Aberdeenshir reg m nt, orde e to ﬁ l re upon these cava ry, which he did with ff some e ect . The Campbells then lined the north wall of the inclosure and commenced

20 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

And in conclusion, in his di scussion of e this battle, its caus s and its results , Sir ! Walter Sco tt wrote Looking at the e whole in a general point of view, ther can be no doubt that it presents a dazzling pic

ture to the imagination , being a romance of al e re life, equal in spl ndour and interest to e ﬁ any which could be d vised by ction . A e primitive peopl , residing in a remote quar ter of the empire and thems elves but a

small portion of the Scottish Highlanders , fearlessly attempted to place the British Crown on the head of the last scion of those ancient kings whose descent was traced to own o n their m u tains . ! This gigantic ta sk they undertook in

Of - d favor a youth of twenty one, who lande on their shore without support of any kind

and threw himself on their generosity. They assembled an army in his behalf with o f men unaccustomed to arms , the amount the most efﬁcient part of which never ex c eeded two thousand ; they defeated two disciplined armies commanded by ofﬁcers e of experience and reputation, penetrat d

deep into England , approached within ninety miles of the capital , made the Crown ’ e tremble on the King s head, and wer only suppressed by concurrent di sadvantages which it was impossible for human nature The Life of General Hugh Mercer 21

l n . u a to surmou t It is , therefore, nat r that thi s civil strife shoul d have been long the e chosen them of the poet, the musician, and ” the novelist . hi s In ﬂight, the Pretender was like a e un Ma cDon har h ted by hounds . Flora na ld hi s ur , a Scottish maiden, foiled p suer s ; and at length he rea ched France in e o saf ty. His loyal and loving foll wers e found refuge in any way possible , hunt d do e ed a . wn, mercil ssly butcher when c ught The terrible tragedy of the battle was as nothi ng compared to the butchery of these fugitives by the relentless and implacable e Duke of Cumb rland . Historians may dif fer as to the right and righteousness of the cause of Prince Charles Edward . None uk um can deny that William, D e of C ber in land , has rightly written his name as e famous by his treatment of the fallen fo . Campbell swee tly though sadly sang of Culloden :

hi Lochiel , Loc el, beware of the day When the Lowlands shall meet thee in battle array ; For a ﬁeld of the dead rushes red on my

sight, And the Clans of Cull oden are scattered in

ﬂight . 22 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

f or They rally, they bleed, their kingdom an d crown ; woe Woe , to the riders that trample them

down .

For dark and despairing my sight I may

seal, But man cannot cover what God would reveal ; ’ Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical e lor , And comi ng events cast their shadows

before . I n ’ tell thee, Cullode s dread echoes shall ring With the bloodhounds that bark for their in fugitive k g. ‘ CHAPTER II

HA ING l v , as has been before stated, fal en under the shadow of a great sorrow by the he l disastrous ending of t Battle of Cu loden,

’ and having eluded the vigilance of the min ! ”

od . ions of the Blo y Butcher, Dr Hugh e fall ' of 1 746 M rcer, in the the year , em a t Am few barked Leith for erica , landing a e e e hi He we ks th reafter at Philad lp a . did e not remain long, howev r, in that city, but made his home on the wes tern borders of the e wa s State of Pennsylvania , n ar what a s now e e then known Greencastle , M rc rs e hi s burg . And for some years h practised e wa s prof ssion as a physician and, what e customary in those days , as an apoth cary . e e e In that th n spars ly settl d section, the e e o e e t rritory ov r which he r d , disp nsing e the e was calom l and using lanc t, very h e large . Among t e varied experi nces of hi li e e d t s eventful and heroic f , non prove more helpful and beneficial than the ardu e fi e e un oc ous , uns l sh y ars sp nt as a co try d tor in Colonial times on the frontier of civi lisation nn r in Pe sylvania, a profession fo 23 24 The Life of General Hugh Mercer which he was well fitted by education and ni the i eu trai ng, and by h gh qualities of u F r durance , patience , skill and co rage . o ’ the country doctor s life of that day needed of d of all the strength bo y and brain, the e steadfast will and tirel ss energy . It was a wild an d busy life in an unsettled region of scattered homes ; distance and danger were e daily encount red, for the Indians still hov th i ered upon e frontier, and l fe and liberty were Often impe riled by their unexpec ted attacks . To this s tran ge chance of fate and for

- l tune came the soldier surgeon of Cu loden , and here he li ved and labored for many u years , amid privation and peril, da ntless o o and dev ted ; friend, healer, c unsellor, benefactor to all withi n the circle of his far - reaching mini stry of comfort and cure — How the country doctor of the p a st . shall we picture a life, a man , so worthy of repro duction and remembrance !

God gives to every man

The virtue, temper, understanding, taste , a nd t That lifts him into life, le s him fall ﬁll Just in the niche he has ordained to .

Known to all the inhabitants of the re n un c gio ro d about, loved and wel omed The Life of General Hugh Mercer 25

e o everywher , believed in and l oked up to who nl as one not o y healed the sick, but one who e e the str ngth ned weak, comforted the e hee w ary, and c red the sorrowing, Hugh ’ M er cer s life as a country doctor day by

l e- a ﬁ e day in active duty, with sadd b gs ll d

i d e Old- w th reme i s for human ills , the fash ioned medicines and the ever - ready lancet o e for blo dl tting, was a splendid prepara tion for the hardshi ps and privations he wa s e e o in the futur call d up n to endure . A

’ e e lif of hardship nnobled by duty well done,

- s a riﬁ e and consecrated by self c c . wa s It a rough school , but a thorough one, in which the country doctor learned f he o a mi the lessons O life . As r de d the i forest solitudes , vigilant , alert , or v sited the waiting homes to whi ch his presence hi s brought succor and relief, memories of the e e s past m rged in duti s of the pre ent , with only faith and fortitude as guides e upon the way, his life might have se med ul unsatisfying to a nature less hopef , less e Al l h roic . honor to this man , and the f many like him , whose daily round o sym pathetic toil is brightened by the approval of hi s conscienc e and the benedictions of ’ suffering humani ty . The country doctor s lasting monument lives in the hearts that loved and reverenced him ; and no higher 26 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

tribute to his memo ry can be written than the tender and inspiring words of heavenly ‘ was recognition and reward, I sick and ye ” visited me .

wa s hi - It a story making era , that of the — ’ year of 1 755 the time of Braddock s di s e astrous def at by the French and Indians , hi e in s att mpt to capture Fort Duquesne . There and then George Washi ngton ’ s e ee e spl ndid car r b gan, and there Mercer made his ﬁrst public and prominent a p p ea ran ce as a Captain in the ill - fated army

of Braddock, conspicuous for his bravery e 9 1 755 on the memorabl July , , of which ! has been said, The Continentals gave the ” nl o y glory to that humiliating di saster . ! t ” ! i His ory, says another, furn shes few pages so replete with instances Of ofﬁcial incompetence and consequent failure as e e that xp dition , yet in the list of its Colo the Of nial heroes , name Hugh Mercer ” n stands ever bright . In this engageme t, e Mercer was s everely wound d ; and, having been left behind by his own army in its

- e panic stricken ﬂight, aft r a perilous tramp e re through a trackless wild, he at l ngth joined his comrades and again commenced the work of healing the sick at hi s old 10 ca lit y . The Indians with their French allies be

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 27

coming very aggres sive and warlike , its residents for s elf- protection formed them s elves into military assoc iations of whi ch

Colonel Armstrong wa s made Commander . In one of these companies Hugh Mercer wa s made Captain . His commission as e 1 756 wa s such is dat d March , , and he given e e t to the sup rvision of a very larg erri ry, ’ with Bridgeport (then called McD owell s e Fort) as his headquart rs . During all this time he practised as a physician among the people and as surgeon d to the garrison . In one of these In ian ﬁghts he wa s again wounded and aban doned hi s e o e to fo s . Cl sely pursu d by his ” e e e e savag foes , says a v ry int r sting his ‘ he a torian, providentially found a pl ce of the e safety in hollow trunk of a tr e, around which the Indians rested and discussed the e a hi m the prosp ct of sc lping in near future . e e he When they had taken their d partur , took out in another direc tio n and com ” pletely outwitted them . Sick with his wounds and worn out with his recent strug e of gles , he began a lon ly march over a hun n e e dred miles through an u brok n for st . To e e d sustain exist nc , he was compelle to live of e on roots and herbs , the carcass a rattl snake proving his most nourishi ng and pal t le ﬁ c e d r s ab meal . He nally suc e de in e 28 The Life of General Hugh Merc er

m um joining his co mand at Fort C berland . He was in command of one of the c om panics which captured an Indi a n settle e 1 56 wa m nt at Kittanning in 7 , but s again ni e wounded . In recog tion and appr ciation e ﬁ ff of his servic s , sacri ces and su erings in f these Indian wars , as well as his deeds o o daring, the C rporation of Philadelphia presented him with a note of thanks and a d e al splen id memorial m d . Mercer wa s plac ed in command of the garrison at Shippensburg in the summer of 1 57 he 7 , and was promoted to t rank of Ma jor in December of that year , and placed in command of the forces of the provinc e of

Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna . In 1 758 he that year , , was in command of a part of the expedition of General Forbes against Fort Duquesne . Whether Hugh Mercer met George Washington at Bra d ’ e r e dock s d feat , or at the headqua t rs of the

Forbes expedition against Fort Duquesne , there seems to be some conﬂict of opinion and statement among his biographers . The time and place of that meeting is of no very e b e material moment . One thing se ms to e e absolutely certain, that th y did me t , and an attachment sprang up between them

e . which lasted as long as M rcer lived And, t m e fur her, that as a result of that e ting and The Life of General Hugh Merc er 29

that attachment, on the advice and at the ! n b e suggestion of Washington, Virgi ia e the e cam home of Hugh Merc r, and the

State of Pennsylvania lost him as a citizen . CHAPTER HI

SOME TIME after the end of the French Indian wars on the western borders of i e Pennsylvan a . Hugh M rcer moved to e Fred ricksburg, Virginia ; and during his residence in that town another Scotchman

- one lived there , a fellow citizen, whose ! e e o s nam was destin d to go d wn the age , ”— sung by poets and sages John Pa ul Jone-s ! John Paul had only one home in

America , and that was Fredericksburg . ' e ul Ther his brother, William Pa , lived and e died . Th re he lies buried . It was while John Paul was in Fredericksburg that he J am e added ones to his n , and from there he went forth as a Lieutenant of the Con tinen a l t Navy . These two illustrious

Scotchmen , Hugh Mercer and John Paul e Jones , no doubt Oft n met and talked of the land of their birth b eyond the seas . o Both , h wever , became illustrious in the cause of the Colonies in their struggle to b e free from the domi nation of Great Brit ain, even though Scotland was one of its o s constituent territ rie . In Fredericksburg, 30 The Life of General Hugh Mercer 31

Mercer commenced the practice of hi s pro

” fes s ion as a p hysician , his residence for a number of years being a two - story frame house on the corner of Princess Ann and e ffi Am lia streets . His o ce and apothecary shop was located in the building now stand ing at the corner of Main a nd Amelia e stre ts . An English traveller in 1 784 published an account of a visit that he had made to Fred ericksb ur g during the Revolution, and made this statement ! I arrived in Fredericksburg and put up a n ee at inn kept by one W don, who is now ffi e an a general o cer in the Am ric Army, and who wa s then very active and zealous in me blowing the fla s of sedition . In Fred eri cksb ur e g , I call d upon a worthy and inti e e a mate fri nd, Dr . Hugh Merc r, physician e e of great emin nc and merit, and , as a man, possessed of almost every virtue and a c c m lis n e e o p hm e t . Dr . M rcer was aft rwards

- the Am Brigadier General in erican Army, to acc ept of whi ch appointment I have r ea son to believe he was greatly inﬂuenced by e he Gen ral Washington, with whom had been long in intimacy and bonds of friend M e ship . For Dr . ercer was g nerally of a just and moderate way Of thinking and pos sessed of liberal sentiments and a g eneros 32 The Life of General Hugh Mercer ity of principle very uncommon among ” e d those with whom he mbarke . T he in to which this traveller referred ‘ ” was The Rising Sun Tavern, now stand

ing on upper Main Street ; and Weedon, who he said was actively engaged in blow

o Wa s - in ing the ﬂames of sediti n, brother s n law of Mercer . This intensely loyal o of Grea t Britain wa s evidently a great a d mirer of Hugh Mercer ; while he chara cter ised the s o - called disloyal colonist as want

ing in that generosity. of principle with en which Mercer, he said, was greatly o d wed . Life in the quiet town of Fredericksburg

during these years was uneventful . Mer cer pursued the even tenor of hi s way as a e country doctor , always a welcom guest in the hospitable homes of its people ; he a t

4 . h of . . tended t e meetings Lodge No , A F M A . . , of which he and George Washing e ton w re members , and occasionally paid a visit to the future ! Father of his Country ”

at Mount Vernon . 1 775 o Some time in the spring of , a h rse man suddenly dashed up the quiet stree ts of his town with the startling news that Vir ’ ni G e gi a s Royal overnor, Dunmor , at Wil iamsb ur e e l g , the capital , had r mov d the Colonial store of gunpowder from the mag

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 33

the - f— azine to British man o war Magdalen . This tyranni cal and aggressive act upon the part of Dunmore only intensified the ' mut tering s of discontent already existing in the e e the e colony, and add d fu l to flam s e ni s e that wer already bur ng . Me seng rs were at once di spatched to the adjoining e e counti s urging d cisive action , and the e hors men and footmen came pouring in . A e e d a m eting was th n calle , and an organiz tion pe rfected of which we have thi s rec ord : ! Election of officers of minutem en and for e regulars Carolin , Spotsylvania , King e e a ff n G org and St ord counties , Virgi ia , e e 1 2 1 5 the S pt mber , 77 . At a meeting of s elect committee for the di strict of t his o n es ff c unty, the cou ti of Caroline , Sta ord, ni the l King George and Spotsylva a, fol ow ing officers were elected — e o Minutemen Hugh M rcer , Col nel ;

e e e en - e Mord cai Buckn r, Li ut ant Colon l ;

b . Ro ert Johnson , Maj or ! a — For Spotsylvani L e w i s Willis , leﬁel e George Stubb d and Oliv r Towles , e a Captains ; Rob rt Carter P ge, Larkin e e e e Ch w, Francis Taliaf rro , Li ut nants ; e Henry Bartl tt , Robert Dudley and Wins ”

low . Parker, Ensigns ! ’ And Mercer s Minutemen commenced 34 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

the march to Williamsburg . Before pro c eedin g very far, it is said that George Ma son and others urged them to rec onsider and wait for further and fuller information and not to act too hastily ; and the coo ler

counsels of these advisers prevailed . Of o e this , Alexander Sp tswood , in a l tter to e a 30 1 7 5 G orge W shington of date April , 7 , wrote : ‘ I am extremely glad to inform you that after a long debate it was agreed that we

should not march to Williamsburg .

