Delaware Patriot

 

When I started writing the Yankee Doodle Spies Blog many years ago, one of the first patriots I wanted to feature was someone from Delaware. An immigrant preacher who left Ireland for a better life and fought in two wars, one for Britain and one against it, this underrated patriot is John Haslet. 

A Londonderry Man

Born around 1727 in Dungiven, near Londonderry, Ireland, this son of a tenant farmer grew up to be a devout man and, when necessary, a passionate leader. As a young man, he traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, and studied Divinity. He finished his studies in 1749, sailed home, and soon married. His wife was Shirley Stirling, the daughter of a preacher. John was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1752 and, later that year, delivered his first sermon to his new congregation at Ballykelly. Around that time, the Haslet family had their first child, Mary (or Polly).

Preaching

Tragedy and Immigration

The year 1757 was a time of tragedy and change for Haslet. Shirley lost their second child and died during childbirth. Soon after, Haslet decided to emigrate. Following a common practice of the time, he left young Polly in his brother's care and sailed to America for a new life in a place called Delaware. The young widower quickly remarried there, taking Jemima Molleston as his second wife. 

Against the French and Indians

Haslet joined the Pennsylvania militia. His degree from the University of Glasgow and his experience speaking to and inspiring his congregations marked him as a leader, and he quickly rose to the rank of captain. The French and Indian War was ongoing when Haslet arrived in America. The campaign to expel the French from the frontier took Haslet and his militia company to western Pennsylvania, where they fought in the 1758 Battle of Fort Duquesne.

Fort Duquesne

Country Doctor

The war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Haslet returned with his company to Delaware. He and Jemima settled in Milford, where he established a medical practice and bought a property called "Longfield." John and Jemima had four children. Additionally, his daughter Polly immigrated to Delaware in 1765. An ideal life as a country doctor and farmer awaited him. 

From Friction to Fighting

But the political friction after the war grew into armed resistance, and Haslet became involved, eventually advocating for independence from Britain. The Continental Congress appointed him a Colonel and commander of the Delaware Regiment (sometimes called the Delaware Blues), one of the largest (800 men) and most well-uniformed and equipped regiments in the Continental Army. Their blue jackets with white waistcoats and breeches set the standard for all the regiments of the Continental Line. 

Haslet's Regiment leaves for war

Valor on Long Island

John Haslet's regiment marched to New York and into the defense works on Long Island in the late summer of 1776. General George Washington had occupied the city, but the British armada under Lord Howe sailed south and descended on Staten Island before invading Long Island at Brooklyn's Gravesend.

When the British surrounded the Americans, Haslet's regiment and the First Maryland held firm against the attack. At the peak of the fight, Lord Stirling, an American general and Scottish peer named William Alexander, took command of both regiments and led them in a series of brave charges against British General Cornwallis's regular troops. 

Haslet's Delaware Regiment faces British regulars on Long Island

Absorbing volley after volley from the red-coated ranks, the two regiments were torn to shreds. However, their discipline and sacrifice allowed the rest of the American army to retreat to the safety of the defenses near Brooklyn Heights. This event is a pivotal moment in my novel, The Patriot Spy. Ironically, Haslet and the Maryland commander, Colonel John Smallwood, were on court-martial duty in New York City and only returned after the battle had ended.

Colonel John Smallwood

Retreat, Fight, and Retreat

Haslet and his regiment fought bravely during the months that followed as the Continentals were forced out of New York City. During the retreat, Haslet and his men defeated a Loyalist corps at Mamaroneck.

At White Plains on October 28, Haslet and Smallwood stood bravely with their regiments on Chatterton Hill. When the militia they were sent to reinforce broke and fled, the two Continental regiments held their ground until the enemy's numbers and firepower forced a retreat. However, the stand on Chatterton Hill denied General Howe a complete victory, and the Americans would live to fight another day.

