Mercer Military Service
Wilkes County GA, Battle of Kettle Creek
Pg 342 Leaves of the Tree, the War Years
The Battle of Kettle Creek, fought on this ground February 14, 1779, was one of the decisive battles of the Revolutionary War in Georgia. At this time, the State was almost entirely in control of the Tories. Colonel Boyd, with 800 Loyalists, crossed the Savannah River into Georgia, destroying all in his path as he moved to join the notorious Col. Daniel McGirth at Little River. Col. John Dooley and Col. Andrew Pickens, with 300 soldiers, and Col. Elijah Clark with his command of 100 dragoons, marched to overtake Boyd. On the morning of the 14th, Boyd̓s forces were encamped on the north side of Kettle Creek, their horses grazing in the reeds and the men preparing breakfast. The Americans advanced rapidly to the attack, completely surprising the enemy The British forces rallied, and for nearly 2 hours the battle raged on both sides of the Creek. Colonel Boyd and 70 of his men were killed, 75 wounded and captured. 9 Americans were killed and 23 wounded. In this battle and the preliminary skirmishes, the Americans captured 600 horses and a large quantity of much needed arms and equipment. The British forces in Upper Georgia scattered and never again rallied in strength.
(Near Washington, 7 miles south on US 78 at War Hill on Kettle Creek.)
Page 277 Leaves of the Tree , The War Years
Jacob Mercer's memory at 81, the time of his sworn statement for a pension, was not as precise as that of some of the other veterans.
Also, in his later years he signed his name with an X, possibly due to infirmities.
Wilkes County, Georgia where he was living was ravished by the British and Loyalists. The most important engagement was the Battle of Kettle Creek. Mrs. T M. Green (Wilkes Co., Chapter DAR) “states with no uncertainty that James and Jacob Mercer fought at Kettle Creek.” However, other documents do not include their names.
Jacob Mercer S. S. for Pension, Coweta County, September 4, 1834 (age 81). ( abstract)
•
Entered service September, 1777 (age 24) in Wilkes County under Colonel Dooley, Captain Heard, General Elijah Clarke, building forts 12 to 14, from the Ogeechee River to the Savannah River; discharged, March 1778.
Entered service September, 1777 (age 24) in Wilkes County under Colonel Dooley, Captain Heard, General Elijah Clarke, building forts 12 to 14, from the Ogeechee River to the Savannah River; discharged, March 1778.•Drafted 4/2/1778 in Wilkes County under above officers, marched to Burke County jail; discharged June, 1778.
Drafted 4/2/1778 in Wilkes County under above officers, marched to Burke County jail; discharged June, 1778.•Drafted 3/20/1779; marched to Augusta, Georgia — Colonel Steven Heard̓s Regiment — company of Captain Richard Heard.
Drafted 3/20/1779; marched to Augusta, Georgia — Colonel Steven Heard̓s Regiment — company of Captain Richard Heard.•Discharged June, 1779.
Discharged June, 1779.•Drafted 7/1/1779, served under above officers, marched to Savannah; was in the Siege of Savannah under General Lincoln; discharged October, 1779.
Drafted 7/1/1779, served under above officers, marched to Savannah; was in the Siege of Savannah under General Lincoln; discharged October, 1779.•Served two additional years under different detachments and at different periods of time, but cannot remember.
Served two additional years under different detachments and at different periods of time, but cannot remember.State of Georgia
Coweta County
On this the 4th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty four — personally appeared in open court before Jno D. Quinton, G. D. Greer and William Spratling judge of the Inferior Court of said state of county now setting Jacob Mercer, a resident of said state and county age (81) eighty one years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in orderto obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June the 7th 1832 — That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated — That he was living in the frontiers of Georgia in Wilkes County and was called out into service for a term of six months to defend and protect frontier and to build a line of forts. That he entered the service in September 1777 in the company of Captain Heard, the regiment was commanded by Col. Dooley, the whole under the command of Gen̓l Elijah Clark and served until March 1778 and was discharged, we built in that time a line of forts from the Ogeechee to the Savannah River twelve or fourteen forts — On the 2nd of April 1778 he was again drafted for a tour of two months, the company was commanded by Capt Richard Heard, the regiment by Capt Dooley — the whole rendezvoused at Heards fort Wilkes County Georgia — from which place we were marched down to Burke County jail and there served out our tour of two months and was discharged.
On the 20th March 1779 he again entered the service was drafted for three months and was marched to Augusta, Georgia and there served out his tour of three months and was discharged in June of the same year, the company was commanded by Capt Richard Heard, the regiment by Col Stephen Heard On the first of July 1779 he was again drafted for about three months, the company was commanded by Capt Richard Heard, the regiment by Col Stephen Heard, he was marched to Savannah, Georgia was at the siege and battle with the combined forces of France and America, while at Savannah was under the command of Gen̓l Lincoln he served out his tour of three months and was discharged in October of the same year — This served in different detachments and at different periods more than two years, during the Revolutionary War, but by reason of old age and the consequent loss of memory he cannot now recollect the time he entered — the time he left the service other than the tours before mentioned — that he has no documentary evidence and that knows of no person whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his service but Thomas Leverette whose affidavit is here unto annexed and he hereby relinquished every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declares that his name is not on the Pension roll of the agency of any state.