Four days later , George Washington set out from Moun t Vernon for the Continen The un tal Congress . abandonment of the derta king may have been brought ab out by the n e e want of ammunitio , as M rc r wrote 25 1 5 to Washington on April , 77 ! We are not sufﬁciently supplied with powder ; it may be prope r to request of the gentlemen who join us from Fairfax and Prince W illiam to come provi ded with an

e - ov r prop ortion of that article . u e Ret rning to the town , th y appointed a Committee of Safety an d adopted a set of resolutions in which they pledged their s a cred honor to resist all attempts against e o e their rights and lib rties , fr m what ver il e e quarter they might be assa d, and agr ed the to be in readiness to defend the laws , The Life of Genera l Hugh Mercer 35 liberties and the rights of this or any sister colony from unjust an d wicked invasion by ! e G od e forc of arms , concluding with, sav ” he i Am e im t l berties of rica . It is cla ed that this D ec laration is prior in time to e r that of Meckl nburg, North Ca olina , as it is to that of the Continental Congress at hi d P la elphia . A thoughtful writer deﬁnes hi story ! ” e as philosophy teaching by xample . If h b e o e n t is so , hist ric Fr dericksburg ra ks high in the rdle of great names and great e he m en e hi d eds . Of t who mad our story e r the in Colonial days , b fo e and during e e ﬁ Revolutionary War , many w re id nti ed to with that old town , visited there , met gether in friendly convers e or earnest coun s el e the , and discuss d grave questions of — ’ the hour England s oppr essive measure s the e n e e and r sista c of the Coloni s , the ri e the e e ghts involv d , lib rti s invaded, and the e e e crisis in vitabl . Georg Washington wa s often there ; Fredericksbur g wa s the e e ed hom of his moth r . Hugh Mercer liv e e M e law ther as a physician ; Jam s onro , y er (who later led the advance of the American s in the battle of Trenton and a f rw rds e e o e te a becam Pr sident) , als resid d he M e hi e us t re ; John ar shall , aft rward C f J

' tice, and George Mason of Gunston Hall , The Life of General Hugh Mercer

e l aders of thought, patriots of action, all found Fredericksburg a pleasant and con venient s a meeting place in tho e d ys , omi nous of threateni ng stri fe and deadly con ﬂi ct.

e 1 7 4 In S ptember , 7 , the General Con l hi gress of the Co onies met in Philadelp a , the ass embled delegates repres enting the e e the e d an d b st and wis st, most d termine m en patriotic of the land . Peyton Ran e dolph , of Virginia, was chos n president ; and a declaration of rights and a series of ! r esolutions were adopted which for solid oni of wi ity of reas ng, force sagacity , and s ” dom of conclusion have never b een ex e The e on 26th cell d . session nded the of wa s e e a n October , and it r comm nded that 1 r s ee 7 5. other Cong e s m t in May, 7 The

- wa r cloud was lowering . 1 775 the o In March , , Virginia Conventi n ’ e e ass mbl d in St . John s Church , Richmond, ’ a e e and Patrick Henry s m gnetic loqu nce , ! his splendid rallying cry of Lib erty or ” e e e d ath , stirr d all h arts to decision and m o action . During these onths of hesitati n, e e anxi ty, possible compromis , yet contin e we can e ued aggr ssion , imagin this group of patriots in Fredericksburg keenly alive to the hazardous trend of public a ﬁ a irs whi ch culmi nated in open hos tilities at Lex The Life of General Hugh Mercer 37 in ton o The ta v g and Conc rd . Rising Sun ern wa s then the centre of public entertain e e eo e m nt ; and its g nial host was Mr . G rg e who e e W edon, aft rwards becam a Major e er he e The G n al in t Contin ntal Army . c n 1 nn o osy apartme ts of the , its bright wo d ﬁre m t oun in s and co for able surr dings , duced good fellowship and free exchange of i The e n o ee r opin ons . r was n d of a gument , e e as all w re tru patriots . It was surely as picturesque a scene as hi story ever painted — ‘ thos e m en in conversation at the Rising ” ! e M er Sun Washington , wis and calm ;

e -r cer, with patriotic pow r and battle memo ies surging in his heart ; imp etuous Paul e e e he M e Jon s , ag r for t fray ; young onro , summing up the wrongs of the Colonies , re e e e M the and ady to av ng th m ; arshall , e r e the e c e l a n d jurist, gr at advo at of jus e e r e one o f the tic , and G o g Mason , great l h o r h e m ig ts of hist y, w ose g nius illu inated he e e t caus and stablished its principles . we n ot s ee e e m en s e Can th m all , gr at , who e e e i e n e a re xampl liv s st ll , whos am s blaz ! ” l - h i oned on the ro l call of t e mmortals . M a h o she d adam W s ingt n , as was calle , lived not far from the Rising Sun tavern and would have enjoyed the e arnes t dis eussions therein (whi ch no doubt George r her o repo ted to ) , as her sterling g od sense 38 The Life of General Hugh Mercer and keen observation made her opinions of d e e deci ed weight and inﬂu nc . e After the r moval of the powder , above e e e ﬁ ref rr d to , the n ws of unjusti able acts of aggression by the Crown in other Colo e nies cam thick and fast . Events with startling rapidity followed one after a n o e other . Conc rd and L xington had b een ’ heard from ; Virginia s Patrick Henry had uttered the words tha t were heard around the world ; a nd the Revolution was ina ug u

ee e e e e . rated . Thr r gim nts w re form d e H nry was made Colonel of the First , elected over Hugh Mercer by one vote in a contest for the colonelcy . William Woodford of Caroline County the r became Colonel of Second , and Me cer, the e of Colonel of Third Regim nt, which his

- in - e Lieuten brother law, We don , was the — ant Colonel ; and Thomas Ma rshall o f Fau uier the M q County, father of John arshall e r f e who aft rwa ds became Chie Justic , was i e h . t e Major About th s tim , Mercer , who m i e M e da u h had arr d iss Isab lla Gordon , g e e ter of John Gordon, r sid d in what is ! ” he e - o known as T S ntry Box , on l wer e e hi Main Stre t , a hous w ch is still in good e condition and well pres rved . The election of Mercer to the colonelcy of this Third Regi ment was a veritable case

40 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

1 55 in the French and Indian War of 7 . It n o h m en is wonder t at , with so much at e e stak , should have hesitated to plac in comm and of their entire fo rces a ma n of e e n no military xp rience (Patrick He ry) , e e howev r great his abiliti s as a civilian .

The. ﬁ e 41 rst ballot stood for Hugh M rcer , e 40 for e for Patrick H nry , Thomas N lson 8 f r 1 o o . , and William W odford The s econd ballot between the two high est e e in e e r r sult d the lection of Mr . H n y, although M ercer and Woodford were ofﬁ er e e o c s of exp ri nce and ability . N thing but the conviction o f the maj ority that the e hi m e M r e qualiti s w ch ad . H nry a great political leader would also make him a go od Colonel can explain their action in prefer ring him (Patrick Henry) as the Comm an

- - es M er der in Chief of the Virginia forc . c er was objec ted to for being a North r hi B iton . In answer to t s obj ection it was e was o admitted that Merc r born in Sc tland, but that he came to America in hi s early years and had constan tly resided in it from his ﬁrst coming over ; that his family and all his other connec tions were in this c ol ony ; that he had uniformly di stingui shed hims elf as a warm and ﬁrm frien d of the rights of Am erica ; and what was a princi s pal consideration , that he po sessed great The Life of General Hugh Mercer 41

military as well as literary abilities . Mr . ’ Nelson acknowledged M ercer s mi litary s abilitie , declared he would not oppose his e h he hi appointm nt , and hoped t at mself

o . o would not be v ted for . Mr Wo dford , who wa s not at that time a member o f the e o e M er Conv ntion , sp k much in favor of e he to cer, d claring that was willing serve u b e ﬁne nder him , as he knew him to a fﬁ o cer . ‘ ’ Mercer s election is thus recorded in the proceedings of the Virgini a Conven

s 1 0 1 776 Conven Wedne day, January , , tion proceeded by ballot to the appointment e the e im e a nd of a Colon l of Third R g nt , there wa s a ma j ority of the whole Conven

‘ in fa vor e e e o e tion of Hugh M rc r . R s lv d , e e e the M e e b e th r for , that said Hugh rc r ” o ed of the h e e app int Colonel T ird R gim nt . When the C ommittee of Safety heard of ’ e e e e M rc r s appointm nt , it pass d these reso lutions The m e e e co mitte of the county, to xpr ss their approbation of the app ointment of e Col . Mercer, and to pay a tribut justly due to the noble and patriotic conduct which that gentleman ha s uniformly pur sued since the commencement of our dis

putes with the Mother Country, which was 42 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

on so strikingly displayed that occasion , entered into the following resolve :

R es olved nk , That the tha s of this com mittee b e presented to Colonel Hugh M er c er - in - e , Commander Chi f of the Battalion of Minute M en in the District of this e Sta f County, and the counties of Carolin , e e ford , and King G orge ; xpressing the high s ense of the importance of his appointment a an d e e to th t station, our acknowledg m nts of his public spirit in sacriﬁcing his pri vate interest to the s ervice of his Country . ” L ! I K A E ANDER D C , Clerk .

of And Colonel Mercer , at the head his ﬁfe e regiment , with his and drum , march d e away from his adopted Virginia hom , bid

- to e e ding good by his wif , childr n , and friends whom God ordained and the ” e e fates d cre d he should never , in this world, see again . CHAPTER IV

COLONEL MERCER was ordered at once to — r epo r t to Williamsburg then the capital of — Virginia where there was a considerable e e e ncampm nt of troops . A writ r in a very old p eri o dical gives us an interesting a c c of e e e e ount M rc r whil ther , from which we quote ! The commencement of the American Revolu tion found him in the midst of an e en i xt s ve medical practice , surrounded by ff n e e e o i a ectio at fri nds , and nj y ng in the bosom of a happy fami ly all the comforts o f i l a e soc al life . Stimu t d to action o by a lofty spirit of patri tism, he b r oke fr om the endearments of do m es tic e hi s lif , and gave to country in that tryin g ho ur the energy and r esou rc es of a practiced and accomplished e 1 7 5 he o soldi r . In 7 was in c mmand of hre r en e m en t e egim ts of minut , and early in 1 6 e ﬁn ea e d 71 w d him z lously ngage , as f he ni l Colonel o t Army of Virgi a , in dri ling and o rganizin g the raw and ill - formed am s masses of men who , under the varied n e 43 44 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

e of sons of liberty, minutem n, volunteers , e e e and l vies , p r s nted the bulk without the r e the m ob the o d r , without discipline, of T edi e an army . o produce ob nce and subo r dina tion among men who had entered into the wa r unpaid and unres tricted by n u comma d , was a severe and invidio s task .

The e - courage , the fortitud , the self pos session o f Colonel Mercer quai led not at e e t he th se advers circumstances , and, by judicious exercis e of mingled severity and he ee e kindness , soon succ ded in r ducing a e e mutinous soldi ry to compl te submission . Tradition has preserved the following an ec dote u e , ill strating, in a striking mann r, his characteristic promptitude an d brav ery Among the troops which arrived at Wil liam s bur the e ni g , then m tropolis of Virgi a , was a company of riﬂemen from beyond he a t mountains , commanded by Capt in Gib n son . A reckless insubordi ation and a vio l ent opposition to milita ry restraint had gained for this corps the sarcastic name of ! ’ ” ! e e Gibson s Lambs . Th y had not be n long in camp before a mutiny aro se among e e th m , producing much excitem nt in the the army, and alarming the inhabitants of all e ed city . Freed from command, th y roam The Life of General Hugh Mercer 45

through the camp , threatening with instant death any ofﬁcer who would presume to ex c ro r e ise autho ity over them . In the h ight of the rebellion an officer was dispatched with the alarming tidings to the quarters e e The he of Colon l M rcer . citizens of t town vainl y implored him not to risk his life and e h i p rson amid t is nfuriated mob . ec e R kless of personal saf ty, he instantly repaired to the barracks of the mutinous e er ra band , and directing a g n al pa de of the ’ n troops , he ordered Gibso s company to be ffe e drawn up as o nd rs and violators of law, e e and to be disarmed in his pr senc . The ringleaders were placed under a strong e e the guard , and in the pres nc of whole army he addressed the offenders in an elo e e e quent and f eling mann r , impr ssing on e e e a nd th m th ir duties as citiz ns soldiers , and the certa in ty of dea th if they continued to dis obey their officers and remained in e that mutinous spirit , qually disgraceful to them and hazardous to the sacr ed interests e wa s they had marched to defend . Disord r i e er h nstantly check d , and , aft a s ort con ﬁnem ent e e e e e , thos und r imprisonm nt w r released ; the whole company wa s ever after as exemplary in deportmen t and conduct as any tro op in the army . 5 1 776 wa s d On June , , Mercer promote 46 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

and made a Brigadier - General in the Con tinenta l the o Army, of which f llowing cor respondence gives evidence

Pre sident of Congress to General M er hi 6 1 6 I 77 . : cer, P ladelphia , June , Sir am direc ted by Congress to inform you that they yesterday appointed you a Brigadier General in the armies of the United Colo e e ni s , and that they request you will imm dia tely on receipt hereof s et out for head quar ters at New York ; for which purpos e I am commanded to forward you this by e y ou e h e expr ss . Should tak P ilad lphia in wa I m e the your y , must beg you will do e hl favor to call at my hous , as it is hig y probable I shall have som ething in charge from C ongr ess ready for you at that time . I do mys elf the pleasure to enclos e your e the b e commi ssion ; and hav honor to , sir , ! Your most ob edient and very humble s ervant

K e e . J . HANCOC , Pr sid nt

- e e To Brigadier General M rc r, Vir ” ginia .

