George Mercer's Report on Fort Pleasant in Sept 1759
Mercer wrote Bouquet from Fort Pleasant on the South Branch of the Potomac in Virginia on 13 Sept.[1759], saying that he had “been to every little Fort, and Plantation for 10 or 15 Miles round” in the past three days and was now returning to Winchester. according to Founders Online footnote 12.
On that same day of 13 Sept 1759, the battle of the Plains of Abraham began. That was the battle that led to the defeat of the French in Quebec City.
Brief Bio of George Mercer
George Mercer is still Assistant Quarter Master of Maryland and Virgina reporting to General Stanwix since 19 Aug 1759. George Mercer's Company was one of the companies building Fort Loudoun in Winchester Va in 1756. He was also aid de camp to Colonel George Washington who designed the fort. In 1758 he became Lt Colonel under Col Byrd III in the 2nd VA Regiment. In 1761, George Mercer will be elected to join GW in the House of Burgesses, representing Frederick Co VA. He was burned in effigy for becoming Stamp Collector in 1765. He was a contender to be Governor of a new planned colony call Vandalia in 1770. He was appointed Gov of North Carolina but never assumed the position. We learn of an old war injury from a letter he writes in Paris. We learn in 1778 his arm was wounded at Fort Necessity in 1754.
Still in Paris in March 1779 he complained of feeling healthy maybe less than 10 days since April 1778. During that time his eyes were bandaged from some infection that might not last long. He was hoping to come back to America if Peace could be achieved in the Autumn of 1779. We know peace didn't happen until 1783. He died widowed in London, having remained a passive loyalist, in 1784.
The Grey Horse
So what is George Mercer doing in Sept 1759?
In a letter he writes on 16 Sept 1759 to George Washington, he tells of a particular incident on the South Branch of the Potomac while visiting the forts in the area:
While I was on the So. Branch [South Branch of the Potomac] a Man brought in your grey Horse, and upon my Return here Yesterday, waited on Me & offered to swear he was mine, nay even reminded of the Place & Time I bought him, and that I had paid so many Pieces of Money which I took out of my left Pocket with my right Hand for him; indeed I coud scarce persuade him I had Transferred my Right & Title of him to you—I wanted him to take him down, but he woud not, so I tipped the Fellow a Crown, & shall send him down to your Quarter to Day by a soldier.
More about that horse:
That horse is just one of many irritations George Mercer felt in his dealings with George Washington. But George Mercer still needed Washington's help.
Fort Pleasant and Capt Waggener
In a different letter of 13 Sept 1759 he writes to Maj Gen Stanwix (Stanwix took over leadership of the area after Forbes died in March 1759) specifically mentioning visiting Fort Pleasant. That fort is located south of The Trough on the South Branch of the Potomac. See map location.
He mentions in the letter of 16 Sept 1759 to GW that Capt Waggener is with him in Winchester. We might infer that Capt Waggener had accompanied Mercer on those visits to the Forts, but the letter is not clear about that. Capt Waggener had built most of those forts Mercer visited.
Fort Pleasant was a fort built by Capt Waggener and his intern Charles Smith who later became foreman, directing the building of Fort Loudoun 1756-1758.
Capt Waggener was designated to stay in Pittsburgh after the Forbes Expedition took over the 3 Rivers site of the burned down Fort Duquesne during that harsh winter with little shelter. Here's a report of him there in June 1759 too.
In that letter of 16 Sept 1759, Mercer mentions,
"Capt. Waggener is here [Winchester] in his Way to Williamsburg, from whence he expects to return a Field Officer."
That effort by Waggener to obtain a promotion was not liked by Robert Stewart, known for being head of the company of light horse and for whom Winchester named a street. Robert Stewart was already hunting for promotions too and did not want to lose out to Waggener. Neither in the end were promoted.
Battle of the Trough
Fort Pleasant was located near the Battle of the Trough fought sometime in end of March to early April 1756.
This fort exists below where the Battle of the Trough was fought in late March or early April 1756:
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The story has many versions. One story involves the charge of cowardice toward Captain Waggener. Allegedly he did not get his Virginia Regiment men to go out of the fort to help in the battle. Allegedly he went out after his accusers and whipped them. Because there were no court martials after this battle there may be truth to this. Also Capt Waggener was the main leader of all of the forts on the South Potomac, having led the building of them and even trained Charles Smith to be foreman to oversee the construction of Fort Loudoun In Winchester VA. Colonel George Washington relied on this man. But it must be pointed out -- almost every battle had court martials or courts of enquiry held after the battle. This Battle of the Trough had no such court martials or enquiries held afterwards.
