REVOLUTIONARY WAR 18THC EPITAPH FOR GENERAL HUGH MERCER &1840 REINTERNMENT BOOK

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FOR ANY FAN OF HUGH MERCER, THIS IS A MUST HAVE AS MERCER ITEMS DO NOT USUALLY COME UP FOR SALE. HERE IS A VERY RARE 18TH CENTURY (CIRCA 1777 - 1790S) MANUSCRIPT EPITAPH OF THE FAMOUS REVOLUTIONARY WAR GENERAL HUGH MERCER WHO GAVE HIS LIFE IN ORDER TO HELP WASHINGTON ADVANCE ONTO THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON THE OTHER DOCUMENT IN THIS LOT IS AN 1840 ORATION FROM WHEN MERCER WAS REINTERRED INTO A NEW GRAVE THE EPITAPH READS: SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF HUGH MERCER HERE UNNOTICED AND FORGOTTEN LIES A CHAMPION FOR COLUMBIAS BRIGHTEST PRIZE. HERE ON EARTHS COLD PILLOW REST A HEROS HEAD. NO POMPEOUS MARBLE MARKS HIS HUMBLE BED. ON THIS HUMBLE GRAVE O SHED ONE VIRTUOUS TEAR. GREAT MERCERS SHADE LIES SLUMBERING HERE. -SIGNED GEORGE S CASH THIS DOCUMENT IS OVERALL IN GREAT SHAPE WITH SOME FOLDS AND LOOKS LIKE IT WAS ATTACHED TO A SCRAPBOOK AT SOME POINT. MEASURES 7 3/4 INCHES LONG X 6 1/8 INCHES TALL THE OTHER DOCUMENT IS FORM 1840 AND TITLED: ORATION DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE REINTERMENT OF THE REMAINS OF GENERAL HUGH MERCER BEFORE THE ST. ANDREW'S AND THISTLE SOCIETIES. BY WILLIAM REED THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26TH 1840 PHILADELPHIA FROM THE PRESS OF A. WALDIE 46 CARPENTER ST 1840 COMPLETE IN 44 PAGES - OVERALL IN GOOD SHAPE WITH SOME MINIMAL WEAR & TEAR THE TWO PIECES WERE PURCHASED SEPARATELY BUT I THOUGHT THEY'D GO WELL TOGETHER. NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. BELOW IS SOME GREAT HISTORY ON GENERAL MERCER Hugh Mercer (January 17, 1726 – January 12, 1777) was a soldier and physician . He initially served with British forces during the Seven Years War but later became a brigadier general in the Continental Army and a close friend to George Washington . Mercer died as a result of his wounds received at the Battle of Princeton and became a fallen hero and rallying symbol of the American Revolution . Early life and career Mercer was born near Rosehearty , at the manse of Pitsligo Kirk, Aberdeenshire , Scotland , to Presbyterian Minister, Reverend William Mercer of Pitsligo Parish Church and Ann Monro. [1 ] At 15, he attended the University of Aberdeen , Marischal College, studying medicine and graduated a Doctor. He was assistant surgeon in the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745, and was present at the Battle of Culloden when Charles' Army was crushed on April 16, 1746, and any survivors were hunted down and killed. [2 ] As a fugitive in his own homeland in 1747, Mercer fled Scotland after months in hiding. He bought his way onto a ship and moved to America, settling near what is now Mercersburg, Pennsylvania , and practiced medicine for eight years. [3 ] Seven Years War Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years War In 1755, when General Edward Braddock 's army was cut down by the French and Indians during the first British attempt to take Fort Duquesne, Mercer was shocked by the same butchery he remembered at Culloden. He came to the aid of the wounded and eventually took up arms in support of the army that a few years back was hunting him, this time as a soldier, not a surgeon. By 1756 he was commissioned a captain in a Pennsylvania regiment , and accompanied Lt. Col. John Armstrong 's expedition on the raid of the Indian village of Kittanning in September 1756. During the attack, Mercer was badly wounded and separated from his unit. He trekked 100 miles through the woods for fourteen days, injured and with no supplies, until he found his way back to Fort Shirley , where he was recognized and promoted. He rose to the rank of colonel and commanded garrisons. It was during these trying times that Mercer developed a life-long and warm friendship with another colonel, George Washington.Both Washington and Mercer served under British General John Forbes during the second attempt to capture Fort Duquesne. Forbes occupied the burned fort on November 25, 1758. He immediately ordered the construction of a new fortification to be named Fort Pitt, after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. He also ... read more

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