1 6 1 5 77 . Williamsburg, June , Sir : I had the honor yesterday to re

the 6th . e ceive your letter of inst , tog ther wi th a commission , appointing me a Briga

48 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

ee e had b n l ft in the hands of the British . Washington slowly withdrew from New

e di i J rsey, stubbornly sputing every eﬁ ort to bring on an engagement ; he crossed the D elaware ; as the Royalists approa ched he retreated ; at last he took refuge beyond e that riv r , and for a distance of many miles he withdrew all the boats on its shores to k e to e rn a l its right ban , in ord r imp de Co w a e e lis in c s he att mpted to cross . The army m of the Colonists was poorly clad , any of e o h them bar f oted ; wit out tents , with few blankets , and very scantily fed, they were confronted by Cornwallis with a splendidly e and quipped army, well provisioned clothed . The British Hessians were then in pos session of Trenton , and had to a large ex tent the practical control of the State of e o e New Jers y . Sir William H we boast d that Philadelphia would fall when the Del e e aware b came froz n . At this critical junc e on i t tur , Christmas n ght , Washing on crossed the Delaware amid a blinding storm c e of snow and sleet . His passage be am ice the much impeded by ﬂoating , but with ” ! e rallying cry of Victory or d ath , he executed that brilliant movement on De er 26 hi e c emb , at Trenton , w ch caus d the loyal though much depressed pa The Life of General Hugh Mercer 49 triots to renew thei r fa s t~wa s ting cour a e g .

- — i By this coup de main , Wash ngton cap tured in the battle fought in Trenton ab out one one thousand stands of arms , thousand e i prison rs , and many stores of ammun tion , with a large amount of provisions and Thi n of ten clothing . s , with a bou ty dol l to e e r d ars in gold his troop rs , r sto e fresh c fi e e file e on d nc in his rank and , and caus d the Continentals whos e term of enl istment wa s about to expire to remain under the n ew flag of the Colonists for some weeks i longer . For this br lliant victory b isto ri one o e e o ans , with acc rd, giv cr dit and gl ry

e e hi s e - de to M rc r . Major Armstrong, aid e ofﬁ camp , who was pres nt at a council of h M e e the cers , and who was wit rc r at cross in e is r for the g of the D laware , autho ity statement that M ercer suggested this ex edi tion p , fraught with so much peril and

uncertainty . e e G n ral Howe , who was amazed at ’ h e n e Was ington s intr pid bold ss , and e e e m e stunn d by his gr at succ ss , im ediat ly o rdered C ornwallis by a forced march to e o ﬁve stop this onward advanc . Ab ut thou m en re d T o e sand we pushe to rent n, whil a larger body of m en wa s held in res erve ; and on January 2d they m et the advance 50 The Life of Genera l Hugh Mercer line of the Continental Army at Laurens

. o ville The British dr ve them back, and e about sunset of that day r a ched Trenton . ul he Washington , having caref ly guarded t e u e o ford and bridge , dr w p his army b y nd the A s s a n enk e p . This skirmish c aus d a e e gr at loss in kill d and wounded, and the fate of the strugglin g Colonies was held r e in e rnwa l t mblingly the balanc . Had Co lis forced the ﬁght that night with his vastly e e e sup rior and much b tt r equipped troops , it is possible that the fate of the Colonists e s c a l He d would hav been ed . was urge to r e make the attack, but fused , giving as an the ue excuse fatig of his troops , saying ! that he had the Old fox just where he wanted him , and would catch him in the ” e morning, a morning which nev r came to ! ” him , so far as catching the old fox was concerned . Washington was now confronted with The o great peril . army of C rnwallis in a r e front and the Delaware in the re r, treat wa s impossible ; an open engagement wa s nearly certain to result in defeat ; and de feat a t this pivotal point in the life of the Colonies meant the destruction of their government and death to their hope for that liberty for which they longed a nd had suffered an d sacriﬁced so much . At a coun The Life of General Hugh Mercer 51

’ cil of wa r held in General Mercer s head u r er ha h the e q a t s t t nig t, d termination and decision wa s reached to withdraw the Con tinenta l f o rces from in front of the enemy a n d g o around him and atta ck the detach ment then at Princeton ; for by the Provi dom e God the r of , roads we e made pass e b e n e o r e o abl y b i g froz n, lse such a peril us exp edition could not have been aecom lish d p e . The pickets of the two armies were with h n re r of one e in two u d d ya ds anoth r, and n re le A s s a n enk o ly a small st am , cal d the p , w s e h e a b tween t em . In ord r to deceive the ene e ﬁre wa s my, a long lin of kept up ’ in Washingt on s front while his army wa s l on wa n e slow y its y to Pri c ton , and thus ! ” e e e the e e e d c iv d , n my sl pt . The old fox ha d e escap d , as Cornwallis , much to his dis in the may, found morning . A woman guided the Continental Army on that march b es et with so many perils ff e ! Her o and di iculti s . A woman l yalty, her e o her ﬁ e her ff d v tion , sacri c , and su er ings fo r the ca us e of the Colony have given h e e e and s all v r giv her all honor, praise, and gratitude . Washington passed s a fely aroun d the o f e e e e M e post G n ral L sli at aid nhead , but hi s pr ogress wa s so slow that it wa s sun 52 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

o rise when he reached Stonybr ok, about two e e mil s from Princ ton . He formed hi s the a e ee column at Qu k r m ting house, which

e e e c t . is still well pr s rv d , at Prin e on The van and rearguard was compos ed of Con tinenta l soldiers who had bared their br easts to many a storm of shot and shell ; the center was compos ed of troops who e e ﬁ e ﬁ w r rst baptiz d with re at Trenton . Washington ordered forward a detachment e e of about four hundred men under M rc r , i the ia e e consist ng of First Virgin R gim nt, ’ Shamwood s im Reg ent from Maryland, and ’ e e e e e i Colon l Hasl tt s D lawar R g ments , ’ l e e with Nea s Batt ry , to s ize a bridge at ’ M eta e e Worth s ill . This d chm nt march d to the left from the road that leads along o a b — the br ok, while Washington took y road the the e to right , in r ar of the Clark house ; e e this road led dir ctly to Princ ton . e e e the t the The S v nte nth , For ieth, and

- ﬁfth e m e e Fifty British r gi nts , and thre a o ha d e ni troo ps of Dr go ns , sl pt that ght at an d e e Princeton , had alr ady b gun their The t ha d march to Trenton . nigh been e was s e dark and dr ary , and the morning verely cold ; the S eventeenth Regiment hav c b e ing c ross ed the bridge, o cupied a hill yond it . ’ Mercer s presence wa s revealed at day

54 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

ea re p d in person , and taking in the situa ff hi tion of a airs at a glance , he waved s hat e hi and ch ered on his troops . Was ngton was now between the ﬁring lines of both ar mies , and was in great danger and great ’ l e f peril . Mou d r s Battery poured volley a o k e ter volley int the ran s of the en my, and e the ro ar of musketry follow d, as the brave Rhode I sla nders and the Virgini a S eventh i e swung, w th other Continentals , into lin , the e to e causing nemy br ak and ﬂy, fol lowed by victorious shouts from the Am er ican Army . the e a As smoke of battl cle red away, it e e revealed Washington unharm d . Colon l

his a - - e Fitzgerald, ide de camp , gallop d to ! a n k o his side d said , Than God, y ur excel ! ” leney is safe Washington replied, ! e Away, my d ar Colonel , and bring up the ” wn troops ; the day is our o .

The rout of the British was complete . M awhood escaped with some of his scat tered and shattered troo ps to Maidenhead . Some ﬂed up Stonybrook ; many were cap tured by a body of cavalry from Phi la del phia . e a h G neral St . Cl ir met on t is retreat the

Fifty- ﬁfth Regiment of British soldi ers and quickly put them to ﬂight ; a portion of the

Fortieth Regiment , which had not been in

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 55 the en gagement, took refuge in Nassau

n e . Hall , Pri c ton, and were captured h he 3 And t us on t morning of January , 1 777 the e wa s , Battl of Princeton , which of h r e re s ort du ation , but mom ntous of great sults o , was fought and won ; and the sh ut of victory that commenced there wa s n ot hushed until at Yorktown the end came a n end whi ch marks the begi nn ing of our e d R public, which is to ay the wonder of the world . It is needless and unneces sary in this bi og ra phy of General Mercer to recount the u r he e e f t r mov m nts , marches , and counter r e ma ch s of Washington and his army . In ! i e e r e th s battl G ne al Mercer, who se ms to have excited the br utality of the British by ” the hi s gallantry of resistance , was stabbed by their bayonets in s even different

of e . hi s parts his body, and they inﬂict d on head many blows with the butt - end of their muskets , only ceasing this butchery when e him they b lieved dead .

As soon after the battle as possible, Gen eral M ercer was removed to an a djacent

o . e farmh use , owned by Mr Clark, wh re r s e e M . Clark and her daught r t nderly e i nurs d him , being assisted by Major Lew s , who wa s delegated by General Washington to go there for that purpose . Dr . Rush, of The Life of General Hugh Mercer

a nd . e Philadelphia, Dr Archibald Al xan der , of Augusta County, Virginia, who was e n th n a surgeo of the Virginia troops , were ’ at Mercer s bedside doing everything pos sible to alleviate his sufferings,which were i e e e nt ns and acut . Their services and min i s tra tions i were without ava l, for on Janu 1 2 1 777 d ary , he die in the arms of Major The Lewis . angel of death wooed him to a di brighter and better land, and the recor ng ! angel wrote in the great book, Well done . He ha d willingly sacriﬁced hi s life for the o hi s libertie s of the pe ple of adopted land .

the s ca ﬁ old hi For whether on gh , ’ Or in the battle s van, The noblest death that man can die ” Is when he dies for man .

58 The Life of General Hugh M ercer

im gaged the Seventeenth Reg ent, under n Colonel Ha d, and endeavored by a right ’ movement to turn the enemy s left flank, ” etc . In this a fi a ir our numerical loss was in o —i e 30 c nsiderable t did not exc ed , and only 1 4 were buri ed in the field ; but it was of great magnitude in worth and talents .

Colonels Haslett and Porter, Major Morris , and Capt . Wm . Shippen were respected in their corps ; Captains Fleming a nd Neal presented fair promise of professional ex cellence ; but in General Mercer was lost a who e e c chief , for education, xperi n e, tal d ri ents , isposition , integrity and pat otism , was sec ond to no man but the Commander in - fi fill the s Chief, and was quali ed to highe t trusts of the country . The manner in which he was wounded is an evidence of the ex cess to which the common soldiery are li in l able the heat of action, especial y when l flicers irritated by the oss of favorite o . His wa n e e y bei g obstruct d , wh n advancing, by a post and rail fence in front of the or it um e e chard , may be pres d that the G neral o dismounted voluntarily, for he was on f ot e b e when the troops in the front hesitat d , ed a nd came confus , soon gave way, while the few regulars in the rear could not check the da s ta rdlv retreat . Ere the for The Life of General Hugh Mercer 59 tune of the day wa s chan ged and victory e e ! p rch d on the patriot standard, the heroic M e e e al rc r f ll . Rushing forward to r ly his e o brok n tro ps , and stimulating them by a nd e voice xample , his horse was shot from e he und r him, and fell , dangerously wound ed the um o f he an , among col ns t adv cing e e e in n my . B ing thus dismounted, he was s ta ntly surrounded by a number o f British o e e s him s ldi rs , with whom , when they r fu ed he e quarter , fought desp rately with drawn sword until he wa s completely overpow e e r d . Excited to bruta lity by the gallantry of his e e resistance , th y stabb d him with their bayonets in seven different parts of hi s body, and inflicted many blows on his head with the butt - ends of their muskets ; n o r did they cease their butchery un til they b elieved him to b e a crushed and ma ngled e corps . Nine days after the battle , he died the o e e in arms of Maj r Georg L wis , of the the e h of e e o army, n p ew G n ral Washingt n , whom the uncle had commissioned to wa tch over the last moments of his expiring rien e oo f d . His latt r hours were s thed by the skillful and affectionate attendance of i e he u . o d t disting sh d Dr Rush . He c mplaine a much of his he d, and frequently remarked ! to his surgeon that ther e was the princi ”

al . k p danger, and Dr Rush , in spea ing of The Life of General Hugh Mercer

’ s ff his patient su ering, always ascribed his death more to the blows on the head than to the bayonet wounds , although several of e e these w re att nded with extreme danger . In a small house not far distant from the

- red i a e a blood pla n of carn g and de th , but far away from the soothing consolations of a ﬂ ec ti on domestic , this distinguished mar ea d tyr of liberty br the his last . The mangled body was removed under a military escort from Princeton to Phila ff e delphia , and exposed a day in the Co e e i hous , w th the idea of exciting by that mournful spectacle the indignation of the eo The e a E v nin P os t p ple . P nnsylv nia e g r 1 8 1 777 e o for Janua y , , has thus r c rded his ! death and funeral obsequies Last Sun e e e day vening, died , n ar Princ ton , of the wounds he received in the engagement at 3 r n that place on the d insta t, Hugh Mercer,

e e - e the Esquir , Brigadi r G neral in Conti n n On d e ta l Army . Wednesday his bo y was brought to this city, and on Thursday bur ied on the south side of Christ Church , e Com with military honors , attend d by the i a e he of m ttee of S f ty, t members the As s embl y , gentlemen of the army, and a num ber of the most respecta ble inhabitants of t a e t this ci y . The uniform ch racter, xal ed an i of s r abilities , d intrepid ty thi illust ious The Life of General Hugh Mercer 61 officer will render his name equally dear to America ; with the liberty for which she is

now n e . contendi g, to the lat st posterity e o The battles of Tr nt n and Princeton, in which General Mercer fought and bled un to e er e e d ath , w the most brilliant and fortunat he W a r he e victories won in t of t R volution . The question of our independence was n ow e e no long r a matter of doubt . Gen ral Mer ’ er e o cer s elevated charact , lofty h r ism , and brutal murder excited a deep and affection a te o the e sympathy through ut all Coloni s . ‘ e e h in ofli cia l le e G n ral Was ington, an tt r to the o e l r e C ntin nta Cong ss , thus alluded to ’ e e M er e a rren e G n rals c r and Vt , C ongr ss 7 1 7 e o e having, on April , 77, r s lv d that a monument should be erected at Boston to the o e e e mem ry of G n ral Warr n , and one at Fred ericksburg to General Mercer ! The honors Congress has dec reed to the memory of Gen er als Warren and M er er fi h h h ea c a ord me t e ig est pl sure . Their character and fo rtitude ha d a just claim e e ec I e to very mark of r sp t , and h artily h e e ffi e o f the e e wish t at v ry o c r Unit d Stat s , e e a c emulating th ir virtues , may by th ir tions s ecure to thems elves the same right to r e of e the grateful t ibut s th ir country . 1 5 777 e On January , 1 , Washington wrot e e to Mr . Jos ph Re d 62 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

e y ou e M e Wh n see Gen ral ercer , b so good as to pres ent my b est wishes to him and congratulations (if the state of hi s health will admit of it) on his recovery e m a hi m from d ath . You y assure that nothing but the conﬁdent assertion to me e that he was either d ad , or within a few e of minut s dying, and that he was put into a s e e good a plac as I could r move him to , prevented his seeing m e after the action ” e and pursuit at Princ ton . When that l etter wa s written the hero of Princeton had passed to the Great Be