Chatterton Hill

War on the Run

General Washington's army was on the run for the next two months. Fort Washington fell, and his men abandoned Fort Lee as they hurried across New Jersey toward the Delaware and Pennsylvania, where Washington hoped to regroup and make a stand. Haslet and his men fought many small battles—skirmishing during a "fighting retreat" that reduced the Delaware Regiment to no more than 100 "effectives"—men capable of fighting by the time they crossed the Delaware River to rejoin the main army.

War on the Run

Trenton

Knowing he needed to strike within days, Washington launched his famous Christmas surprise attack, crossing the ice-clogged Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776. The army trudged the nine miles under a dark and cold sky to their target: the Hessian garrison at Trenton, which had over a thousand troops. Although barely two companies strong, Haslet and his men led the charge. After a brief but fierce exchange of musket and artillery fire, the garrison surrendered, giving Washington one of the war's greatest victories. Before Haslet had time to refit, enlistments were expiring, as they were across the entire army. 

Taking Trenton

Assunpink Creek

Days later, the army returned to Trenton, defending a low ridgeline behind a creek south of the town and waiting for the British counterattack with more than 5,000 fresh redcoats under an angry General Cornwallis. A late afternoon firefight on January 2, 1777, caused Cornwallis to stand down and strike with all his force the next day. However, Washington outmaneuvered them and executed an 18-mile night march around the British to attack their supply base at Princeton.

Holding Assunpink Creek

Destiny at Princeton

The dawn of January 3rd broke bright but cold, with snow covering fields and roads. Colonel Haslet's regiment was now just a handful of officers. Months of fighting and expired enlistments had worn down his regiment. However, Haslet's experience and capable leadership remained crucial, so Washington appointed him as second in command to General Hugh Mercer, his best commander.

General Hugh Mercer bayonetted at Princeton

Mercer's division was at the forefront, marching through William Clarke's orchard when two crack regiments of British regulars unleashed a horrific barrage of volleys, shooting Mercer's horse out from under him. Mercer quickly got to his feet and drew his saber as the wave of red moved in on him. When he refused to be taken prisoner, they clubbed him and then bayonetted him while he lay helpless in the snow. He died from his wounds.

The Field of Honor

Seeing Mercer go down, Haslet took command of the remnants. But just moments later, a curtain of lead filled the air, and a musket ball struck him in the head. The remaining troops began to waver, but General Washington rode into their midst and rallied them. Then, combined with reinforcements, they drove the British from the field and took Princeton. The gallant John Haslet died on the field of honor like his commander, Hugh Mercer.

Washington rallying the troops

Washington's Loss, America's Loss

The history books record Princeton as a victory. However, the loss of Mercer and Haslet robbed Washington of two of his most capable lieutenants, whose talents the commander-in-chief would desperately miss over the next five years of war. Mercer is rightfully honored, but Haslet, being second in command and from a small state, often goes unmentioned. I count John Haslet among the many unsung heroes whose early death deprived the Continental Army and the future United States of leadership, integrity, and patriotism.

Delaware's Son

The son of Delaware was buried outside his home state and laid to rest in the graveyard of the First Presbyterian Church. It wasn't until an Act of the Delaware Assembly was passed in 1841 that his remains were moved to the Presbyterian Cemetery in Dover, Delaware. However, it wasn't until 2001 that his state finally honored him with a monument at Princeton. 

Haslet Monument at Princeton

The Surgeon General from Scotland

Fans of Outlander will instantly recognize the unique connection this first patriot shares with the main characters of the cherished books and TV series. A strong, passionate Scotsman with fiery temper meets a calm, strategic medical professional who faces the British across two continents. Yet in this case, both qualities are embodied in one person—Hugh Mercer, a man who blazed a trail from the streets of Aberdeen to the bloody fields of Culloden, through the war-torn mountains of Pennsylvania and the frozen farmlands of New Jersey.

