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Hugh Mercer
Hugh Mercer[1]
Born	(1726-01-16)16 January 1726 Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died	12 January 1777(1777-01-12) (aged 50) Princeton, New Jersey, US
Place of burial	Laurel Hill Cemetery,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Allegiance	Jacobites  Great Britain  United States
Branch	Jacobite Army Pennsylvania Militia Continental Army
Years of service	Jacobite Army (1745–1746) Pennsylvania Militia (1755–1776) Continental Army (1776–1777)
Rank	Brigadier general (Continental Army)
Battles / wars	Jacobite rising of 1745 Battle of Culloden French and Indian War Kittanning Expedition Battle of Fort Duquesne American Revolutionary War Battle of Trenton Battle of Princeton (DOW)
Alma mater	University of Aberdeen
Relations	Hugh W. Mercer (grandson) Johnny Mercer andGeorge S. Patton (great-great-great grandsons)
Other work	Surgeon, apothecary

Hugh Mercer (January 16, 1726 – January 12, 1777) was a Scottish brigadier general in theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War. He fought in theNew York and New Jersey campaign and was mortally wounded at theBattle of Princeton.

Mercer was born inPitsligo, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and studied medicine at theUniversity of Aberdeen. He served as an assistant surgeon inCharles Edward Stuart's army during theBattle of Culloden in theJacobite rising of 1745.

The uprising failed, and Mercer escaped to theProvince of Pennsylvania where he lived in Greencastle, nearMercersburg, Pennsylvania andFredericksburg, Virginia. He worked as a physician and established anapothecary. He served alongsideGeorge Washington in theprovincial troops during theFrench and Indian War, and he and Washington became close friends.

Mercer was born on January 16, 1726, inPitsligo, Aberdeenshire, Scotland^[2] to Ann Monro and the Reverend William Mercer, a minister in theChurch of Scotland.^[3]

At age 15, he began studying medicine at the University of Aberdeen'sMarischal College, and graduated as a physician in 1744.^[4] He served as an assistant surgeon in the army of Charles Edward Stuart during theJacobite rising of 1745, and was present at theBattle of Culloden when Charles' army was defeated on 16 April 1746.^[5]

As a fugitive in his homeland in 1747, Mercer fled Scotland after months in hiding.^[6] In the fall of 1746, he departed Leith by ship and sailed toPhiladelphia. He settled in Pennsylvaniva near Greencastle, now known asMercersburg, and practiced medicine as a physician and apothecary^[7] for eight years.^[8]

This sectionrelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Hugh Mercer" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2025)

TheFrench and Indian War broke out in 1754, and Mercer joined thePennsylvania Provincial Forces.^[9] In 1755, he served as a captain in GeneralEdward Braddock's army in his failed attempt to takeFort Duquesne. He was wounded in the arm^[10] during the battle and left behind in the scramble to retreat, but he was able to rejoin his troops and continue to treat wounded soldiers.^[11] In March 1756, he was commissioned a captain in a Pennsylvania regiment^[12] and took command ofFort Shirley. He accompanied Lt. Col.John Armstrong in theKittanning Expedition in September 1756.^[13]

Mercer was badly wounded in the fighting atKittanning and separated from his unit. He trekked 100 miles (160 km) through the woods for 14 days, injured and with no supplies, before he "lay down, giving up all hopes of ever getting home." A "company ofCherokee Indians in kings pay" found him and carried him toFort Lyttleton, where he recovered.^{[14]: 164–65} In 1757, he was placed in charge of the garrison atFort Morris in Shippensburg and promoted to Major.^[13] It was during this period that Mercer developed a lifelong friendship with George Washington.^[15]

Both Washington and Mercer served in theForbes Expedition underBritish General John Forbes during the second attempt to capture Fort Duquesne.^[13] Forbes occupied the burned fort on 25 November 1758 and immediately ordered the construction of a new fortification to be namedFort Pitt, after British Secretary of StateWilliam Pitt the Elder. He also named the settlement "Pittsborough" between the rivers which today isPittsburgh.^[16] Mercer built a temporary fort during construction of Fort Pitt, informally known as "Mercer's Fort". It was dismantled in 1760.^[17]: 119