‘ u evidence a n e e yond . A f rther d xpr ssion of the high estimation in which General Mercer was held by Washington is found in a letter from the latter to General Liv in ston o e 6 g , dated fr m headquart rs , July , 1 6 5 ’ h 77 P . M . e e , o clock , in which wrot J eneral Mercer has just set o ff for Jar e sey . In his exp rience and judgment you ﬁ e He ro may repose great con d nce . will p coed to Amboy after conferring with you . You will pleas e to keep me constan tly in the e formed of the proceedings of nemy, and be assured of every assistance and a t ” tention . In the Journal of the Continental Con r 3 1 9 1 776 g ess for June and July , , what wa s known as the Flying Camp was The Life of General Hugh Mercer 63

u e constit t d of ten thousand men, to be put under the Command of such a Continental officer as General Washington should di r e a n e a d ct , d by his direction th y ssemble A at mboy, New Jersey, under the command e e e of G n ral M rcer . e e W s h G n ral a ington , in another letter to e er e ul 5 1 6 G n al Livingston , of dat J y , 77 , ! referr ing to M ercer said : His judgmen t ” and experience may be depended on ; and a 5 1 77 ff or on J nuary , 7 in his o icial rep t to r e the Cong ss , of Battle of Princeton, after describing the battle and the capture of

on er etc . c pris s , , he said This pie e of good fortune is counterbalanced by the loss ” the ra e e e c of b v and worthy G neral M r er . Nothing is needed further to show how the great Washing ton regarded Hugh Me-r cer to I ai , and this will add what was s d of him by Lafayette on his last visit to thi s c ountry . The conversation in a brilliant company turning on the prominent men of the Revo lution a him , one of the comp ny observed to h he e a wa s cour t at , G ner l Lafayette, , of se , a t recol acqu in ed with General Mercer, not looting that La fayette di d not arrive in the United States until after the Battle of ! ” l e n . Princ to Oh , no , said the Genera , n you know that Mercer fell in Ja uary, 64 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

1 777 , and I reached the United States in the ensuing spring ; but on my arrival I fo und the army and whole coun try s o full of his name that an impression has been always left on my mind since that I was e e him p rsonally acquaint d with . At Princeton the high tide of the Revolu e e tion was r ach d . Before then, gloom had e e s ttl d on the cause of the Colonies . The ! o e e o T ri s , with th ir I t ld you so , pre e e ef dicted and proph si d a humiliating d eat , and the loyal Colonists began to doubt and ai r e e the desp . Aft r that battl bright sun shine of hope s ettled on this fair land of ours , and from that point the army of Washington fought to conquer ; for the vic tory of Princeton not only encouraged the a nd doubting despairing rebels , as the Col onis ts were called , but it brought to them the recognition and alliance of France . e wa s e d That victory, howev r , d arly gaine , for ami dst the exultant charge of our vic torious legi ons could b e heard the dying groans of that pure patriot—the brave and gallant Mercer .

What death could ﬁner laurel buy ! What gr ander ending can there be Than for a noble man to die To help t o make his country free !

CHAPTER VI

ON Y 31 1 o JANUAR , 777 the C ntinental Congress passed the following resolution That a committee of four b e appointed to consider what honors a re due to the mem al M e who d ory of Gener rcer , die on the 1 2th e e e 3d instant, of wounds r c iv d on the ﬁ of the same month, in ghting against the e e n mies of American liberty, near Prince ” e o f mi e ton . The m mbers that com ttee w re He na rd the Hon . Messrs . Rush , y , Page , and 8 1 777 a S . Adams . On April , , th t com ! mittee reported That a monument be erected to the memory of General M ercer i at Fredericksburg, in the State of Virg nia , with the following inscription 66 The Life of General Hugh Mercer 67

Sacred to the memory of

HUGH MERCER ,

B rigadier- General in the Army of Th e United States . H e e the 1 2th r 1 777 di d on of Janua y, , of the wounds he received on the 3rd e of the sam month , e in Near Princ ton, New Jersey, Bravely defending the er i Am e Lib t es of rica . The o e the e s C ngr ss of Unit d State , In testimony of hi s virtues and their e gratitud ,

Have caused this monument to be erected .

o r the e how The rep t of committ e was ,

e e e e c e . v r , nev r xe ut d Under that resolu n en e e wh tion no mo um t was v r built ; y , no

on e . a e di knows N tions , lik some in viduals , e e soon forget . For mor than a c ntury did this Republic fail in its duty to the memo ry o f the M e e the gallant rc r . At last con e e e the e e of sci nc , as w ll as s ns justice , of he wa s r e e e a n t nation a ous d . H nc by a ct e e ne 28 1 902 the of Congr ss , approv d Ju , , resolution of 1 777 was directed by Congress e effe e e to be carri d into ct , and at Fr d ricks in the e of e burg, Stat Virginia, ther has been a monument erected to p erpe tuate the e e fam and name of Hugh Merc r . And it 68 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

! e we is well , l st forget, lest we fo rget . The same epitaph is engraved on this mon ument that was prescrib ed in the resolu 1 tions of 777. The City of Philadelphi a paid the memory of Mercer a great tribute i al by giving his rema ns a public funer , ai which it is s d people attended . He wa s buried in the graveyard of Christ 1 81 Church . In 7 his son visited his grave ; the —a M r e — a t old sexton . Doll y who had

e o f . e tend d the funeral the G neral , was e the ther alone . Under grass on the south side of the brick enclosure was found a n d plain and u adorned marble slab , inscribe ’1 Gl . G en e c M . In memory of Hugh M r er , e i e 3rd who f ll at Pr nc ton , January , ’ e e er r The St . Andr w s Soci ty aft ward e moved his remains to the Laurel Hill Ceme t ory and erected a monument to his mem edi e s ory, which was d cat d with impo ing e e e 26 ceremoni s on Thursday, Nov mb r , 1 840 ; on which occasion Wm . B . Reed ,

- ee Esq . , grandson of Adjutant General R d , the e ul a d of Revolution , deliv red a beautif

e e e e . dress . G n ral Merc r had join d the St ’ e e 1 5 a 7 7. Andrew s Soci ty in Philad lphi , in

he die um . On t front of this mon ent, etc , is the following inscription The o numen t to G en . Hu h encer at Fred ri k V M g M e c sb ur a . g ,

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 69

D edicated to the memory of

GENERAL HUGH MERCER , Who fell For the sacred cause of Human Liberty and e e American Indep nd nce, in T e h Battle of Princeton . poured out his bloo d for a generous

principle .

Left - hand side of di e

’ e c The St . Andr w s So iety of Philadelphia Offer this humbl e tr ibute To the memory of An e illustrious broth r . When a grateful po sterity shall bid the tr ophied Memorial ris e to the martyrs who s ealed with their bloo d the Charter of an ’ e s e e e l n ot e Empir Liberti s , th r sha l b want ing a monument to him whom Washington ! Mourned as The Worthy and B rave M ” ERCER . 70 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

Right - hand side of di e

e f e General M rcer, a physician o Fred r icksb ur ui g , in Virginia , was disting shed for i e his sk ll and learning, his gentl ness and ﬁ en an d n decision , his re nem t huma ity, his elevated honour and his devotion to the e t great cause of civil and r ligious liber y .

In the historical paintings of the Battle

e ea e r e- of Princ ton by P l , at P inc ton , and by e Trumbull at New York , General Merc r is e o e given a promin nt p sition . And the stat s e r a of P nnsylvania, Kentucky, Vi gini , and e e New Jers y , have by sol mn and appropri a e of e e e s t acts their r sp ctive L gislature , ! ” e named a county Merc r in his hono r . to e 1 1 897 e On Oc b r , , a bronze tabl t was e e n in s cri unv iled in Princ to , bearing this p

To the memory of General Hugh Mer the e e e cer , r v red martyr of Am rican Inde n en e o o n 1 720 edu p e d c . B rn in Sc tla d in ; c a ted as a physician ; emigrated to America 1 4 e e e in 7 7; was appoint d by Congr ss , Jun

5th 1 776 d e - e e the e , , a Briga i r G n ral in Am r ican Army ; wa s mortally wounded at the 3 1 777 Battle of Princeton, January rd, and died in the house now sta nding near this 1 2 1 hi spot Januar y th , 777 T s tablet was

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 71

erected by the Mercer Engine Compan y No . 3 l s t 1 897 a t ce o . of Prin t n, N J October , , ”

- the semi centenni al celebration .

On this occasion Judge Beverly R . Well

Va r . ford , of Richmond, . , and Dr . Hen y C e ri d e en Cam ron, of P nceton, ma e loqu t and o e r o appr priat histo ical orati ns . 1 899 h e e e . In Nov mb r, , t Hon . Henry W

een o . e a Gr , of Trent n , N J pr sented hand s ome p ortrait of General M er cer to the Merc ersburg Academy of Pennsylvani a ; s o o t i and in doing , am ng other h ngs , said ! e c him His lif re ord shows as a soldi er, e o e h brav and c urag ous ; as a p ysician , ed e learn in his prof ssion ; as a scholar, well read and of generous attainments ; a s a p a r r e i t iot , pu and mpulsive ; as a Christian ,

e - s riﬁcin e Few e e s lf a c g and tru . liv s illum the pa ge of national history with kindlier o f M e e he glow than that rc r . Fortunate t town with such a namesake ; honored the school that bears his name ; gloriﬁed the na tion in whose cause he laid down that most ” e of hi s s e — pr cious po s ssions his life . Hugh M ercer wa s an alumnus o f Mar schal College and the University of Aber ee an d d n , Scotland , this university recog nizes him as one of its most illustrious stu e of e d nts . In its annual list honor d alumni , he is one of the three chosen to represent 72 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

the profession of arms ; the other two being

‘ e - M r e e the Fi ld a shal Jam s K ith , distin guished officer in the service of Frederick e the Great , and Sir Jam s Outram , the ! ” Bayard of India . n r o a ﬁ Co g ess , on motion of Th m s Je er 1 784 e son , in made an appropriation for th ’ education of General Mercer s youngest ! s on who e e , Hugh , di d at his residenc , The ” e Box c e e 2 1 853 S ntry , De mb r , . Another e e e son, John , a distinguish d lawy r , di d e e e 30 1 81 7 l da u h S pt mb r , and his on y g ter who ri e er , Anna Gordon , mar d Rob t Pat e e a M a 1 2 e V . ton , di d in Fr d ricksburg, , y , 8 2 1 - 3 . c a General Hugh W . Mer er, of S van n ff e the r Ga . d nah , , a galla t o ic r in Confe e a te was al Army, a grandson of Gener Mer h l e M e t e . o cer , and at John Patt n , anoth r e o grandson, was a memb r of Congress fr m the Fredericksburg District under Jack ’ wa s - Gov son s administration, and acting c r 1 840 uor of Virginia in . Now as the end of the story of the life

of Hugh Mercer in this work approaches , by wa y of recapitulation it b ehoove s us to e e the a o ask, What w r most attr ctive and p tentia l elements of that life ! W e would fixednes s say, Fidelity to principle , of pur e f di a pos , faith ulness in the sch rge of the z obligations imposed by citi enship , with a The Life of General Hugh Mercer 73 fearlessness that knew no limi tation when duty a nd obligation joined in demanding r a al e ene getic ction . To re iz that this is e e b e e of tru , the reader n ed only r minded wa s e how what accomplished by Merc r, and that acc omplishment was brought about . We find him at Culloden obeying every in spiration of loyalty to Scotland and Scot tish tradi tions when he championed the e he e e caus of t Pr tender . To have don oth erwi s e would have bee n contra ry to every dictate of duty as it was impress ed on Scot n e he la d itself . Wh n became a resident of e the Am rica , on frontier of Pennsylvania , he felt himself obliged by the very highes t and holiest obligations of citizenship to im peril hi s life in many Indian wars in order to pres erve the lives and protec t the home s he eo e h h e of t p pl among w om e lived . Wh n o f wa r d o the tocsin sounde , and the C lo ! ” nies st ruck for liberty and for free dom from the intoler able and tyrannical a ggr es o f G e t e i re d sions r at Bri ain , b ing mp sse with the right and righteo usness of the e the e he ce ff e caus of Coloni s , at on o er d his e e e e s rvic s in their b half , gave up his lif for the e he e d caus which espous d , and die that liberty might live . His o ull ex life was a strenu us one , f of acting and unselfis h work for others : As a 74 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

d country octor , ministering to the sick and ffe a comforting the su ring ; as Mason , teaching by precept and by example the e the e cardinal doctrin s of craft , the fath r hood of God and the brotherhood of man ; m of the e as a me ber church , xpressing by his walk and conversation the faith he felt o men he in the Savi r of , whom humbly fol e of e low d ; as the head his hom , in the God n e e given capacity of husba d and fath r, ver directing its affairs and exec uting its du e ties , making his home lif spotles s and es a stainl s ; as a citizen , evading no oblig tion and avoiding no deman d imposed upo n that di e vi i citizenship . He was a sol r always , g an d ff e e lant , obedient loyal ; an o ic r whos e a tactics were of the onward , nev r b ckward e ai e a order, couns lling ag nst v cuation of e e ee strategic po sitions , v n though it s med e e impossible to r tain them , with judgm nt o b e a e d ai the that c uld alw ys r lie on , s d e e great Washington . Wh n confront d by e he seemingly insurmountabl obstacles , suggested movements by which sup eriority in numbers could be ove rridden by superi e o rity in forethought and decisiv action . He was brave without being desperate ; he was a good disciplinarian without being a mar c tinet . In his vo abulary there was no such ! ” ! word as surrender . He was willing to The Life of General Hugh Mercer 75

’ ﬂa do , dare or die for the g under which he e e h e o nlist d ; unsheathed his sword in h nor, and never was it dishono red to hi s dying he the c day ; was hero of Prin eton , with no one a nd to pluck that laurel from his brow, i s entitled to the glory that came from that victory which resulted in a Confederation of States that has ma de the Western Hem i sphere the admiration and the wonder of the o r H e e e to w ld . is ntitl d the gratitude o f l e - o Am e e wa s all ib rty l ving rica . His lif e e m b autiful and complet in its sy metry, an d was both a bene diction and b enefa c The e tion . m mory of such a man cannot er h the of p is from face the earth, but shall e e b e as t rnal as Truth . CHA PTER VII

TH Is narrative would not be complete without a short story of the friends of

Hugh M er cer at Fredericksburg- his daily a e m e ssociat s , who com un d with him at the s essions of the Masonic Lodge ; who sat a roun d the old open ﬁreplace at the Rising Sun tavern and talked with him about the gossip of the town ; who watched and waited

the - ff e for with him, in front of post o ic , the o f the u r a coming r mbling, attling old st ge with its weekly mail and its b ela ted news ‘

W . e from illiamsburg It is not, how ver , my purpos e to write a biography of these peo le e h e a s e p , but only a short sk tc of th m th ir ’ l e e r ~ e ives touch d that of M rce s , and as th se distinguished people were conn ected and h ed e associated wit Fr ricksburg ; and, as Washi ngton stands in the forefront of this ’ he e nation s life, so stands , peerl ss and h e hig abov all others , in the life of this

town .