General Hugh Mercer

The Streets of Aberdeen

Hugh Mercer was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1725 to Reverend William Mercer, a Church of Scotland minister, and Ann Monro. He graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a medical degree in 1744. That same year, he joined the Jacobite army of Prince Charles Edward, the Pretender, and served as an assistant surgeon during the disastrous engagement at Culloden in April 1746. He escaped the massacre that followed the battle, and after months on the run, fled to America.

Country Doctor

The young surgeon, a war veteran and fugitive, settled in present-day Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to work as a doctor. When the French and Indian War started in 1755, he put aside his eight years of comfortable medical practice and offered his services to the provincial forces, taking part in several notable battles. 

Another Massacre

On the western frontier of Pennsylvania, Mercer helped care for the survivors of General Braddock’s defeat on the Monongahela River. Shocked by the suffering of the wounded, Mercer set aside his disdain for the crown and joined Britain’s fight for America.

Punitive Expedition

In September 1756, the newly appointed captain joined Colonel John Armstrong on his punitive expedition against the Indian villages at Kittanning and was severely wounded. Isolated, he survived for two weeks on his own, wandering over 100 miles before reaching the friendly outpost at Fort Shirley. His devotion and gallantry were recognized. 

Mercer served under Col John Armstrong
in western Pennsylvania raid

Fort Duquesne

Two years later, he served as a lieutenant colonel during the capture of Fort Duquesne (renamed Fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh) and later took command of the fort. Mercer's first task was to build a temporary fort to control the two forks of the Ohio in case the French returned from the northwest. During this campaign, Mercer met and formed a lasting friendship with Colonel George Washington of the Virginia Regiment. 

The Old Dominion

The war ended in 1763, and because he had befriended several Virginians, he chose to settle in a small port town with a tight-knit community of Scottish ex-pats. Although Mercer arrived in Fredericksburg to start a medical practice, he discovered much more. The town filled a void that had existed since he left his homeland.

Mercer opened an Apothecary in his
adopted town of Fredericksburg

First Mother's Physician

Besides practicing medicine, Mercer opened an apothecary in town. Like many settlers, he bought land. He served as a doctor to George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, and acquired the Ferry Farm from her as his family homestead. 

One of Mercer's celebrated patients
was Mary Ball Washington

Civic Leader

He became active in local town issues and was a prominent businessman. Along the way, he joined the Masonic lodge, which included Washington and many other notable Virginians. To say he was finally comfortable with life is an understatement. But he would soon leave his comfort to follow the drum one last time.

Mercer, George Washington, and numerous founders
belonged to the Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge

The Minuteman

By 1775, the tensions between Britain and its colonies in North America had shifted from resistance to rebellion and eventually to war. It was only natural that the brave freedom-lover Mercer would join the cause and face his former enemies again. He became a member of the Fredericksburg Committee of Safety. In September, Mercer was appointed commander of all Minuteman companies in the four counties around Fredericksburg. 

Virginia Minutemen

The Continental

In January 1776, his talents were once again recognized. Virginia’s provincial congress appointed him a colonel in the 3rd Virginia Continental Line. He set to work training it into a sharp, disciplined unit, but that command was short-lived. His old friend and fellow soldier, George Washington, was now the commander in chief of the new Continental Army. Mercer enjoyed a strong military reputation, so Washington petitioned the Continental Congress to appoint him brigadier general that June.

Mercer commanded a Continental Line regiment
but was quickly promoted to the rank of
Brigadier General

Flying Camp Days

Washington quickly assigned him to lead the so-called Flying Camp, a mobile military reserve. He tried to use it to support the main army during the New York campaign, but the unit faced desertions, manpower shortages, and supply problems. The Flying Camp was disbanded that winter. 

Fort Lee before evacuation

Battle Across the Jerseys

Mercer was also responsible for constructing what became Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the North (Hudson) River. Although the fort fell without resistance during the British invasion of the Jerseys in late 1776, Mercer still held Washington’s full confidence. He played a key role during the bold and skillful counter-attack at Trenton on December 1776, 1776. His brigade was instrumental in pushing the Hessian garrison out of the town, where they were compelled to surrender in a nearby field.