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Mercer moved toFredericksburg, Virginia^[15] in 1760 after the French and Indian War to practice medicine, following George Washington's recommendation. There he befriended fellow Scottish expatriateJohn Paul Jones.^[18] Mercer became a noted businessman in town, buying land and involving himself in local trade. He married Isabella Gordon and they had five children: Ann Mercer Patton, John Mercer, William Mercer, George Weedon Mercer, and Hugh Tennant Mercer.^[19].^[9] He also opened a physician'sapothecary and practice^[20] which is now a museum.^[21] In 1774, George Washington sold his childhood homeFerry Farm to Mercer, who wanted to make this prized land into a town where he and his family would settle for the remainder of his days.^[22]

During 1775, Mercer was a member of theFredericksburg Committee of Safety, and he was one of the members of the Independent Company of the Town of Fredericksburg who sent a letter of concern to Colonel George Washington when the British removed gunpowder from the magazine at Williamsburg. In an August vote, Mercer was excluded from the elected leadership of the new regiments formed by the Virginia Convention because he was a "northern Briton",^[23] but he was elected Colonel of the Minute Men ofSpotsylvania, King George, Stafford, and Caroline Counties on 12 September.^[24]

On November 17, 1775, Mercer was one of 21 members chosen for the Committee of Safety for Spotsylvania County. On January 10, 1776, he was appointed colonel to the3rd Virginia Regiment of theVirginia Line,^[25] and George Weedon was appointed lieutenant colonel.^[26]

On June 5, 1776, Mercer received a letter from theSecond Continental Congress inPhiladelphia, signed byJohn Hancock, appointing him brigadier-general in the Armies of the United Colonies and requesting him to report to headquarters in New York immediately.^[27]

Mercer was placed in charge of a large troop of Pennsylvania Militia stationed inPaulus Hook, New Jersey to protect from potential attack from British troops inStaten Island.^[28]

Before the New York City Campaign, Washington had ordered two forts built to repel theRoyal Navy. On the New York side of theHudson River,Fort Washington was constructed, and Mercer himself oversaw the building of the earthen fortification on theNew Jersey side, namedFort Lee.^[29] The British captured Fort Washington on 16 November 1776, and the Americans abandoned Fort Lee four days later.^[30] The retreat to New Jersey became known as "the Crisis of the Revolution", because the enlistments of most of Washington's soldiers ended onNew Year's Day 1777.^[31]

Mercer led a raid onRichmondtown, Staten Island on October 15, 1776, temporarily securing the town and taking as prisoners those inside the makeshift hospital ofSt. Andrew's Church, but was repelled back to New Jersey, releasing the prisoners and causing numerous British casualties in the process.^[32]

Some historical accounts credit Mercer with the suggestion forGeorge Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, which resulted in a surprise attack on theHessians at theBattle of Trenton on December 26, 1776.^[33] The victory at Trenton (and a small monetary bonus) made Washington's men agree to a ten-day extension to their enlistment. When Washington decided to face off with Cornwallis during theSecond Battle of Trenton on January 2, 1777, Mercer was given a major role in the defense of the city.^[34]

The next day, January 3, 1777, Washington's army was en route to theBattle of Princeton. While leading a vanguard of 350 soldiers, Mercer's brigade encountered two British regiments and a mounted unit. A fight broke out at an orchard grove and Mercer's horse was shot from under him. Getting to his feet, he was quickly surrounded by British troops who mistook him for George Washington and ordered him to surrender. Outnumbered, he drew his saber and began an unequal contest. He was finally beaten to the ground, bayoneted seven times, and left for dead.^[35]

When he learned of the British attack and saw some of Mercer's men in retreat, Washington himself entered the fray. Washington rallied Mercer's men and pushed back the British regiments, but Mercer had been left on the field to die with multiple bayonet wounds to his body and blows to his head. Legend has it that a beaten Mercer, with a bayonet still impaled in him, did not want to leave his men and the battle and was given a place to rest on a white oak tree's trunk, and those who remained with him stood their ground. The tree became known as "theMercer Oak" and is the key element of the seal ofMercer County, New Jersey.^[36]

When he was found, Mercer was carried to the field hospital in theThomas Clarke House, now a museum. at the eastern end of the battlefield.Benjamin Rush cared for Mercer and other wounded troops. Rush was assisted in caring for the wounded byQuakers.

Local Quakers continued to care for wounded troops from both Continental and British forces, after the Continental Army moved North. The Quaker meeting house is adjacent to the property now known asPrinceton Battlefield State Park. Medical efforts were made by Rush to save Mercer,^[37] but he was mortally wounded and died nine days later, on January 12, 1777.