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 77

GEORGE WASHINGTON

! He who fi fi was rst in war, rst in e e fi e p ac , and rst in the h arts of his country ” m en wa s a very small boy when his e e father, Augustin Washington, di d on his ! l e e The h t p ace, sinc call d Was ing on o te e He e Farm , opp si Fred ricksburg . w nt

o a n d e - e to scho l in that town , in aft r lif re ferred to it as the town of his youth and o maturing manhood . Just bef re the com m encem ent the e e of R volution , his moth r her and family moved into the town . Wash in ton e e ed hi s g , in his matur r y ars , visit

e -re e e He nd . a e moth r the fr qu ntly his brid , en route from Williamsburg to M ount Ver e r e to e e e non , cam by F dericksburg r c iv , no ’ hi s e e a nd e doubt, moth r s bl ssing b nedic He wa s the o e e e o tion . wn r of s v ral l ts in the e e e ornwa l town . Aft r the surr nd r of C e lis at Yorktown, Washington, imp lled by the love and ado ration whi ch he had for her et m e hi ﬁ , d er in d that s rst visit should b e he he to his mot r at Fredericksburg, and e came to her without d lay . On that visit he wa s r eceived with expressions of joy an d e the e the a e gratitud by peopl of pl c , and wa s pres ented with an address of wel came and congratulations by the Town c Council . On that o casion a grand ball was 78 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

n a o given in his honor, which he atte ded, companied by Lafayette and other distin uishe ff e g d o ic rs . In thos e days the ball com

menced - at early candle light . His aged he e e mother, whom escort d , left at nin ’

. f o O clock After seeing her sa ely h me, he returned and danced the stately minuet one e who hi s with of the Gr gory girls , was

cousin . e Washington was a m mb er of Lodge No . 4 M an d . he e . . t , A F A . , r cords of which lodge show that he wa s made a Mas on No vemb er 1 52 e 7 . e , On that dat there was r ceive o or a d fr m Ge ge W shington , for his w ﬁv e t o o e . entranc fee , p unds and shillings When in Fredericksburg he attended the ’

e . e r a s rvices of St G o ge s Episcop l Church . It is rela ted that on on e of his visits after he e e and e a t had b come gr at famous , whil e e e of b e t nding the s rvic s this church , it r d e came ove crowde , that the old fram n e e e e buildi g gave videnc s of b ing unsaf , and that a panic was only averted by the

coo lness of Wa shingto n hims elf . e e e His only sist r , B tti , who married d e al ed Fielding Lewis , live at a plac c l ” e m e the K n ore , th n on the outskirts of

town . Parson Weems locates Fredericksburg as the place where the great Washi ngton

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 79 th rew a silver dollar across the Ra ppaha n oc er r n k Riv , and the fa m just across the river and immediately opposite Fredericks burg as the place where the cherry tree Al and hatchet incident occurred . though tradition says Washington read this life o f i e ee not re h ms lf by W ms , history does r h he i c o d w at said about t. Perhaps he thought if he (Washington) could not tell lie a , the parson could, and did . Mercer and Washington were close and intimate friends from the time they ﬁrst met on the frontier of Penn sylvania until the e r e d ath of Me c r at Princeton . They e m et e e oft n in old Fr d ricksburg, at the ’ h e h om of Was ington s mother , in the lodge the o un r . r om , and at old Rising S tave n He who enters the town is constrained to t e e e d s and r v r ntly, with uncovere head, on gro und ar ound which cling holy memories of i its most illustr ous citizen .

JOHN PAUL JONE S

ul 6 1 747 John Paul was born J y , , in the e n parish of Kirkb an, Scotla d . His e broth r, William Paul , had resided in Fred ericksbur e 1 760 g som time prior to , and kept a grocery store in a house now stand 80 The Life of General Hugh Mercer ing at the corner of Prussia and Main e str ets . The will of William Paul is recorded In S otts lva ni a d 22 p y County, date March , 1 772 e 1 6 1 4 77 . , and probated Novemb r , In ! his will he wrote It is my will and desire that my lots and houses in

this town be sold and converted into money, which I give and bequeath to my beloved e her sist r, Mary Young, and two oldest e a childr n, in the Parish of Kirkbe n, in e the st warty of Galloway, North Britain, ” un Scotland . And as this Mary Yo g o was also sister of J hn Paul , it cannot possibly be doubted that William and John i ed Paul were brothers . William Paul d ’ 1 3 l e e 77 . in , and is buried in O d St G org s e churchyard . Over his remains ther is still

n - standi g a moss covered stone , with the ! e r : ul simpl insc iption William Pa , e e e l a S v n citi s c aimed Homer, de d, and three contended for Virgil ; a greater num b er of Am erican cities claim tha t John Paul e t the had his hom within their ga es , but e r cord is against them . Fredericksburg,

Virginia , was the one and only home of the

great admiral in this country . One of his a s 1 823 many biographers , as far back , lo a him c tes at Fredericksburg, at the home

of his brother William .

82 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

His hand was the ﬁrst to un furl the Stars e and Strip s on the high seas . As the com the mm hi s mander of Bon Ho e Richard ,

story IS the pride of every boy in America . He wa s the only man who ever gave battle the to English on English soil . These a e i the n e things r with n k owl dge of all . It is of hi s life in Fredericksburg that I e ee the writ , and strive to red m from past those vea rs of which so little ha s been writ ten .

e e o t hm e M rc r and Jones , both Sc c en , w re e e a t a resid nts ther the s me time, and it can scarcely b e drawing on the imagination to picture these m en of the Clans of old Scot hand often meeting in s ocial intercours e e to talk of the land of their birth , b ing drawn together as friends and associates

- by the strong bond of their mother country . It was from Fredericksburg that Mercer i went forth to make his name mmortal , ﬁghting the battles of the Colonies on land ; a nd it was from there that John Paul Jones went to become illustrious by his grea t vic a s tories on these . The memorie of both these great and illustrious men a re cher iehed by old Fredericksburg, and will ever be cherished by her as long as the story of their lives shall live and Fredericksburg shall last .

84 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

wa s Cincinnati , and a member of Lodge N 4 A M o . , . F . and A . . , of which lodge Mer one the cer was at time Master . After the

t e in - law death of his bro h r , General Hugh ! e e e M rcer, G neral W edon o ccupied The ” Sentry Box on lower Mai n street ; and was app ointed by the Court the guardi an of ’ He i e Mercer s children . d d in Fred ericks in the e burg arly part of the last century . e e e d The G n ral wrot a song, entitle ’ Christmas Da y in 7 which was sung at his fe stive board at each recurring e Christmas . A very int resting account of this wa s given in a letter dated Febru ary

8 1 837 e e . , , from Hugh M rc r , Esq , the son

e . of the Gen ral , to the grandfather of Judge e R B everly W llford , of ichmond , and no apology is offered for reproducing this song in this memoir .

CHRISTMAS DAY IN ’76

On Christmas Day in seventy- six ﬁ Our ragged troops , With bayonets xed ,

For Trenton marched awa y . e The D elawar ice , the boats below, r The light obscu ed by hail and snow,

But no signs of dismay . The Life of General Hugh Mercer 85

Our obj ect was the Hessian band ’ e That dare i nvad e fair Fre dom s land , r At quarte in that plac e . he led Great Washington, us on , e With ensigns str aming with renown, ’ Which ne er had known disgrace .

we In silent march spent the night , e for ﬁ Each soldi r panting the ght ,

Though quite benumbed with frost . ee the e Gr ne on l ft at six began, ul The right was with brave S livan, i Who in battle no t me lost .

Their pickets stormed ; the alarm was spread ; The e rebels , ris n from the dead,

Were marching into town . e e e e c m e Som scamp r d here , som s a p red

there, And some for action did prepa re ; o But so n their arms laid down .

e e l e Tw lve hundred s rvi e miscr ants , and With all their colors , guns , tents , Were trophies of the day ’ The r f olic o er , the bright canteen e e an d e e In c nt r, front , r ar, was s en ,

Driving fatigue away . 86 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

’ And, brothers of the cause , let s sing Our safe deliveran ce from a king

Who strove to extend his sway . ou And life , y know, is but a span ; ’ e can L t s touch the tankard while we ,

In memory of the day .

Written by General George Weedon, of who the Revolutionary Army, was in the action at Trenton , and had charge of the o hi Hessian prisoners after the vict ry, w ch prevented his being at Princeton a few days after and taking part in that glorious victory . ! e My uncle and s cond father, General W Revolu eedon , went through the Whole tiona r i e y War , command ng the Am rican troops on the Gloucester side of York River during the siege of York and the surrender of the British Army at that memorable e place . The brilliant victories at Tr nton and Princeton were won at the most gloo my peri od of the great struggle for our inde endence p ; it was the crisis of the war , and turned the scal e in fa vor of our bleeding ” country . H . MERCER .

My dear Sir : I have had much pleas ure in writing out for you , as you request ‘ ri ed, the patriotic song of Ch stmas Day in For many yea rs a fter the Revolution

88 Th e Life of General Hugh Mercer

n 1 6 a graduati g in 77 . On le ving that col lege he took up la w for a profession ; but being inspired by the martial ﬁr e that was then ﬁlling the breasts of the young men of e hos tili that tim , at the commencement of ties he offered his s ervices an d sword in e o f wa s the caus the Colonies . He ma de a lieutenant in the r egi men t which was com m a nded M by Hugh ercer, and was with Washington an d Mercer when they cro ssed the e 26 1 6 . e 7 D laware On Dec mber , 7 , he n the was wou ded in shoulder at Trenton, e e h re Whil l a ding the van of t e army . On covering from his wound he was a ppointed

as an aide - de camp on the s ta fl o f Lord e n a of St rli g, and was in the b ttles Brandy e wine , G rmantown and Monmouth . After the war he again took up his resi e in e denc Fredericksburg . Und r the laws of then in force, in order to vote and hold fice it was necessary to own property ; and e fi e to me t that quali cation, an uncl of Mon r o e r , Who was also a esident of Fredericks e burg, mad him a gift of a town lot , and thus he was enabled to exercise the gr ea t and inalienable right of an American citi

zen . Monroe was a t that time a member of he t Fredericksburg Town Council , and a ’ o l vestryman of St. Ge rge s Episcopa

90 The Life of General Hugh Mercer of the powder at Williamsburg by Dun ’ o n l m re , and other acts of England s i to c a s e rable tyranny, as well to formulat methods and means to stop and stay the ’ onward march of Great Britain s a ggres sions against the rights an d liberties of the ” An d ! Colonies . when the cry To arms l M e rang out over the land, young onro showed his faith by his works when he en in c listed the regiment of whi h his friend, wa s Mercer, colonel .

He was , however , destined to play a greater and more prominen t part in the e e drama of life than M rcer . From a li u tenant he becam e the Commander - in - Chief of the army ; from a member of the council of the town of Fredericksburg he b ecame the Chief Executive of the Republic . Who knows how potential was the inﬂuence of o how Mercer on the life of Monr e , and how much , and far, that inﬂuence shaped m lded hi s e and e charact r, and thus brought about the illustrious ca reer of Monroe ! We only know that they were true and loyal friends . The Life of General Hugh Mercer 91

THE OF MARY , MOTHER WASHINGTON

he After t death of her husband , Augus ! ” a o tine Washington , M dam Washingt n, as she was called by her neighbors and e e e fri nds , mov d to Fr dericksburg, and lived and died in the house now standi ng the e on co rner of Charl s and Lewis streets . The world pays its tribute to the memory ! of the mother of the Father of His Coun e e try . Pr sid nt Andrew Jackson said that ! the cha racter of Washington wa s aided e and str ngthened , if not formed, by the care c e hi s e who r e and pre pts of moth r, was markable for the vigor of her inte llect and ” fi e the rmness of her r solution . wa s Mrs . Washington left in early life a Widow with the burden of a young and e u larg family, and to the task of g arding and governing them she uns elfishly devoted e e h rs lf . She was a woman of much busi e her n ss ability, for farm she managed with e ofi e gr at skill and with pr tabl results . Tra dition says she was rather inacce ssible an d e e e som what xclusiv , for she was in no sense

e . a w in a soci ty woman Mrs . W shington a s e e e t ns ly religious , a consistent memb r of ’ e r e St . G o g s Episcopal Church, and very charitable to the poor . Her hospitable home 92 Th e Life of General Hugh Mercer

wa s e her e o always op n to fri nds , am ng fro whom was Hugh Mercer , who was a e e qu nt visitor th re . When Washington found himself the lan

r el- e e new crown d h ro of the Republic, he came ﬁrst to pay his homage and ﬁlial de votion e to his rev red mother . On that visit he was accompanied by Lafayette and a number of other disting uished military e him men . She r ceived as a devoted moth er l e e shou d rec iv a dutiful son . In that e e the e r c ption Washington h ro , to her, had o f her no part . She was proud great son , r s proud because of his g eatne s , but prouder r still , no doubt , as she remembered her pa t

in making that son great . He escorted her to the Peace Ball before ’ ni i mentioned . At ne o clock she sa d it was e to time for old peopl go home , and she e w nt . Washington sent a spec ial messenger to e the a his moth r , it is said, to give her gl d

tidings of the surrender of Cornwallis . An old gentle-man once told the writer of this brief memoir that when that messenger dashed up the deserted streets of Freder M r e o r . icksb u g a K iger , then a very y ung b o wa s but prec ocious y , urged by some older ones standing on the street corner to go up to Madam Washi ngton and get the

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 93

e e wa s news . K ig r went ; Mrs . Washington in her garden ; he watched and waited until s he had opened the letter with a pair of r her ai o scisso s attached to w st by a c rd , ! e s he M th n turning, said , y young man , ” H he he what is it you want ! e told r . S ! e the e e said . T ll gossips that G org has s ent m e word that Lor d Cornwallis has sur e r ndered at Yorktown . e a d the Lafayett , on his visit, c lle on mother of his illustrious chi ef ; he wrote home to France quite a lengthy account of a m et that visit . Mrs . W shington him at the door of her residen ce ; he introduced ! ”