Sworn to and subscribed before us this day and year aforesaid.
Jacob Mercer
Jno. D. Winton
G.D. Greer
D. GreerWilliam. Spratling
Answers to Questions from the War Department:
1.I was born on the 12th day of April 1753 — in Currituck County North Carolina.
I was born on the 12th day of April 1753 — in Currituck County North Carolina.2.My age was recorded in the family Bible, but I do not know where it
My age was recorded in the family Bible, but I do not know where itis.
3.I was living in Wilkes County, Georgia at the commencement of the Revolutionary War, and have been living in the frontiers of said state ever since, and now a resident of Coweta County
I was living in Wilkes County, Georgia at the commencement of the Revolutionary War, and have been living in the frontiers of said state ever since, and now a resident of Coweta County4.I was drafted.
I was drafted.5.I have seen Gen̓l Lincoln, and served with Continental troops, but I do not now recollect the number of the regiments — or their officers names.
I have seen Gen̓l Lincoln, and served with Continental troops, but I do not now recollect the number of the regiments — or their officers names.6.I received a discharge by Col.. Heard but I have lost or mislaid it.
I received a discharge by Col.. Heard but I have lost or mislaid it.Jacob Mercer
The War of 1812
Page 297 Leaves of the Tree , The War Years
For the most part, Georgia saw little action with Britain during this war. The British did make a landing on Cumberland Island and St. Mary̓s early in 1815, not knowing that the war had ended in December of 1814.
The main military engagements in Georgia took place with the Upper Creek Indians. Georgia was called on to raise 3,500 troops and, ultimately, moved many of the Indians of middle Georgia across the Chattahoochee and won a major engagement on the Tallapoosa River.
However, it was 1836 before the last of the Creek land was ceded. John Spears (b. 1787), Levi Mercer, and John Wilson served. Both Drury Patterson and Leroy Wilson were too young.
Levi Mercer was drafted into the service in Jasper County~ Georgia, August 10, 1812. He served in Captain John Smith's Georgia Volunteers. He was sworn in at Fort Hawkins (Macon, Georgia) and also was discharged there on February 1, 1813.
On two occasions he was granted 80 acres of land as a pension.
The War Between the States
Page 311 Leaves of the Tree , The War Years
Not only did Georgia give many of its Sons to this cause, economic deprivation lasted many years afterward.
In evaluating the censuses of 1860 and 1870, many Georgians lost half or more of their resources and some lost all. General Sherman, on his march to the sea, moved through Newton, Jasper, Morgan, and Butts Counties. The Union army laid siege to food stuff, cotton, horses, and burned many homes and buildings. All bridges and railroad tracks in their path were destroyed. Before moving into Monticello, Sherman spent the night at the Shady Dale Hotel built by Matt Whitfield; less than three to four miles from the graves of the Revolutionary Patriots, John Spears, William Jones, Jacob Mercer, John Davidson, James Wilson, and Gilbert Shaw, who, less than 80 years before had fought for another independence and won.
Most county officials had enough warning and presence of mind to hide the county land deeds and other records; however, some of Henry County's records were burned and most of Baldwin's.
The writer has made no attempt to research all of his ancestors who served in the War Between the States; but he has concentrated on the sons of Levi Mercer, Drury Patterson, and the son of Leroy Wilson.
Thomas Jefferson Mercer
Thomas J. Mercer was the Captain-elect of Company E, 42nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, volunteering March 4, 1862, Covington, Georgia by (self).
Military records show: March and April 1863, at home sick on furlough; December 10, 1863, sick at Atlanta Hospital; December 5, 1865, near Nashville, Tennessee; February 24, 1865 — March 13, 1865, GSA General Hospital #11, Charlotte, North Carolina. Other military data shows Company E, 42nd Regiment, March 1862, included one Captain, three Lieutenants, seventy six non-commissioned officers and privates.
Georgia Archives records show that he was captured at Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863 and paroled July 6, 1863.
Military data show Captain Mercer requesting the following: March 1862, ordered ten cords of wood; March 29, 1862, ordered miscellaneous supplies, tents, mess pans, buckets, etc. at Camp McDonald; March, 1862, requested 912 lbs. of straw for his men at Camp McDonald; April 9, 1862, Camp McDonald requested stationery; November 30, 1862,
Manchester, Tennessee, requisition for blankets, shoes, axes, etc.; January 24, 1863, Vicksburg, Mississippi, requisitioned clothing for his men; March 17, 1863; Vicksburg, Mississippi, requested clothing for his men; January, 1864, (in the field) requisitioned clothing and supplies for men; January 1864 and March 31, 1864, (in the field) requested clothing and
supplies for his men.
Engagements of the Army of Tennessee include: Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Franklin, Nashville. Surrender took place at Greensboro, North Carolina. Of the states represented in this Army at the surrender, Georgia had the largest number of men — 5,626.
Ida Mercer Phillips recounts her father's military service in a narrative called "Reminiscences."
