George Mercer, Stamp Collector, hung in Effigy
A local reenactor group was created in 2015 on George Washington's birthday to portray Captain George Mercer company of the Virginia Regiment, who helped build Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA. This Captain Mercer also doubled as Colonel George Washington's aid de camp. George Mercer's brother, also a Captain, was killed in the Battle of the Great Cacapon April 1756. George Mercer later became a Lt Colonel under the 2nd VA Regiment commanded by Colonel William Byrd III. George Mercer vied to become a Governor of VandaliaIN 1770. IN 1768 he was awarded the position of Lt Gov of North Carolina. But before he was bestowed the title to govern North Carolina, he was awarded the position of Stamp Collector in 1765 of both Maryland and Virginia. This story commands our attention. Here it is:
The [Stamp] Act was passed by the British Parliament on 22 March 1765 with an effective date of 1 November 1765. It passed 205–49 in the House of Commons and unanimously in the House of Lords.[42] -- wikipedia.
George Mercer arrives in Williamsburg VA on Oct 31, 1765 to assume his role of Stamp Collector, the day before this STAMP ACT becomes active.
He is greeted by a hostile crowd. He didn't see this coming. He begs different crowds to give him time for an answer. Those crowds are ready he sees. They're ready to do something if he persists in taking this job.
A crowd in Westmoreland County had burned George Mercer in effigy. But Stafford County did not. Stafford County would have more reason to react to George Mercer. It was his birthplace. It was still the home of his father, John Mercer, lawyer for George Washington and the Ohio Company. Stafford County was created in 1664 out of Westmoreland County.
Hypocrisy
Why the effigy in Westmoreland County?
Richard Henry Lee is the reason. That county was his home.
Richard Henry Lee (shown here) led that protest, ordering his slaves to cart the effigy around and reportedly himself playing the part of a clergyman taking its confession before execution.
Sympathetic bureaucrats there [in London] appear to have leaked letters to him showing that another Virginian had applied for the job of stamp master months before: none other than Richard Henry Lee.
Richard Henry Lee is brother to Francis Light Horse Lee and and is an ancestor of Robert E Lee.
Nevertheless, George Mercer had to come up with an answer to this crowd. They wanted to know if he was going to enforce this Stamp Act and start collecting.
And here was a really big problem. This Stamp Act required payment in British hard currency. Not colonial promissory notes (IOUs) or paper colonial money. Spanish doubloons (the colonial version known as pistoles), prevalent in the colonies, were not acceptable either.
And of course the really big problem was this was the first tax that was not a tax on exports.
And the really bigger problem?
It's the one we were all taught. No taxation without representation. But the British countered an argument on that hypocrisy. They wondered who represents the ones who own no property? They don't get to vote. Who represents them? Of course they don't need representation since they don't pay taxes was the argument back. But all that circular arguing felt false. Shouldn't the colonies have a representative in the British Parliament? And the British responded that the homeland spended a lot on protecting the colonies, to which the colonies responded that they the colonies had raised their own taxes to pay for both their own defense and to help supply the British Army itself.
Now, what is George Mercer's answer?
Crossing the Atlantic took 9 weeks. It always takes longer coming from England because of going against the Gulf Stream. So during that time George Mercer did not receive any news of the rising anger towards the Stamp Act. Upon arriving he is hit immediately for his answer on what he intends to do, in his role of Stamp Collector. He stalls. He finally states he is not going to do anything in his role until he receives further orders from both the Crown and also from the House of Burgesses if they agree to those orders. Ultimately Lt Governor Fauquier accepts his resignation. See link on that.
A blog writer alleges London release details that Richard Henry Lee had applied for that Stamp Collector job too. Why? London wanted to indicate George Mercer was not the only one who wanted that position. Richard Henry Lee had applied for it. He was also the one who led the crowd to burn an effigy of George Mercer. I guess you're allowed to change your mind.
Here's sthe story of his arrival.
Following that is his response in his own words.
Williamsburg (in Virginia), Oct. 31 [1765]
This week arrived in York river, the ship Leeds, Capt. Anderson, in 9 weeks from London, on board of which came passenger George Mercer, Esq., Chief Distributor of Stamps for this colony.
Yesterday in the evening he arrived in this city,
and upon his walking up streets as far as the Capitol,
in his way to the Governor’s, was accosted
by a concourse of gentlemen assembled from all parts of the colony, the General court sitting at this time.