. ! V . himself alk right in , said the Madam ! a m s ee eo e I glad to you , for G rg has told ” m e ll He e e a about you . was ush r d into the r e the man pa lor , and r freshed inner with her home - made ginger cake a nd her home - brewed rum punch ; and he went from that simple country home dec laring that he wa s glad to s ay he had s een in her a splen r a r did old Vi gini mat on . e h w . a s In app arance, Mrs Was ington of r her her old medium height , and at stout in

a e r e e ea . g , but ca ri d h rself with gr t dignity For a number of years she suffered from 25 1 89 e e . 7 a v ry painful diseas On August , , She her a e she wa s a t died . In l st illn ss e o an d t nded by Doct rs Mortimer Hall . The The Life of General Hugh Mercer

ni funeral ceremo es were held in St . ’ e u 28 G orge s Episcopal Church , Aug st , 1 89 7 . On the day of the funeral all busi ness was suspended in the town ; the church e The o ul n b lls tolled . whole p p atio wended its wa y solemnly and reverently to pay its last sad tribute to the memory of a friend K and neighbor . She was buried on the en e mor farm , then owned and occupied by her daughter, Mrs . Fielding Lewis , in a spot she herself had selected for that

purpose, near what are now known as o e e the Orat ry Rocks , wh r she frequently

‘ sat with her grandchildren an d read her

Bible . When the sad tidings of her death wa s d e o conveye to Congr ss, resoluti ns of sym

pathy for President Washington, and a o tribute to her mem ry, were passed . This

deeply touched Washington, who respond ! e : t ed in a not of thanks , adding I attribu e to e all of my success in life the moral , int l lectual and physical education which I re ” e e c ived from my mother . No grand r tribute wa s ever paid by a great man to and e his mother than that , the world , w ll knowing how much wa s accomplished by di e him , can rea ly pay its homag to the

memory of this great and good woman ,

96 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

New M r Burrows , of York . . Burrows died e r b fo e its completion . It is now in an un ﬁ di o nished and lapidated conditi n . Congress has been again and again a p e e p al d to and importuned . Favorable leg isla tion ee o e incom has b n pr mis d, but this lete e r m a n p monum nt c u bles d decays . Shall the memory of the mother of the great lVa s hington longer b e neglec ted ! In every State of this Union monuments mark with emphasis the veneration with which George e e e Washington is h ld by a grat ful r public, and at the Capitol of the nation there is one that towers above all the rest ; but no where is there recognition made of the e Her a moth r . very grave at this pl ce is f marked only by an unsightly pile o ma rble . Shall this neglect continue ! ! M rs wa s . Washington an uncommon ‘ c e woman . It is re ord d of her that she wa s e di un of strong will , spl n d judgment, ’ tiring energy, and Without pretension, and from the se elements she molded her great e e e ui d son , taught him to b come gr at, q ppe him with attributes essential to great ness . ! She e e liv d , during the R volutionary u e an d wa s War , in Fredericksb rg ; di d , bur ied h ere at the spot she herself had selec ted al the for that purpose . Sh l grave of Mary The Life of General Hugh Mercer 97

Washington b e allowed to remai n longer in a condition which is the remi nder of the e he e forg tfulness , rat r than the gratitud , of our peopl e ! Remember that the grave of Was hington hims elf is held as a very Mecca to which all liberty- loving people can make — their pilgrima ge the work of the faithful e e it and d vot d women of this land . And is propos ed that an organi zation sha ll at once b e e h o e the e form d, aving for its bj ct rec tion of a monum ent over the grave of ’ George Washington s mother at thi s place . ! Will the women of this Republic respond to this appeal ! A r e they not willing to un dertake this patriotic work ! ! To the end that steps may b e immedi e a e e e a at ly t k n , it is int nd d to obt in a charter of incorporation of the Mary Wash in ton M e n to e g morial Associatio , hav a

e e one e - e e e e pr sid nt , vic pr sid nt in ach Stat , er n e e off and oth usual and c ssary icers , all u e e h th i e women . It is also s gg st d t at e lad s on e 22 1 890 h of America , F bruary , , s all in every State ma ke s ome organi zed effort to r Th e rais e the necessa y funds . e writ r of thi s requests that the pa p ers give circu to e she b e lation this app al , and will glad to hear from any ladies who desire to 98 The Life of General Hugh Mercer take an active interes t in this patriotic purpose . M RS OH . OLRI . J N T GO CK . 1 Va . O t 5 c . Fredericksburg, , ,

I o to al nresp nse , largely that appe , or in e part at least as a r sult of it , the National Mary Washing ton Monumen t Assoc iation ni f was orga zed , composed o patriotic Am a e women of eric , and a stat ly, imposing monM ent sta nds sentinel over the grave of Mrs . Washington . On one side of it is ! inscribed , Erected by Her Country ” wi n i le women . Just here it ll ot be rre vant to record an incident . A verdant woman visited this monument and read ‘ n Erected by Her Countrywomen . Tha k ” ! Lawd l no W imen the she said , that city n t i u had o h ng to do with this mon ment . On the other side of thi s splendid grani te shaft is inscribed in raised letter s this epitaph

ashi n t Mary, the Mother of W g

4 . LODGE NO . , A . F . AND A . M

i of Past Master Bro . S . J . Qu nn , Fred ri ks ur has om r e e c b g , c piled a ve y int resting d ﬁnd history of this Lo ge . From it we

a em 1 1 752. th t it was organized Sept ber , It

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 99 has had among its membership many good u who o men and tr e, many became illustri us o a hi besides Ge rge W s ngton, Hugh Mercer and George Weedon, of whose membership in that Lodge we have heretofore made e o mention . Its r c rds are quaint and curi as ous , and an illustration of this , we ex tract from its proceedings as follows ‘ 1 9 1 755 On December , , it was resolved by unanimous consent of the Lodge, that e e the treasur r shall , at his discr tion, pur chase ou accoun t of this Lodge six lottery e e to b e re tickets , and the numb rs of th m turned to the Lodge and made a minute ” e of . And tradition says that th se tickets e were signed by the illustri ous broth r , o t who Ge rge Washing on, was president of the company . 1 5 1 769 ! On April , , on motion of Broth a oodron o e er Alex nder W , it was res lv d , ew t o the that the st ar s of this L dge, for i l the e r o e t me being, sha l for futur p vid o e e e liqu rs , candi s , and all oth r n cessaries ” he he e i for t use of t Lodg . About this t me ! ” two emi one e d johns , called Jach n, full o f rum e e Jamaica , and the oth r call d ! ” z l Boa , fu l of Holland gin, with an old e the fashioned loaf of sugar , w re kept in ante - room fo r the refreshment of the breth di ren ; and tra tion hath it, that some of the 1 00 The Life of General Hugh Mercer brothers were co ntent to tarry in the ante room and never got any farther . ! e e e 27 1 756 On D c mb r , , being the anni vers a r our n o y of Patron Sai t J hn, the e d e Lodg assemble , att nded by several vis e t to iting brothers , and w n in procession the e e church , wh r we heard a most excel lent s ermon preached by our worthy Broth er a e hi we d J m s Marye, after w ch returne e in procession to the Lodge , wh re our wor thy Master returned the thanks of the Lodge to our worthy Brother James Ma rye for so good a sermon . ! The e the e L odge being clos d, ev ning ” was spent very agree ably with a Ball . e 1 799 On the s cond Sunday in December , , after the death of General Washington, 4 met o o . Lodge No . in a Lodge of s rr w The e i who wa Grand Mast r of Virg nia , s a mem ber of that Lodge a nd citizen of Fredericks e d e burg, Benjamin Day, mad an a dr ss , from which we quote in part ! e e e s em d W are now, br thr n , a s ble to p a y the last sad tribute of affection and re spec t to the eminent virtues and exemplary conduct that a dorned the character of our o o worthy decea s ed br ther , Ge rge Wash n He ven ingto . was early initiated in this e 0 11 1: a n c rable Lodg , in the mysteries of a cient and honorable profession, and h ving

The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 01 held it in the hi ghest and most just venera e we tion , the fraternal att ntion now Show to his memory is the more incumbent upon us . After these memorial exercises in the d e Lo ge room, the Lodg went in procession ’ to St . George s Episcopal Church , where e e e religious servic s w r held . e e 28 1 824 On Sunday, Nov mb r , , General his e Lafayette, with son , Georg Washing e Va s s em ton Lafayette , and Colon l La , vis it n ed that Lodge . Lafayette o this occ asion a e re was m de an Honorary Memb r, and in spons e to an address of welcome the Mar quis said ! The plea sure I ever fee l in our frater n al meetings cann ot but be enh anced by the fir consideration , that in this city the st les of hi o e sons childhoo d , and in t s L dg the ' fi le e d rst ssons of Masonry, wer conferre upon the man who was first in all our hearts . This old Lodge has many valuable relics and mementos of the old times ; among o them, a p rtrait of Washington painted o e from life by Sully, and the H ly Bibl upon d whi ch Washington, Mercer and Wee on were obligated as Mas ons .

This historic Lodge , the Alma Mater in Masonry of distinguished and illustrious 1 02 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

c men, feels proud of its re ord, as well as of its roll of honor ; for it has always been faithful and true to the sacred pri nciples e a and tenets of the order , ev r pr cticing and proclaiming as its holy mi ssion the ele n k vation and en oblement of man ind .

1 04 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

3 2 . ce e Thomas Mer r . Baptiz d January 20 1 6 1 696 H 58. e e e , Poll d , . was marri d ﬁ R i . e a te twice His rst wif was Anna . The 1 3 1 1 e 68 . marriage contract is dat d July , e e a s e His s cond wif w Isab l .

The children of THOMAS MERCER 2 ( 5) were 1 l 3 1 696 . e . o e Li ias Merc r P ll d . 2 hn 9 r e e 3 . 1 6 6 M a . Jo M rc r Polled . e ri d Isabel Martin . 3 M e M e e 3 1 696 . argar t rc r . Polled . 4 M e e 3 e 1 696 . Janet rc r . Poll d . Mar e e 1 1 704 v ri d Jun , , at Fy ie , to Robert Rait Micklefa lla of .

e 3 l Ba tized Thomas M rcer . p April 25 1 693 1 696 , . Polled . 6 3 e e . . Christian M rc r Baptized June 4 1 695 1 696 , . Polled . M 3 e 7. William ercer . Baptiz d March 25 1 6 6 M e f 9 . o , arried Ann , daughter Sir Foulis Robert Munro of .

The children of John Mercer 3 ( 9 ) and e t w e Isab l Mar in , his ife , wer 4 1 M e e . d . Elizabeth rc r Baptize De

e o 1 0 1 71 0 . e c mb r , . Married Rev Jam s Wil 5 e of Glowerie 27 1 73 . son, minist r , May , The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 05

2 4 27 . John Mercer . Baptized March , 1 1 7 7.

3 e 4 t . Thomas M rcer . Baptized Oc o 1 1 21 7 . ber , 7 4 4 1 5 e . . Isab l Mercer Baptized June , 1 23 7 . 5 A 4 20 e . . gnes M rcer Baptized May , 1 25 7 .

The children of WILLIAM MERCER 3 ( 1 4) MUNRo 3 hi s e and ANNE wife , wer 1 e 4 a n . Margaret M rcer . B ptized Ju e 8 1 24 , 7 . 2 e 4 . Hugh M rcer . Baptized January, 1 26 r e e 7 . Emig ated to Am rica and marri d u Isabella Gordon of Virginia . Wo nded at 3 1 777 he d Princeton, January , where die 1 2th the am a on January of s e ye r . 3 M e 4 e . . Isabel rc r Baptized October 30 1 35 M 7 . e e e e e , arri d G org M rc r of Marl boro .

GEN 4 The children of . HUGH MERCER 23 AB ( ) and IS ELLA GORDON his Wife , were 1 e e 5. . Anna Gordon M rc r Married

Robert Patton of Fredericksburg, Va . In o l a letter fr m Mrs . Dunbar , who was E iza 1 06 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

o beth Greg ory Th rnton, to her Sister, Mrs . c s al né Fran e Thornton of F l Hill, e Miss

Innes , daughter of Judge Innes of Ken ! o i a e tucky, she wr te of th s marri g : But if I go on so fas t I will not have time to tell ’ you about Miss Ann Mercer s wedding. o Well, Polly and myself were drawn f rth in a our best airs on the occ sion, last Thursday e was a we k, and saw Miss M . give her hand d o Y ou to the delighte Mr . Patt n . may be sure she looked inﬁnitely lovely ; her dress er c was white satin and muslin ; h neckla e, ea rrings and bracelets were very bril ” liant . 2 5 1 2 . John Mercer . Born 77 . Died 0 81 3 1 7. September , 3 5 d . . William Mercer . Died unmarrie

He was deaf and dumb . 4 5 nu ed . . George We on Mercer Died married . 5 5 ed . . Hugh Tenant We on Mercer He ’ was a child in arms a t his father s death . He was educated at the expense of the na 1 93 tion by act of Congress of 7 . He mar fﬁ 5 e ried Loui sa Gri n , daught r of Judge

Cyrus Grifﬁn by Lady Christina Stuart . r 5 31 r in Col . Hugh Me cer ( ) was bo n r 4 1 776 e Fredericksbu g, August , , di d at ! ” Box the Sentry , Fredericksburg, De i ff n emb e 1 1 853 . u c r , His wife , Lo sa Gri i

1 08 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

of time Governor of the State Virginia . He 8 1 824 a married on January , , M rgaret 6 French Williams , by Whom he had twelve children . 4 . t 6 Eleanor Anne Pat on . Born 1 805 24 . 1 890 h Died June , . S e married on 24 1 825 o e 6 n March , , J hn Jam s Chew . Bor 1 806 . He was Clerk of Courts of 23 1 8 0 . n 7 Fredericksburg Died Ja uary , ,

Va . s ix at Fredericksburg, , and had children . 5 6 . William Fairlie Patton . Born Died He married Harriet Shepherd Buck 6 and had ﬁve childr en by her . 6 o 6 . Margaretta L . Patt n . Born 1 81 0 2 1 852 . e . Died July , She marri d, on

1 8 1 835 hn 6 . April , , Jo Minor Herndon 1 4 1 808 e 1 9 Born May , . Di d September , 1 8 1 7 , and had three daughters . Robert Patton 5 ( 27 Died in 1 827 or 1 828 .

