Our Town’s Namesake

Brigadier-General Hugh Mercer

A Hero of the American Revolution

(c.1725 – January 12, 1777)

Mercer was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland around 1725. He was educated in medicine and was an assistant surgeon in the army of “Bonnie Prince Charlie.” In 1746, he immigrated to America, where he landed in Philadelphia.

He continued moving around, working as a country doctor and eventually fighting and rising through the ranks during the French and Indian War. In 1756, Mercer was appointed Captain. Later that same year, he was wounded during the Kittanning Expedition. In 1758, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and while preparing the expedition to capture Fort Duquesne (now Fort Pitt), he met Colonel George Washington. The men would continue their friendship after the war.

Mercer moved to Virginia and married Isabella Gordon. During this period, Mercer had five children and established a local medical practice.

In 1775, at the Virginia Convention where Patrick Henry gave his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, Mercer volunteered his services to the Revolutionary War effort. He was named Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, which later became a part of the Continental Army. At the urgent recommendation of General Washington, Mercer was commissioned a Brigadier-General on June 5, 1776, and assigned to New York. He would lead a brigade at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776. About a week later, he would lead another brigade at the Battle of Princeton in January 1777. It would be his last battle.

During the battle, Mercer was severely wounded and died a few days later from his injuries. The doctor, Benjamin Rush, who cared for Mercer in his last days, wrote that, “His character was marked with all the traits of one of the heroes of antiquity; the manner of his death was equally honorable to himself and to our cause.” (Rush)

Mercer’s Legacy

Counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Illinois, and New Jersey are named after him, along with a number of towns, streets, and other sites.
Mercer’s Apothecary Shop is still open as a museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Statues of Mercer in Fredericksburg and Philadelphia.

In Mercer County, Pennsylvania:

A bronze keystone marker honoring Mercer on the Courthouse Square. It was placed there by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the
PA Daughters of the American Revolution.
In 1800, the Pennsylvania General Assembly created Mercer County and named it to honor the famous officer and doctor. The county seat was also named after him.

Fun Fact:

Despite the county being named after Hugh Mercer, the Brigadier-General never set foot in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

Image: Gary Schwebs, Brigadier General Hugh Mercer. 2024. Original painting is located at the Mercer County Historical Society, donated in memory of Kathleen Coll Schwebs.

Sources:

"Benjamin Rush to Richard Henry Lee, 6 January 1776," Letters of Benjamin Rush, Vol. I: 1761-1792, (Princeton University Press, 2019).
George Washington’s Mount Vernon, “Hugh Mercer.” https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/hugh-mercer
Pennsylvania Center for the Book, “Hugh Mercer.” https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/mercer__hugh