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That battle was just part of a train of battles and attacks starting with the Battle of Lost River leading later to the Indians threatening Fort Ashby and White settler homesteads in the area leading up to the Battle of Great Cacapon 18 April 1756. George Mercer's brother, Lt John Fenton Mercer, was killed in that battle. Mercer in an interesting letter from Paris over 23 years later signed his own letter as J Fenton. An unknown waggoner, Daniel Morgan, was recouping at Fort Edwards (situated a mile from that battle of the Great Cacapon) from a wound from an earlier attack prior to that battle of the Great Cacapon.
1784 -- years later
George Washington himself visited that fort many years later in 1 Sept 1784. See that story here.
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Compiled by Jim Moyer 9/4/2023, 9/10/2023, 9/17/2023
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Sources
Letter of 16 Sept 1759 George Mercer writes from Winchester to retired Colonel George Washington
Map location of Fort Pleasant
.More on George Mercer:
More on Fort Pleasant
More on who stayed in Pittsburgh after the Forbes Expedition:
Jeremiah Smith and the Battle of the Lost River
Kerchival
https://archive.org/details/historyofvalleyofv00kerc/page/116/mode/2up?q=%22jeremiah+smith%22
Cartmell
Stewart not liking Waggener going for his rank
P.S. I inform’d you in my last that Capn Waggener had got leave to remain down the Country till the Regt return’d into Quarters, and was apprehensive that assisted by his Freinds Step[hen]s Lettrs, my absence, and your distance from Town, he might possibly attempt something to the prejudice of my present Rank in the Regt.13
.13. On 16 Sept. Mercer remarked that Capt. Thomas Waggener had passed through Winchester on “his Way to Williamsburg, from whence he expects to return a Field Officer.” Waggener died in 1760 without having displaced Stewart as major of the Virginia Regiment.
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STEWART STREET-
story of a polite curt reply
Sunday Word 1
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George Mercer's Report on Fort Pleasant in Sept 1759
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Mercer wrote Bouquet from Fort Pleasant on the South Branch of the Potomac in Virginia on 13 Sept.[1759], saying that he had “been to every little Fort, and Plantation for 10 or 15 Miles round” in the past three days and was now returning to Winchester. according to Founders Online footnote 12.
On that same day of 13 Sept 1759, the battle of the Plains of Abraham began. That was the battle that led to the defeat of the French in Quebec City.
Brief Bio of George Mercer
George Mercer is still Assistant Quarter Master of Maryland and Virgina reporting to General Stanwix since 19 Aug 1759. George Mercer's Company was one of the companies building Fort Loudoun in Winchester Va in 1756. He was also aid de camp to Colonel George Washington who designed the fort. In 1758 he became Lt Colonel under Col Byrd III in the 2nd VA Regiment. In 1761, George Mercer will be elected to join GW in the House of Burgesses, representing Frederick Co VA. He was burned in effigy for becoming Stamp Collector in 1765. He was a contender to be Governor of a new planned colony call Vandalia in 1770. He was appointed Gov of North Carolina but never assumed the position. We learn of an old war injury from a letter he writes in Paris. We learn in 1778 his arm was wounded at Fort Necessity in 1754.
Still in Paris in March 1779 he complained of feeling healthy maybe less than 10 days since April 1778. During that time his eyes were bandaged from some infection that might not last long. He was hoping to come back to America if Peace could be achieved in the Autumn of 1779. We know peace didn't happen until 1783. He died widowed in London, having remained a passive loyalist, in 1784.
In this blog is more about that Gray Horse or Phlea bitten horse. That horse was an irritation, one of among many George Mercer had in his dealings with Washington, but Mercer knew he needed Washington's help throughout his life to get some security in income.
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Also in this blog is Mercer meeting Capt Waggener while visiting Fort Pleasant. Waggener was much trusted by Washington to build and oversee the fort on the South Potomac. Waggener was alleged to have whipped those who accused him of cowardice for not helping out in the Battle of the Trough back in late March or early April 1756.
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Washington after all the tiring years of the Revolutionary War visits Fort Pleasant in Sept 1784. The link to that story is in the blog.
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