Mercer was initially interred in theChrist Church Burial Ground inPhiladelphia. In 1840, he was reinterred inLaurel Hill Cemetery,^[38] including a memorial monument funded by theSaint Andrew's Society.^[8]

Because of Mercer's courage and sacrifice, Washington proceeded intoPrinceton, where he and the Continental Army defeated British forces in theBattle of Princeton. Washington then moved and quartered his forces inMorristown following the victory.^[39] Because of those victories, most of Washington's army re-enlisted, the French finally approved arms and supplies to the Americans, and a stunned Cornwallis pulled his forces back to New York to reassess the surprising military victories by Washington and his Continental Army. The crisis ended, demonstrating that Washington and his army had the means to fight, and British public support for continued engagement in the war began waning.

John Trumbull used Mercer's son, Hugh Jr., as a model for his portraitThe Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777.^[40]

A second portrait byCharles Willson Peale,Washington at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777, displays Washington in the foreground with Hugh Mercer lying mortally wounded in the background, supported by Dr.Benjamin Rush and MajorGeorge Lewis holding the American flag. This portrait is the prize possession ofPrinceton University. Peale painted a version ofBattle of Princeton, whose background shows a very indistinct portrait of Mercer being helped from the ground.^[41]

Succeeding generations of Mercer's family have distinguished themselves. Famous direct descendants of Hugh Mercer were his grandson Virginia governorJohn Mercer Patton, his sonsConfederate Lt. ColWaller T. Patton and Col.George Smith Patton, who in turn was an ancestor of GeneralGeorge S. Patton, Jr. Other direct descendants include another grandson Confederate GeneralHugh Weedon Mercer (CSA), songwriterJohnny Mercer, and Sergeant Christopher Mercer Lowe of theU.S. Army.^[42]

• In the 2000 television filmThe Crossing, a dramatization ofWashington's crossing of the Delaware and theBattle of Trenton, Mercer is played byRoger Rees.^[43]
• In the 2015Broadway musicalHamilton, Mercer is referenced byAaron Burr in the song "The Room Where It Happens": "Did ya hear the news about good old General Mercer? You knowClermont Street? They renamed it after him. The Mercer legacy is secure."^[44]
• In episode 3 ofThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024), Mercer's story is retold and one of the characters, Major General Beale, possesses a sword said to have belonged to him.^[45]

• Fort Mercer, located inRed Bank Battlefield of what is now the Borough ofNational Park, New Jersey^[46]
• Hugh Mercer Elementary School in Fredericksburg, Virginia^[47]
• Mercer County, Illinois^[48]
• Mercer County, Kentucky^[49]
• Mercer County, Missouri^[48]
• Mercer County, New Jersey^[50]
• Mercer County, Ohio^[48]
• Mercer County, Pennsylvania^[48]
• Mercer County, West Virginia^[48]
• Mercer Hall at theUniversity of Mary Washington^[51]
• Mercer, Maine^[52]
• Mercer, Pennsylvania
• Mercer Street inFredericksburg, Virginia^[47]
• Mercer Street inNew York City^[53]
• Mercer Street inTrenton, New Jersey^[54]
• Mercers Bottom, West Virginia^[55]
• Mercersburg, Pennsylvania^[8]
• Mercerville, New Jersey
• Mercer, Wisconsin

• 
  General Hugh Mercer Memorial Statue,Washington Avenue Historic District, Fredericksburg, Virginia
• 
  Charles Wilson Peale portrait of Washington; Mercer; Rush and Lewis
• 
  James Peale's The Battle of Princeton. background left can be seen Mercer beside his white horse

Citations

Sources

• Goolrick, John Tackett (1906).The Life of General Hugh Mercer. The Neale Publishing Company.
• Kwasny, Mark V. (1996).Washington's Partisan War, 1775–1783. Kent State University Press.ISBN 978-0-87338-611-1.
• Fischer, David Hackett (2004).Washington's Crossing. Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-518159-X.

• Hugh Mercer: An Unexpected Life

• 1726 births
• 1777 deaths
• People from Pitsligo
• Military personnel from Aberdeenshire
• 18th-century American physicians
• 18th-century Scottish medical doctors
• 18th-century United States Army personnel
• Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
• British military personnel of the French and Indian War
• Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia
• Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
• Continental Army generals
• Continental Army officers from Virginia
• Deaths by bayonet
• Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745
• Mercer family (Virginia)
• Military personnel from Fredericksburg, Virginia
• Patton family
• People from colonial Pennsylvania
• Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
• Scottish generals
• Scottish Jacobites
• United States military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War
• People from colonial Virginia

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