Mercer commanded a brigade at the crucial
assault on the Hessian garrison at Trenton

Escape from Assunpink

The Americans eventually moved to Assunpink Creek to wait for the inevitable British counterattack by a column of about 5,000 troops led by Major General Charles Earl Cornwallis. Some say Mercer may have suggested the famous ruse of leaving fires burning. Regardless, the British were fooled when the Americans slipped away into the night, got behind Cornwallis’s column, and launched an attack on Princeton. 

After repulsing Cornwallis's columns at Assunpink Creek
the Americans slipped away in the night

Advance on Princeton

On January 3, 1777, Mercer, leading the advance unit ahead of the main force, faced a brigade of about 1200 British regulars under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood of the 17th Regiment of Foot. A fierce volley exchange broke out near Stony Brook Bridge. Instead of retreating from the redcoats' pressure, the formidable Scot charged into battle against the better-trained British troops. However, his men were pushed back after intense combat.

Mawhood's brigade was all that stood
between Mercer and Princeton

Clash and Flurry of Blades

While trying to rally his men, Mercer was shot from his horse. Refusing to surrender, he drew his saber but was overpowered and stabbed multiple times by furious British soldiers (who might have thought he was Washington). Wounded fatally, he was carried to the nearby home of Thomas Clarke, where a British surgeon's mate and some local women cared for him. When Washington learned his fate, he contacted Cornwallis, who kindly allowed Washington’s top doctor, Dr. Benjamin Rush, to tend to the dying general. 

British bayonets mortally wounded
the gallant Scot turned Yankee

Final Home

The brave soldier-surgeon Mercer lingered but eventually died from his wounds on January 12, 1776. His body was taken to Philadelphia for burial. Had Mercer survived, he likely would have played an even more important role in fighting for America's independence. Still, the greater tragedy is that this educated and committed soldier-surgeon never got the chance to help build the nation whose freedom was bought with his blood.

Gen Hugh Mercer's grave 

The Surgeon General

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the Battle of Princeton, the culmination of a week of daring action that literally saved the American Revolution—at least until its next crisis. The battle featured a daring night march by Washington's army—pinned and shivering between the Assunpink Creek and the frozen Delaware River, awaiting possible annihilation by General Cornwallis and 5,000 British and Hessians hell-bent on revenge for the first battle of Trenton. 

Washington's men abandoned camp in the dark winter night. Tramping through frozen marshlands, they circled around the British, arriving several miles behind them and preparing to seize the British base at Princeton. Washington succeeded in one of the rare open-field engagements of the campaign, demonstrating decisiveness and personal bravery by leading his men across the snow-covered fields in a gallant charge. But the victory came at a great cost: two of his top generals fell that day. One of them was Hugh Mercer, the Scottish-born surgeon turned soldier.

Young Hugh Mercer

Early Life: Scalpel, Claymore, and Tomahawk

Mercer fought with the clans at Culloden

Mercer was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1725, and earned a medical degree from the university of that name in 1744. Apparently a lover of hopeless (not lost) causes, the young Mercer joined the Jacobite army under Prince Charles Edward, known as the Pretender, until that struggle for freedom was crushed by the Duke of Cumberland's redcoats at Culloden on April 16, 1746. 

After a period in hiding, Mercer fled to America and settled in Pennsylvania, where he established his medical practice. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1756, Mercer joined the colony's forces. Throughout the war, Pennsylvania's western region faced relentless Indian raids, encouraged by the French. Mercer began his service as part of Colonel John Armstrong's expedition against the Indians at Kittanning, where he was wounded. 