They insisted he should immediately satisfy the company (which constantly increased) whether he intended to act as a commissioner under the Stamp Act;
Mr. Mercer told them that any answer to so important a question that he should make, under such circumstances, would be attributed to fear; though he believed none of his countrymen, as he had never injured them, could have any design against his person; insisted that he ought to be allowed to wait on the Governor and Council, and to receive a true information of the sentiments of the colony (whose benefit and prosperity he had as much at heart as any man in it) and that he would, for the satisfaction of the company then assembled, give them his answer on Friday at ten o’clock.
This seemed to satisfy them,
and they attended him up as far as the Coffee-House, where the Governor, most of the Council, and a great number of gentlemen were assembled; but soon after many more people got together, and insisted on a more speedy and satisfactory answer, declaring they would not depart without one.
In some time, upon Mr. Mercer’s promising them an answer by five o’clock this evening, they departed well pleased; and he met with no further molestation.
And accordingly he was met this evening at the capitol, and addressed himself to the company as follows:
I now have met you agreeable to yesterday’s promise, to give my country some assurances which I would have been glad I could with any tolerable propriety have done sooner.
I flatter myself no judicious man can blame me for accepting an office under an authority that was never disputed by any from whom I could be advised of the propriety or weight of the objections.
I do acknowledge that some little time before I left England I heard of, and saw, some resolves which were said to be made by the House of Burgesses of Virginia; but as the authenticity of them was disputed, they never appearing but in private hands, and so often and differently represented and explained to me, I determined to know the real sentiments of my countrymen from themselves:
And I am concerned to say that those sentiments were so suddenly and unexpectedly communicated to me, that I was altogether unprepared to give an immediate answer upon so important a point;
[Blog note: Given the slow communications across the Atlantic, this excuse by George Mercer of not knowing the intensity of opinion in the colonies is somewhat supported by even Ben Franklin (still in England) not knowing either:
Wikipedia : Benjamin Franklin even suggested the appointment of John Hughes as the agent for Pennsylvania, indicating that even Franklin was not aware of the turmoil and impact that the tax was going to generate on American-British relations or that these distributors would become the focus of colonial resistance.[c]
But why could either of those two NOT realize the burdens this act brought on the colonies? Especially the requirement to pay the tax in British currency when the colonies held little such currency in their own money supply?]
for in however unpopular a light I may lately have been viewed,
and notwithstanding the many insults I have from this day’s conversation
been informed were offered me in effigy in many parts of the colony;
yet I still flatter myself that time will justify me;
and that my conduct may not be condemned after being cooly inquired into.
The commission so very disagreeable to my countrymen was solely obtained by the genteel recommendation of their representatives in General Assembly, unasked for;
and though this is contradictory to public report,
which I am told charges me with assisting the passage of the Stamp Act, upon the promise of the commission in this colony, yet I hope it will meet with credit, when I assure you I was so far from assisting it, or having any previous promise from the Ministry, that I did not know of my appointment until some time after my return from Ireland, where I was at the commencement of the session of Parliament, and for a long time after the act had passed.
Thus, gentlemen, I am circumstanced. I should be glad to act now in such a manner as would justify me to my friends and countrymen here, and the authority which appointed me;
but the time you have allotted me for my answer is so very short
that I have not yet been able to discover that happy medium, therefore must intreat you to be referred to my future conduct, with this assurance in the mean time
Mercer's answer:
that I will not, directly or indirectly, by myself or deputies, proceed in the execution of the act
until I receive further orders from England, and not then without the assent of the General Assembly of this colony;
and that no man can more ardently and sincerely wish the prosperity thereof, or is more desirous of securing all its just rights and privileges, than
Gentlemen, Yours &c., George Mercer.
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Source:
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 2:3 (1878). 299-301.
See Lt Gov Fauquier acceptance of George Mercer's resignation on page 302
John Mercer's response to the anger against his son, George Mercer, as Stamp Collector
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There's always more
Skip around.
Read bits and pieces
Interesting section on the Stamp Act.
Table of Contents
Compiled by Jim Moyer, first researched in 2013, update 3/18/2024, 3/19/2024, 3/21/2024
STAMP ACT
The [Stamp] Act was passed by the British Parliament on 22 March 1765 with an effective date of 1 November 1765.
It passed 205–49 in the House of Commons and unanimously in the House of Lords.[42]
Historians Edmund and Helen Morgan describe the specifics of the tax:
The highest tax, £10, was placed ... on attorney licenses. Other papers relating to court proceedings were taxed in amounts varying from 3d. to 10s. Land grants under a hundred acres were taxed 1s. 6d., between 100 and 200 acres 2s., and from 200 to 320 acres 2s. 6d., with an additional 2s 6d. for every additional 320 acres (1.3 km2). Cards were taxed a shilling a pack, dice ten shillings, and newspapers and pamphlets at the rate of a penny for a single sheet and a shilling for every sheet in pamphlets or papers totaling more than one sheet and fewer than six sheets in octavo, fewer than twelve in quarto, or fewer than twenty in folio (in other words, the tax on pamphlets grew in proportion to their size but ceased altogether if they became large enough to qualify as a book).[1]
The high taxes on lawyers and college students were designed to limit the growth of a professional class in the colonies.[43]
The stamps had to be purchased with hard currency, which was scarce, rather than the more plentiful colonial paper currency.
