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