See report of Commissioner Thoma s D . ’ c Ranson in suit of Patton s Exe . against Patton ’ s credi tors in Circuit Court of Au 1 Va 1 87 . gusta County, . , of The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 09

TH E DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT PATTON AND ANNE GORDON MERCER The children of the HONOURABLE JOHN MERCER PATTON 6 ( 35) and MARGARET 6 : FRENCH WILLIAMS his Wife , were 1 1 0 . Robert Patton 7. Born October , 2 1 8 4. d u 1 3 1 876 Die , nmarried , June , . 2 . 7. 9 John Mercer Patton Born May , 1 826 ﬁ 1 1 . He married rst on November , 1 858 l t , Sal ie Lindsay Taylor 7, daugh er of

. e . di Alex Taylor of Orang , Va She ed on 28 1 8 2 e . d December , 7 He marrie , s cond , 29 1 846 Lucy Agnes Crump , born April , , two by whom he had children, both girls . 9 1 8 8 e . Di d on October , 7 3 7. . Isaac Williams Patton Born Feb 4 1 2 1 890 rua r 8 8. e . y , Di d February He married Fanny Elizabeth Merritt 7 on 29 1 85 e 5. February , He h ld many promi e nent positions in New Orleans . Ther were e three sons by thi s mar riag . 4 e 7. . Lucy Anne Patton Born Nov m 29 e 31 1 831 1 8 . 7 . ber , Died Octob r , l 7. u 7 5. Hugh Philip Patton Born J y , 1 2 1 8 1 2 83 . 3 . Died April ,

6 e 7. . Georg Smith Patton Born June 1 864 26 1 833 e e . , . Died Sept mb r He volun settled as a lawyer in West Virginia , he e e e e teered in t lat war b tw en the Stat s , became a Colonel and was killed at the 1 1 0 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

' l - battle of Winchester, near the c os e of the

. Gla s s ell 7 war He married Susan , Novem 8 1 855 her l ber , , and had by four chi dren . Mrs . Patton afterwards was married to

C0 1 . An e George Hugh Smith of Los g les ,

. e Cal He was the son of the Rev . G orge wh Archibald Smith of Alexandria , o mar of ried Ophelia Williams , sister Margaret e t French Williams . There w re wo chil n e : An dre by this second marriag a girl , ne e Patton Smith , who marri d Hancock Ban ning of Los Angeles ; and a boy, who died , l e u n . f l of promis , quite you g e e o 7. Waller Taz w ll Patton 7. B rn l 1 5 1 835 u 21 1 863 u e . J y , . Di d J ly , He was Colonel in the Southern Army and Senator In e t He the Virginia L gisla ure . was mor e tally wounded at the Battle of G ttysburg, 3 1 863 di un July , , and ed a few days later, married .

8 e o 7. . Mary Merc r Patt n Born April 29 1 841 1 4 1 83 . . , 7 Died August , ‘

9 7. . Eliza Williams Patton Born 22 1 839 r d on February , . Ma rie Novem 1 5 1 860 6 ber , , to John Gilmer , born

n 1 3 1 826 . Ja ua ry , , of Chatham , Va He 1 2 1 894 died March , . They had several

children .

1 0 e 7. r . Hugh Merc r Patton Bo n April 4 ni 7 6 1 8 1 . , Married Fan e Bull , of Orange,

1 1 2 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

2 . 8 o n Alexander Taylor Patton . B r r 1 9 1 861 Ap il , . He married Miss Beatrice h e 1 901 C andl r of San Francisco in June, . e 1 904 Di d November, . N0 issue . 3 . e 8 Sadi Lindsay Patton . Born Feb rua r 1 863 r 7 . y , She mar ied on September 1 9 1 888 8 J n o . i , , Capt . Arthur Hutch nson h 1 6 . w w o a s o 3 1 84 . ( R b rn August , Their children a re a M 9 . ary Lindsay Hutchinson . Born 4 1 890. August ,

! e n b . William N lson Lindsay Hutchi son 9 e 1 2 7 89 . . Born Dec mber ,

o 9 . 0 . Arthur John Lindsay Hutchins n 1 8 1 96 u 8 . Born Aug st , 4 e 8 e . . George Taz w ll Patton Born 25 1 864 He e e . e D c mber , was marri d on e e 1 0 1 890 Dec mb r , , to Virginia (Jennie) 8 e 1 King Pemberton . Born F bruary , 1 864 he e . T y have childr n e o or a . Mary Pemb rton Patt n B n 1 89 e r 3 3 . Dec mbe , i e o b . W lliam Riv s Patton B rn May

e e e 6 . G org Taz well Patton Born 1 9 2 31 0 . January ,

8. 5. James Lindsay Patton Born No 1 866 M e 28 1 890 r 20 . vemb e , arri d June , , 8 u e e to Fanny Kean Leake , da ght r of Judg

- e Va . r W . J . Leak of Ashland, , and late of The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 1 3

hm He mi i Ric ond , Va . was a n ster of the Episcopal Church and Missionary to e Japan . Th ir children are

1 ohn M e er . . J rc Patton Jr Born June Died July 2 9 e . . Sadi Patton Born July 3 M 9 . artha Callis Patton . Born Octo 1 8 6 ber 5 9 . 4 9 . James Lindsay Patton . Born De 1 1 9 0 c mb er 3 0 . e , 5 e e 9 o . William Josiah L ak Patton . B rn 2 1 2 l 8 90 . Ju y ,

6 . e 9 Fanny L ake Patton . Born March

8 7. Robert Williams Patton . Born 1 8 1 869 M e 1 e . F bruary , arri d on January , 1 900 e , Jani Slaughter Stringfellow . Born 1 5 1 8 6 R 7 e ev. August , , daught r of Frank

e Va . Stringf llow of Raccoon Ford , , and m r 1 843 Al Em a Francis G een, born , of ex andria, Va . Issue 9 or ul 25 1 901 Alice Lee Patton . B n J y , , e e Alb erma rle t n ar the M adows in Coun y,

Va . 8 8 . William Rives Patton . Born April 1 8 1 29 1 89 3 . nm 7 7. ed , Died May , U arri . 9 d e 8 . Alfre Slaught r Patton . Born 1 8 2 l 28 1 8 7 . u 3 October , Died J y , 7 . 1 1 4 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

THE DESCENDANTS or ANNE GORDON MERC ER A AND ROBERT P TTON . il 44 The ch dren of Col . Jno . M . Patton ( ) s um hi s i and Lucy Agne Cr p , second W fe, are : 9 8 . Susan French Patton . Born Sep 1 1 1 4 tember , 88 . 1 0 r 8. . Agnes Pa ke Patton Born Feb rua r 1 9 1 88 y , 7.

The children of Col . Isaac Williams Pat 46 7 47 ton 7 ( ) and Fanny E . Merritt ( ) were :

1 . n . William Thomas Patton Bor 6 ul 4 1 896 1 8 1 85 . March , . Died J y , 9 2 . . Mary Mercer Patton Born March , 4 861 1 86 . 1 . Died August

3 z t . . George Ta ewell Pat on Born No 4 r 1 4 1 86 . vemb e ,

4 . Oc . Mercer Williams Patton Born tober Married .

TH E DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT PATTON AND ANNE GORDON MERCER The children of George Smith Patton 7 Gla s s ell ( 50) and his wife, Susan Thornton 7 were

George Smith Patton . He married Ruth

1 1 6 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

8 . lm . 1 8 7 73 . Lindsay Gi er Born July , 9 . e ec or Isab l Br kinridge Gilmer . B n 26 1 8 9 c . De ember , 7

TH E DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT PATTON AND ANNE GORDON MERCER The children of Hugh Mercer Patton 7 ( 56 ) and Frances Dade Bull 7 ( 57) were 1 8 M e e . . argu rita Fr nch Patton Born 22 1 8 1 e 7 . Sept mber , She married on June 9 1 895 o 8 , , Ge rge Harmer Gilmer , born e e e 1 9 1 864 s on o D c mb r , , of Judge Ge rge

Henry Gilmer of Chatham Va . They live in Lynchburg, Va . Issue 9 e c . a . Hel n Mer er Gilmer Born Janu 1 896 8 . ary ,

Rita Carrington Gilmer . B orn July 1 1 899 0 . ,

2 . . Sally Lindsay Patton Born Sep 1 8 2 1 5 7 . tember , Died

t . 3 . Frances Payton Pat on Born May 4 1 8 6 7 . ,

4 n c . . Joh Mer er Patton Born January 1 1 1 878 , in m . 5. Ma e Louise Patton Died in fancy . 27 6 . Mabel Blair Patton . Born June 1 881 The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 1 7

7. Helen Lee Patton . Born October 1 882 . 8 in . Marcus Dade Patton . Died in

9 n z Au . Clayton Lore o Patton . Born 1 1 1 892 gust , . Died in infancy .

TH E DESCENDANTS OE ROBERT PATTON AND ANNE GORDON MERCER James French Patton 7 Married Melinda Caperton ( 59) and had issue 1 i Au . Harr et Echols Patton . Born 25 1 8 0 e 1 903 : . gust , 7 Marri d 2 e . Allen Gilmer Patton . Born D cem 1 8 1 1 903 1 . her . , 7 Married

William Macfarland Patton 7 Married Anni e Jordon 7 ( 61 ) and had issue :

1 . o . Sallie Taylor Patton B rn April 28 1 905 Married on August , , at

Va . . Blacksburg, , Prof Au 2 M r t . . a garet French Pat on Born gust

3 n o . . Virgi ia Mercer Patt n Born Sep 21 1 880 tember , . 6 4 . . Nannie Maria Patton Born July , 1 882 . 1 1 8 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

5 . Agnes Lee Patton . Born September

6 . Lucy Williams Patton . Born De cemb er 20 1 886 , .

7. o Elizabeth Jordan Patton . B rn 1 1 8 6 1 3 1 8 6 7 . e January , Di d July , 7 .

TH E DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT PATTON AND ANNE GORDON MERCER

The Chew Family Eleanor Anne Patton 6 Married John James Chew 6 ( 38) of Fredericks a wa s V . burg, , who for many years a Clerk an d of the Courts of Fredericksburg, had issue as follows Feb ru 1 nn 7. . A e Mercer Chew Born 2 1 826 1 3 1 896 6 . ary , . Died May , She mar 1 4 1 851 ried , on October , , Frank Thornton 1 1 1 826 i d Forbes . Born January , , and d e e 1 905 had : D cember, , and issue as follows

The Forbes Fa mily 8 a . John James Forbes . Born Septem

1 852 1 855. ber . Died May 8 o . b . Sallie Innes F rbes Born August

1 20 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

c . 8 Bessie Mason Bainbridge Chew . 1 8 3 Born August 7 . Died M r s e s . Be sie Bainbridg Chew was mar 1 8 ried on to William M . Grafton , e 1 899 w and now resid s (May, ) at Se ickley, a ne r Pittsburgh, Pa

The Crutchﬁeld Family 5 . Elizabeth French Chew 7. Born 1 3 1 843 June , . She 1 3 1 865 married, on January , , Edgar Crutchﬁeld M 1 1 840 e (born arch , ) of Fr d i ks ur a er c b V . e : g , , and had issu

a . e rutchfiel 8 El anor Patton C d . Born 6 1 866 May , . e 1 892 She marri d, on November, , 8 o 25 Clement Read Carrington , b rn July , 1 854 e , and di d and had issue 1 9 . Abram Cabell Carrington . Born 26 1 894 January , . r fi l 9 2 z utch e d . . Eli abeth C Carring ton Born June Au Crutchfield 8. b . Stapleton Born 24 1 868 gust , . Died 1 2 1 893 He married on September , , Mary o r e 1 2 1 873 Lee Van H use, bo n Decemb r , , and had issue by her : ‘ r tchfield 9 r C u . 1 . Elizabeth Mercer Bo n 96 9 ul 7 1 8 . 1 8 1 8 5. March , Died J y , The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 21

2 M n l r el 9 . . Joy a t eb e t Crutchﬁ d Born e 23 1 896 Decemb r , . ﬁel 8 0 e ru ch . . Susan Gat wood C t d Born 23 1 8 0 December , 7 . 24 1 895 Married on October , , to Daniel 8 an d e : Shriver Russell , had issu 1 z l 9 M a nt e e . . Eli abeth b rt Russell u 1 4 1 896; Born Aug st , 2 . 9 Oc Eleanor Blain Russell . Born 26 1 898 tober , .

Fe d rutchﬁeld 8. . Anne Minor C Born b rua r 1 4 1 8 e M a 22 1 898 y , Di d y , .

e rutchfi -l 8 . Margaretta Taylor C e d . Born 1 8 6 7 . November , 7 r tchfiel 8 z u d . f. Eli abeth French C Born 1 8 9 3 . February , 7 a ohn M rried Mr . J Minor Gatewood of 1 1 9 05. Boston, June , ‘ t hfiel 8 Cru c d . g . Mercer Forbes Born 1 1 881 5 . August ,

6 7. . Margaretta Herndon Chew Born 1 846 April , . n 28 1 873 She married , on Jan ary , , Ar e 1 3 1 844 thur Taylor (born Octob r , ) of T Fredericksburg, Va . hey have issue as follows 1 22 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

a . o 8 R bert Chew Taylor . Born October

b . 8 Fanny Mackall Taylor . Born Oc 4 1 881 tober , .

c . 8 Margaretta Mercer Taylor . Born 1 5 1 885 April , .

The children of William Fairlie Patton 6 ( 39) and Harriet Shepherd Buck 6 (40) were 1 An . thony Patton 7. Born 21 1 905 January , . He married Virginia Bernard Coakley 1 8 N on o issue . 2 . Mary Patton 7, twin of the above . Born Died

She married Richard Henry Catlett 7, born of Staunton, Va . They have three children .

3 7. . William Fairlie Patton Died

4 In . . Died infancy

5 o 7. . Anne Gordon Patt n Born 8 1 . d . She marrie , on Gen Jno 1 0 1 833 d Rogers Cooke . Born June , . Die hi 1 0 1 891 . April , , and had eleven c ldren

6 t 7. o . Fairlie Pres on Patton B rn 1 851 1 0 . March ,

1 24 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

2 . 8 Fairlie Patton Cooke . Born May 2 1 867 , . 26 1 904 S Married October , , to MIS Mary Edmonia o Rogers of Richm nd, Va . 3 . 8 Ellen Mercer Cooke . Born 1 4 1 895 She married, on November , , Aus 8 1 8 1 862 tin Brockenbrough . Born April , , and had issue a 6 . Austin Brockenbrough . Born July , 1 899 .

c . b . Anne Gordon Bro kenbrough Born A 2 1 903 pril 7 . 4 8 eo o . . Philip St . G . C oke Born No e er 3 1 8 1 v mb , 7 . 5 8 1 0 1 8 3 . 7 . . Esten Cooke Born March , 1 8 3 Died 7 . 1 0 1 8 3 6 8 7 . . Wilt Cooke . Born March , 1 8 3 Died 7 . 1 6 1 8 4 8 7 . 7. Rachel Cooke . Born June , 8 Au 8 . . Harriet Shepherd Cooke Born 1 8 6 27 1 900 1 0 7 . gust , Married, on March , ﬁ ers n c o . to Mr . William J Wallace Born 1 8 Issue : Virginia Gordon Wal 1 2 1 903 lace . Born March , . 8 9 . Nanny Gordon Cooke . Born Octo 1 8 8 24 5 7 . ber , Married , on October ,

1 905 Sta ﬁ ord . , A Parker, of Richmond,

Va . 8 8 t . 1 0. Stuar Cooke Born December , 9 e 22 1 903 to 1 87 . Marri d, on January , , The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 25

r : ul 1 8 Miss Martha Ann Lundy (bo n J y ,

m . of Rich ond, Va

The children of Fairlie Pre sto n Patton 7 1 69 e nh 7 1 70 : ( ) and Winni T . Bra am ( ) are 1 n . Fairlie Clifton Patton . Bor Decem 4 1 8 6 ber , 7 . 2 . Sterling Hume Patton . Born De 1 9 1 8 8 28 8 1 8 . o 7 . e e e 7 c mber , Di d Dec mb r , 3 . Robert Antony Patton . Born De c m 1 3 18 9 e ber , 7 . 4 Al 8 . Mary ice Patton . Born May , 1 884 . 5 . Eugenie Virginia Patton . Born April 24 1 6 88 . , 6 o . . William Henry Patt n Born Decem 22 88 1 7. ber , Fe 7. John Mercer Patton . Born b ru 91 9 1 8 . ary ,

8 . 6 . Winnie Baidie Patton August , 1 89 3 .