To avoid draining currency out of the colonies, the revenues were to be expended in America, especially for supplies and salaries of British Army units who were stationed there.[b]
Source
SOURCES
Williamsburg website bio on George Mercer and picture of effigy
Good starting point on Stamp Act
Marlborough in Stafford Co VA in the northern neck peninsula
Historical marker Inscription. Strategically situated at the tip of a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River at Potomac Creek, Marlborough was established under the Town Act of 1691 as a river port town. It served as the county seat of Stafford County from 1691 until about 1718. Marlborough never fully developed. In 1726, noted lawyer John Mercer (1705–1768) moved there and built Marlborough plantation and attempted to revive the town. Mercer had one of the largest private libraries in Virginia, in which the young George Mason received much of his education. Mercer’s attempt to revive the town was unsuccessful and it ceased to exist by the end of the 18th century.
This historical marker is on Route 1 near Fredericksburg, but as it says, Marlborough is located at the tip of a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River at Potomac Creek
historical marker website
Location of the actual long gone town of Marlborough, see yellow icon:
County Map of Virginia
When Counties were first formed
Stafford Co VA
Westmorelnd County VA
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TIMELINE
1765
Hung in Effigy
On March 22, 1765, the Stamp Act was imposed on the American colonies by the British government.
Mercer was appointed stamp distributor for Virginia and Maryland.
Reenactors portray hanging George Mercer hung in Effigy.
At Westmoreland County Courthouse the angry citizens did this.
When George was in England pushing for Ohio Company claims into the forbidden Ohio Country lands, he accepted a Stamps Collector position little knowing of the turmoil in the colonies.
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Pick method of reading, like HTML, then go to page 54:
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Below is from this link: http://college.cengage.com/history/ayers_primary_sources/george_mercer_resignation.htm
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Account of Col.George Mercer’s Arrival in Virginia, and his Resignation of the Office of Stamp Distributor, 1765
1767
In 1767 George Mercer married Mary Neville at Scarborough, England, who died a year later.[11]
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North Carolina Encyclopedia link states the wife is of Lincoln, England.
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Appointed Lt Governor of North Carolina
September 14, 1768
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A letter in “July 1769 Henry Eustace McCulloh, then in London, wrote to John Harvey that “Col. Mercer of Virginia has been for sometime appointed your Lieut Govr & I do believe has thoughts of succeeding: when Mr Tryon leaves America.” “
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George Mercer never ends up taking over this duty.
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October 14, 1768
George Mercer’s father, John Mercer, dies.
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1770
VANDALIA
Vandalia? Not Vidalia Onions. It was a possible colony. In 1770.
Our man Mercer is far from the action of the Boston Massacre 5 March 1770.
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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandalia_(colony)
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18 December 1770
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2. For Mercer’s role in the activities of the Walpole, or Grand Ohio, Company earlier this year, see Jonathan Boucher to GW, 18 Aug. 1770, n.4. GW wrote Mercer on 7 Nov. 1771:
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To George Washington from Jonathan Boucher, 18 August 1770
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Remarks & Occurrs. in October [1770]
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MORE ON VANDALIA
An effort to remove the Fort Pitt vicinity from Pennsylvania was championed by none other than Philadelphia’s famous Benjamin Franklin while he was in Britain. According to the VirginiaPlaces.org website, Franklin and Samuel Wharton, a representative of Ohio Company traders who lost assets during Pontiac’s War, sought land as compensation. Wharton and Franklin wanted a charter for a new colony named “Vandalia.” It would have contained Pittsburgh, a majority of what is now known as West Virginia; eastern Kentucky; and what is now Washington County and western Greene County in Pennsylvania.
Above from link, July 9, 2016 Observer-Reporter
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And an extensive source of info on the Ohio Company and Vandalia –
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George Mercer Appointed to North Carolina Council
November 1771
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“Mercer was named a member of the North Carolina Council in 1771 in the commission of Governor Josiah Martin, who was Tryon’s successor.”
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“In November 1771 Martin referred to a report that Mercer was about to become governor of a new colony on the Ohio, [this meant Vandalia] but again this never occurred.”
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GEORGE MERCER’S SHIFTING LOYALTIES
From exasperation on his obstacles to fortune, George Mercer feelings change for ( 1773) and against (11 March 1764) George Washington.