In 1758, he served as a lieutenant colonel in the siege of Fort Duquesne and was later given command there to secure the West. Around that time, he befriended a colonel named George Washington, who commanded the Virginia Regiment, which performed similar duties protecting Virginia's western frontier.

The British capture of Fort Duquesne

Colonial Life: Prosperity and Family

When the war ended in 1763, Mercer moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, and reopened his medical practice. It makes one wonder if his connection with Washington influenced his decision to relocate to the Old Dominion. When Mercer arrived in Fredericksburg, it was a lively Scottish community. 

Fellow Scot John Paul Jones's brother farmed nearby, and Jones himself hoped to settle there permanently. He became a well-known figure and businessman in town, purchasing land and engaging in local trade. His medical practice brought him into contact with many prominent Virginians, including George Washington's mother, Mary Ball Washington, who became one of his patients. 

In Fredericksburg, Mercer married Isabella Gordon, started a family, and had five children. Later, he purchased George Washington's childhood home, Ferry Farm, with the hope of making it his permanent residence.

Mary Washington was a patient
of Mercer's (seen here as a younger woman)

Run up to War

Like many Virginians, Mercer supported the Patriot cause as the American Revolution approached. He joined the Fredericksburg Committee of Safety and, on April 25, was among the members of the Independent Company of Fredericksburg who wrote a letter to then-Colonel George Washington, expressing concern when the British removed gunpowder from the Williamsburg magazine. Because he was Scottish, the Virginia Convention skipped over him for command of the first Virginia regiments in 1775. 

However, he was appointed commander of all the minuteman companies in the four counties around Fredericksburg. Early in 1776, Mercer's military experience led the provincial congress to appoint him as colonel (commander) of the 3rd Virginia Continental Line. Future President James Monroe and future Supreme Court Justice John Marshall served under him.

James Monroe served under Mercer

From Surgeon to General

In June 1776, General George Washington, in urgent need of experienced commanders, persuaded the Continental Congress to appoint Mercer as a brigadier general. Mercer's experience and reputation led Washington to place him in command of the "Flying Camp' during the New York campaign. These were inexperienced militias requiring strong leadership and strategic training. The Flying Camp served as a special military reserve, but despite Mercer's efforts, it suffered from shortages of equipment and men and was disbanded by year's end. Mercer also oversaw the construction of Fort Lee, which overlooked the North River across from Fort Washington in Manhattan. 

During the darkest days of the war, Mercer played a key role in Washington's night march on Trenton on December 26, 1776. He helped plan and execute the crossing and led his brigade into Trenton from the west—driving the Hessians out of the town and into an orchard, where they were almost annihilated. Mercer was also instrumental in repulsing the British during the second Battle of Trenton on January 2, 1777. The next day, Washington's army advanced on the British garrison at Princeton, New Jersey. 

Mercer's brigade, consisting of 350 men, encountered Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood's force—two British regiments and some dragoons, totaling about 1,200 men—near Stony Brook Bridge. A fierce firefight erupted in an orchard grove. The fiery Mercer refused to retreat despite the overwhelming odds and charged into battle. 

The better-trained British forces pushed his men back, causing them to break ranks. As Mercer attempted to rally his troops, his horse was shot from under him. He quickly got to his feet but was soon surrounded by British soldiers who mistook him for George Washington and ordered him to surrender. 

Outnumbered, Mercer drew his saber and fought fiercely. He was eventually knocked to the ground, bayoneted seven times, and left for dead. When Washington learned of the British attack and saw some of Mercer's men retreating, he personally entered the battle, famously rallying Mercer's men and forcing the British regiments to retreat.

Death of Hugh Mercer at Princeton

A Nation's Loss

After the battle, Mercer's body was taken to a nearby farmhouse where Washington's leading physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, attended him. However, Mercer died of his wounds on January 12, 1777. His loss was a significant personal blow for Washington, but it was an even greater loss for the new nation, which would have benefited from his leadership both in peace and in war.

Mercer Statue at Fredericksburg