9 . 26 . Hugh Peyton Patton October , 1 895 .

The H erndon Family The children of Margaretta Patton 6 (41 ) and John Minor Herndon 6 (41 ) were : A rII M e r o 7. 1 . Ellen erc r He nd n Born p

6 e 29 1 888. 29 1 83 . , Di d January , 1 26 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

2 . n Na ny Gordon Herndon 7. Born

1 838. u 1 1 862 Died Aug st , . 3 . 7 Elizabeth Fairlie Herndon . Born 1 841 3 1 8 2 . 9 Died January , . 1 8 She married, on Seth Barton 7 t 5 French (born Oc ober , who is a prominent ﬁn ancier in the city of New

York . They had three children a 8 o n . Margaretta Patton French . B r ul 25 1 85 30 1 8 8 . 7 7 . J y , Died November ,

b . John Herndon French . Born August

1 4 1 888 He married, on November , , Sara h Ann Spies Coc krane 8 (born Feb ru 1 8 he hi : ary , by whom has c ldren Au 1 a o . . Seth B rt n French, Jr Born

1 1 889 . gust 7,

2 . . Hilah Cockrane French Born Janu 2 891 8 1 . ary ,

3 . . Ellen Mercer French Born March

4 . . John Herndon French, Jr Born 26 1 898 February , . 8 0 . George Barton French . Born Feb 2 1 864 rua r 1 . y ,

29 1 886 . Married Adela Lesher on April ,

No issue .

He next married Miss of Denver . 8 d. Nannie Gordon French . Born 6 25 1 86 . March ,

1 28 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

3 1 81 6 . 9 1 858 January , Died September , , m ri un ar ed . 3 . 6 Julia Weedon Mercer . Born e 1 0 1 883 Di d December , . 1 2 1 825 Ro She married , on May , , Dr . b e 6 ul 21 ert Pag Waller (born died J y , 1 8 2 l 7 Va . ) of Wi liamsburg, , and had issue . 4 6 . John Cyrus Mercer . Born at Fred erick b ur 1 2 1 81 0 e 26 s g , May , . Di d March , 1 8 4 He 8 . practiced medi cine in Williams

Va . burg, ; was appointed Surgeon in the e U . S . Navy ; resigned ; appo inted Surg on in the Confederate States Navy ; with the

l . Marine Hospital , Norfo k e a 6 He married Catherin W ller , died 24 1 8 2 9 . May , , daughter of Dr Robert Page

e . Wall r , and had issue 6 5 e . . Louisa M rcer . She married Rev n L 6 Dr . Joh eyburn , a Presbyterian min N o . ister . Born Died issue Miss Jul ia Weedon Mercer was the s ec hi s ﬁ ond Wife of Dr . R . P . Waller , rst wife ff being Eliza Corbin Gri in . e The children of Gen . Hugh We don Mer cer 6 ( 21 1 ) and Mary Stiles Anderson 6 ﬁ his rst wife, are

1 e e 7. . G org Anderson Mercer Born 1 835 r 9 . Feb uary , on e 23 1 861 He married , Octob r , , Nanny 1 6 1 885 Maury Herndon 7 (died June , ) of The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 29

Va . of Fredericksburg, , daughter Dr . Bro di e H h erndon, and by her ad issue : 1 nn . 8 Na ie Herndon Mercer . B orn r 8 1 866 Janua y , . ’ r d 24 1 889 h She ma rie , on April , , Josep 8 o r 4 1 861 d Muir Lang (b rn Februa y , ) an has issue : a a n . George Mercer L g . Born July 94 1 8 . 2 . o An s er Ge rge der on Merc . Born 2 1 868 March , . 1 9 He married , on April , Mary 8 n r Walter of Sava nah , Ga . (born Octobe 8 ha s , and issue

a . o r o r Fe Ge rge Ande s n Me cer . Born b rua r 1 893 y 7, . r t r b . Geo ge Wal er Mercer . Bo n April

3 e n 8 . L wis Her don Mercer . Born

March Settled in New York . 4 M rer 8 . Robert Lee ec . Born Novem 24 1 8 1 ber , 7 . 2 1 896 He married , on October 7 , Kath e 8 r erine Mackay Stil s of Carte sville, Ga . 29 1 8 0 7 . Born April , ff 8 s o e e . 5. Edward Cli ord Ander n M rc r 1 3 1 8 3 7 . Born November , d 8 1 898 e hine He marrie , on June , , Jos p 8 n to . . o Freeland of Charles n, S C B r 4 1 8 5 March , 7 . 1 30 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

6 e . 8 Hugh We don Mercer . Died in in 1 8 1 3 7 . r 2 fancy, February , Bo n August 5, 1 863 .

7. di 8 Bro e Herndon Mercer . Born 1 8 6 7 . n 1 3 1 8 8 Died in infancy, Ju e , 7 . 3 e . Hugh W edon Mercer 7. Born M 3 1 846 1 84 arch , . Died June 7, 7. 2 l . Wil iam Gordon Mercer 7. Born 26 1 843 26 . 1 844 May , Died November , . 4 . 0 Robert Lee Mercer 7. Born July 1 , 1 848 . 5 . Mary Stuart Mercer 7. Born Janu 1 2 1 842 ary , . 5 1 863 She married , on February , , Gen eral Henry Harris on Walker of Sussex 1 5 n . Cou ty, Va (born October , and ’ e wa s has issue . G neral Walker s father

John Harrison Walker of Sussex County, i e a . e r V , and his moth r was Ma Louise Car e gill , also of Suss x County . They had ten hi c ldren , of whom General Walker was

e 7. 6 . G orgia Anderson Mercer Born 1 1 5 1 8 8 7 . m 6 85 . Septe ber , Died December , 1 5 1 874 She married , on January , , Rob o e rt Apthorp Boit of Boston, Mass . (B rn 29 i d of April , She d e at the birth

i two u . h er second ch ld, leaving da ghters 8 o 1 . c . . Mary Anderson Mer er B rn 5 1 87 September , 7

1 32 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

1 . Hugh Mercer Waller 7. Born De m r 829 3 ce b e 1 . 0 1 896 , Died May , . 2 . 7. ul 31 Laura Page Waller Born J y , 1 828 . c 1 5 1 846 D She married , on O tober , , r .

William Sylvanus Morris 7 of Lynchburg, 1 1 821 . 7 di Va (born March , ; ed December 20 : , and had issue 3 o F . L uisa Mercer Waller 7. Born eb r 826 t 30 1 856 rua . e . y 7, 1 Di d Oc ober , She osna h married Captain J . B . C an o f South Carolina 7 (born 1 821 died 1 862) on 1 843 , and had issue

4 ul d 7. . J ia Wee on Waller Born No 23 1 836 30 1 860 m r . . ve b e , Died October , 1 833 5 7. . . Isabella Stuart Born Died 1 5 1 855 May , .

Kate Page Waller 7. Born November

ul h r e She married, on J y C a l s Scott Langhorne 7 (born January 31 died March , (Issue : page 95 of Notebook of Mercer

Family . ) The Life of General Hugh Mercer 1 33

1 1 e e e . . Mary M rc r Morr Born

She married , on Mr . Nowlin of

2 h C . . arles Morris

3 ‘ e . . Rob rt Page Waller Morris He married . Judge of United States District Court of e e o Minnesota, appointed by Pr sid nt Ro se e M v lt, and late ember of Congress from e Minn sota . 4 M 8 e . . John Spe d orris ed a 1 9 1 882 He marri , on Febru ry , , Pattie e 8 1 1 1 858 h Cary K an (born April , ) and ad issue 9 a o e r . . R b rt Mor is Born 9 M M . b . ary Randolph orris 9 1 e M . c . Page Wall r orris Born July 1 896 . i r 9 . o d. William Sylvanus Mor s B rn ‘ 1 88 6 8 . May , 8 5 e . . Lou Bell Morris ﬁ She married , rst , Mr . Langhorne of ha d Lynchburg, and issue

1 . . Sallie

2 e e . . B ssi

She married , second, on Robert 8 e Stanard , and left issu

1 . . Virginia Born 2 . Born 1 34 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

snah The children of J . B . Co an 8 ( 282) and Louisa Mercer Waller 8 ( 281 ) are

1 . l osna han 9 Roberta Ou d C . Born 29 1 844 April , . ed c m 25 1 8 1 She marri , on De e ber , 7 , Cam 9 1 8 1 844 Charles , born April , and had issue living : 9 Florence Waller Camm . Born March , 1 8 4 7 . 28 1 8 6 . 7 Edward Camm Born February , . 2 1 8 9 Louise Page . Born September , 7 . 3 nahan 9 . os Cc Mary Mercer C . Born 5 1 850 tober , . 22 1 869 e . She married , on Dec mber , , Prof Thomas Jeffres Stubbs 9 of William and e r e 1 4 Mary Colleg (bo n S ptember , and ha d issue living : i 1 0 a e . . Ann e Wall r Carter Stubbs Born 1 8 2 7 7 . January , 1 r 0. b . J . T . Stubbs , J . , Born December

li ferr o Ta o o . 0 . Lucy Conway Stubbs B rn 1 1 1 882 October , . 1 r . d. Ma y Mercer Stubbs Born June , 1 885 .

h The children of Dr . Jo n Cyrus Mercer 6 ( 21 7) and Mary Catherine Waller 6 ( 21 8) were

1 36 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

7 c e 20 clair Bright (born De mber , daughter of Samuel Bright of Williams u e b rg, and had issu 8 . Blakely Carter Mercer 7. Died in in

9 . Robert Page Mercer 7. Tourma n He married Sally 7, and they have issue : 1 0 . Isabella Stuart Waller Mercer 7. e 29 1 858 n Born Sept mber , . She married o 1 8 1 888 Mc a r October , , Charles G y 7 (born 1 2 . C . November , of Durham, N , and M c a r have issue . Charles G y was son of M a r . c G . . Captain P y of the U S Navy, and was born in Buenos Ayres . 2 . o George Weedon Mercer 7. B rn 4 1 863 . June , He married Elizabeth Butterworth 7 o 9 1 872 a 5 (b rn September , ) on Janu ry , 1 893 , and has issue

7 328 The children of Rev . Daniel Blain ( ) and Mary Louisa Mercer 7 ( 327) are

1 Rev 8. . . John Mercer Blain Born 9 30 1 86 . April , He went as a missionary to China and u 24 1 897 there married , on A gust , Claude The m e of General Hugh Mercer 1 37

8 n Lacy Grier of North Caroli a . They have issue r 1 7 a . Daniel Blain 9 . Born Decembe , 1 898 . 2 b . t 7 Mary Grier Blain . Born Oc ober 1 900 .

la e a r in . 0 . Margaret C y B Born Octob r

2 8 h . . Randolp Harrison Blain Born January Married Jea n Throck 2 1 899 o t us 3 . m r on Forman, Aug t , Issue 1 o 1 4 1 900 ( ) Mary Louise . B rn August , , at ille 2 o oresv . . C , Va ( ) Stanton Forman B rn K 22 1 902 in Louisville , y . , July , . 3 8 . Samuel Stuart Blain . Born Octo 1 8 1 8 2 ber , 7 . 4 8. c . Hugh Mercer Blain Born De em 2 1 8 4 e a 6 7 V . ber , . Married , at Wayn sboro , , M 26 1 901 Mary oore Winston , June , . Is sue : ( 1 ) Elizabeth Winston. B orn Novem 28 1 9 2 2 Au 0 . ber , . ( ) Hugh Mercer Born 1 4 1 9 5 0 . gust , 8 5 . . Daniel Blain . Son of Rev Daniel r hi s née Blain and Ma y Louise, wife, Mer r m 23 1 877 ce . Born Nove ber , Died Octo 28 1 8 9 ber , 7 . 8 rn 6 a . . Robert Waller Bl in Bo June 1 1 8 9 8 . , 7 ’ 8 7. Cary Randolph Blain . Born March 1 38 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

il . The ch dren of Dr Beverly St . G . Tucker 7 ( 330) and Eli za Christina Mercer 7 ( 329) are 1 u 8 . John Spe ed T cker .

He married . 2 8 . Dr . Beverly Tucker .

He married . 3 8 i r . . Eliza Christ na Tucke Born

She married . 4 8 . St . George Tucker . H 8 5 u h M ercer . . g Tucker b 8 6 t . . Henrie ta Eliza eth Tucker

The issue of Corbin Waller Mercer 7 ( 332) and Hanni e Burwell Nels on 7 ( 333) are 1 8 . William Nelson Mercer . Born Sep 2 1 888 2 1 889 7 . e . tember , Di d April , 2 8 . Waller Nelson Mercer . Born No vemb er 3 1 891 ,

The children of William Lewis Wall 7 ( 335) and Catherine Stuart Mercer 7 ( 334) are 8 r e 1 u . . Mary St art Wall Bo n D cem 1 8 5 ber 1 7 7 . e un 1 1 898 a She marri d, on J e , , Willi m 1 2 Guthrie 8 (born January ,

1 40 The Life of General Hugh Mercer

3 . Mc a r Annie Bell G y . BornFebruary

4 M a r . cG o a Isabel Stuart y . B rn M rch

The issue of George Mercer 7 ( 344) and Bessie Butterworth 7 ( 345) is 1 8 o Au . Linden Waller Mercer . B rn 1 9 1 893 2 1 896 gust , . Died June , .

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