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From Founders Online footnote to a letter George Mercer in Dublin Ireland wrote to GW 18 December 1770:
3. Mercer was hoping to go to America as the governor of Vandalia. See note 2. GW, who had known Mercer as a boy, made him his aide-12–camp when he organized the Virginia Regiment in September 1755. Mercer remained with GW until he went with his company to South Carolina in 1757 and on his return in 1758 was given second-in-command of the new 2d Virginia Regiment.
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He wrote his brother James from England on 11 Mar. 1764: “The Services I was of to Colo. Washington [as his aide-12–camp] the Country in some Measure rewarded me for—though he might have afforded to have done it himself out of his Allowance & the Reputation he obtained by it—but thank God, I have done with him, and if he will pay off this Account, I am sure I never desire to deal with him for 6d. again …” (KyBgW). In 1773 George Mercer broke with his brother James and made GW one of three trustees of his ruined estate in America (see Advertisement of Sale of George Mercer’s Land, in the Virginia Gazette [Rind; Williamsburg], 30 June 1774).
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1773
In 1773 George Mercer broke with his brother James and made GW one of three trustees of his ruined estate in America (see Advertisement of Sale of George Mercer’s Land, in the Virginia Gazette [Rind; Williamsburg], 30 June 1774).
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1778-1779
3 Letters George Mercer in Paris France writes to GW
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1783
In 1783 his wife [Mary Neville of Lincoln England who George Mercer married in 1767] asked the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury to continue his allowance and sought reimbursement for losses he had sustained as stamp distributor.
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1784
George Mercer died in London.
Mercer and Family Stories
George Mercer, Stamp Collector, hung in Effigy
March 18, 2024
https://jimmoyer1.wixsite.com/fortloudounva/single-post/george-mercer-stamp-collector-hung-in-effigy
The Promised Land has George Mercer compete with Thomas Bullitt
Feb 18, 2024
https://jimmoyer1.wixsite.com/fortloudounva/single-post/promised_land_has_georgemercer_competer_w_thomas_bullitt
John Mercer sells Abridgement of the laws book 2 Nov 1759
Nov 1, 2023
George Mercer's Report on "Pittsburg" Sept 1759
Sep 13, 2023
George Mercer's Report on Thomas Bullitt Sept 1759
Sep 13, 2023
George Mercer's Report on Fort Pleasant in Sept 1759
Sep 4, 2023
Meet John Mercer, father, lawyer and Custis Inheritance
Sep 1, 2023
When George Mercer was done with GW
Aug 20, 2023
Hugh Mercer related to George Mercer?
Aug 13, 2023
Mercer still in Charles Town SC
Nov 27, 2021
George Mercer's One Letter from Charleston is full of Stories
Aug 27, 2021
A Storm is coming - Mercer writes about it
Apr 25, 2021
Captain George Mercer VA Regiment
Dec 9, 2018
Jim Moyer Sunday Word
https://jimmoyer1.wixsite.com/fortloudounva/single-post/2018/12/09/captain-george-mercer-va-regiment
Deserters - Mercer heads Posse
Dec 4, 2018
George Mercer Timeline 1750-1757
Feb 23, 2016
George Mercer Timeline 1757-1784
Feb 23, 2016
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Hypocrisy of Richard Henry Lee
Below is an entry from the Boston 1776 blogspot when that blog first posted its research on George Muse:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
As I noted back in May, the Virginia House of Burgesses was the first American institution to protest the Stamp Act—albeit not as forcefully as first thought, or later reported.
Virginians were also ahead of their southern neighbors in protesting the new law on the street, starting even before their stamp master had made his way back from Britain.
George Mercer (1733-1784), a former military companion of George Washington, was first hanged and burnt in effigy in Westmoreland County on 24 Sept 1765. Richard Henry Lee (shown here) led that protest, ordering his slaves to cart the effigy around and reportedly himself playing the part of a clergyman taking its confession before execution.
Mercer arrived in Virginia in the last week of October 1765. On the evening of 30 October, newspapers reported, he reached the colonial capital of Williamsburg.
[Then the Boston 1775 blogspot post George Mercer's answer which we already printed above in our blog.]
Rather than stick around, Mercer headed back to Britain, warning the imperial government that the Stamp Act was unenforceable. Sympathetic bureaucrats there appear to have leaked letters to him showing that another Virginian had applied for the job of stamp master months before: none other than Richard Henry Lee.
TOMORROW: Stamp masters in deep trouble in the deep south.
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file:///C:/Users/jim-m/Downloads/mlb78,+60746-64587-1-CE.pdf
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