Hugh Mercer
Hugh Mercer was born and educated in Aberdeen, Scotland. He became a physician and was a surgeon's mate at the battle of Culloden Moor, Scotland, where the young Pretender was defeated by the Duke of Cumberland in 1745. Mercer came to Pennsylvania in 1746 and was actively engaged in the border wars. He was with General Braddock in 1755 and witnessed the awful slaughter on the day that the general was mortally wounded. The following year, he served under General Armstrong and greatly distinguished himself at the battle with the Indians at Kittanning above Pittsburgh. He there narrowly escaped being captured;had his right arm broken with a ball; hebecame separated from his companions and was alone in the wilderness two weeks before reaching Cumberland without any food but water and the flesh of a rattlesnake that he fortunately killed. The city of Philadelphia presented him with a splendid medal for his bravery on that occasion. In 1763, he moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, He married Isabella Gordon.He soon gained a good practice in his profession and the esteem of a large circle of acquaintances. He was an ardent Whig and was among the first to repel the enemy by force of arms. He was appointed Brigadier-General. His brigade was a part of the left wing of the American army at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776.
On the 3rd of January, he commenced the attack at Princeton with 350 men. But the enemy broke his line; finding his regiment surrounded, he surrendered. Then he was mortally wounded. At that moment, Washington came up and quickly routed the enemy and rescued the brave Mercer. He lived but one week and was buried at Princeton.
Source: The Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by L. Carroll Judson
Quoted from Hero Imprints by Jeannette Holland Austin:
": 1755 May and June. An Expedition for the Capture of Fort Desquesne During May and June of 1755, the British General Edward Braddick led his troops against the Indians at Fort Dequesne, now located in downtown Pittsburgh. The General died in the effort. Dr. Hugh Mercer served on this expedition wherein he was severely wounded and left for dead by his own army. Wounded and tramping through the woods, he managed to catch up with his comrades, and afterwards he was appointed captain in one of the military organizations formed to protect the colony against the Indians.
In 1756, Dr. Mercer commanded the Pennsylvania territory at McDowell's Fort. Once again, he was severely wounded by the Indians and again abandanoned by his comrades. He hid in the hollow trunk of a tree and heard the Indians searching for him as well as their plans to scalp him. When he was not discovered, he commenced his march of over one hundred miles through the wooded land, eating roots and herbs and on one occasion, made soup of a rattlesnake. The wounded Dr. Mercer recovered from his ordeal."
" In 1757 Dr. Hugh Mercer, a hero of Indian battles (see the capture of Fort Desquesne), held the rank of major, commanding the forces of Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River, and joined General Forbes at Fort Duquesne. It was at this fort that he made the acquaintance of General George Washington who suggested that he come to Fredericksburg, which he did. It was the onset of the Revolutionary War. First, he served as a minuteman and when Governor Dunmore removed the colonial store of powder from the magazine in Wiliamsburg to the British man o' war Magdalen, Mercer was made Colonel (later Brigadier-General) and offered his services to the Virginia Convention, saying aloud " Hugh Mercer will serve his adopted country and the cause of Liberty in any rank or station to which he may be assigned." The following year he was appointed Brigadier-General by Washington to take charge of the troops at Paulus Hook, New Jersey. However, during the battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, he was once again severely wounded, and while lying on the ground was beaten in the head. He died on January 12th. Notes: Dr. Mercer, who was 1725 in Aberdeen, Scotland was part of the Pretender's army in the cause to bring Stuart to the English throne. He acted in the capacity of an assistant surgeon. When that cause was lost, Dr. Mercer left Leitch (1746) to go to America and settle first in Greencastle (now Mercersburg, Pennsylvania) where he practiced medicine."
Sources: Historic Houses of Early America by Lathrop, Great Patriots of the Revolutionary War; Irvin's Life of Washington, Volume I, pg 285.
" On January 3, 1777 Brigadier General Hugh Mercer of the Continental Army clashed with two regiments under the command of Mawhood. Mercer and his troops were overrun, and Mercer was mortally wounded. Washington sent a brigade of militia under Brigadier General John Cadwalader to help them. The militia, on seeing the flight of Mercer's men, also began to flee. Washington rode up with reinforcements and rallied the fleeing militia. He then led the attack on Mawhood's troops, driving them back. Mawhood gave the order to retreat, and most of the troops tried to flee to Cornwallis in Trenton.