Thomas Jefferson Mercer, Confederate Veteran
I, Ida Mercer Phillips, youngest of a family of eleven children, daughter of the late Thomas Jefferson Mercer, and Frances Livingston, both of Newton County, Georgia. I was born Feb. 16, 1870. At the beginning of the War Between the States, my Father organized a company of men, of Newton Co., Jasper and perhaps other neighboring counties. This company was E. 42nd Ga., of which company, he was Captain, from the beginning to the end of the war. However, at the time the South first started talking war, he tried to persuade the people not to go to war, but to settle their differences. When he knew his efforts were in vain, it was then he organized his company, and went to war for the duration. From the time I can first remember, my Father never tired of telling of the achievements of valor performed by his men. One of his favorites, was about the battle on Kennesaw Mountain; his company was on top of the mountain, and gave out of ammunition, or carbine to hit the enemy~~ who was coming after them. When my Father gave the command to use the only source of defense available — the rocks and stones; by rumbling huge stones down upon the enemy, they routed them and saved the dav~ Also, one he loved to tell, how the South held off the enemy at Vicksburg; and the all night march from Atlanta to Jonesboro. One strategy they used in battles was
— when the enemy was approaching, he would give the order to fire, he would say, “Shin ‘em boys! Shin ‘em!” — meaning not to aim too high. My Father came out of the War, with what the doctors called, “Chronic Dysentery”, which caused his death, when I was sixteen years of age. Hewas never wounded while in service, but while he was sitting on a hillside watching the enemy~ when he discovered some of his men taking unnecessary risks, he went to warn them, leaving his coat on the ground where he had been sitting, if he had not moved, he might have been killed, as the enemy shot the sleeves from his coat with a cannon-ball.
Ida M. Phillips
Monticello, Georgia
James M. Mercer enlisted as a 2nd Corporal on March 4, 1862 in Company E, 42nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Covington, Georgia, by Captain T. J. Mercer. He was elected 2nd Lt. on August 15, 1862. Was captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, July 4, 1863, was paroled July 6, 1863; was admitted Ocmulgee Hospital, Macon, Georgia, July 29, 1864 — dysentery; August 19, 1864, “near Atlanta”; December 5, 1864, near Nashville. Tennessee.
William Francis Mercer, Private Company E, 42nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, volunteered March 4, 1862, Covington, Georgia by T. J. Mercer, d. April 12, 1863. Cause of his death and location are unknown.
Pleasant Wilson
Confederate Veterans Records in the Morgan County Courthouse indicate that Pleasant Wilson joined the Panola Guard, which left Madison, Georgia July 29, 1861 for Richmond, Virginia where it was mustered into the Confederate Army in August, 1861 as Company G, Cobb Legion, infantry It also shows that Pleasant Wilson was discharged December 19, 1861.
Military records from the National Archives show that Pleasant Wilson, assistant surgeon, was a member of Captain Brooks̓ Company (Terrell Light Artillery) and was paroled near Greensboro, North Carolina on April 28, 1865.
In an article in The Covington News, written by Mellie Pius of Newborn, Georgia on October 10, 1926, stated that Dr. Pleasant Wilson had been in charge of a gangrene hospital in Augusta, Georgia during the war. This was also mentioned by Rebecca Wilson Blake, his granddaughter.
Richmond, VA - 1864 Newspaper Article; Col. John T. Mercer's Death
Submitted for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Jay Remer
Taken from the Richmond Enquirer, Friday Morning, April 29, 1864
Col. John T. Mercer, of the 21st Georgia Regiment who was killed in the recent
fight at Plymouth, was a brave and skillful officer. He was a military man by
education, having graduated at West Point in the year 1854. He was in the same
class with Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, Gen. Hood, Gen. Custis Lee, and Gen. W. D. Pender
and graduated with them. At the time the war broke out, he was stationed in California
and was First Lieutenant in the First U. S. Dragoons. Hearing that his native State
has seceded from the old Union, he immediately resigned his commission in the United
States service and tendered his services to the Confederate Government at Montgomery,
Alabama. He was then ordered to Richmond, Va., and appointed Colonel of the 21st
Georgia Regiment in the year 1861, and was attached to Ewell's Corps. He participated
in the battle of Winchester, Va, and was highly complimented by his commanding General
in his official report of the battle of Cross Keys. He also bore a conspicuous part
of the battle of Malvern Hill, Chancelorsville and Gettysburg.
On the 20th of January 1864, he was attached to Hoke's brigade and was with the brigade
on the late expedition against Newbern and acted very gallantly at the battle of Bachelor's
Creek, and was afterwards assigned to the command of all the cavalry in this department.
In the expedition agains Plymouth he was in command of his own regiment, and during the
attack upon the town was in command of the dekes? brigade, and fell during the charge
upon Fort Sanderson, which was taken a few minutes after his fall.
The remains of Col. Mercer arrived at Goldsboro on Wednesday night last and were interred
in the Episcopal Cemetary by the side of the late lamented Gen. W. D. Pender, his class-mate,
his comrade-in-arms and his relative.
These galant spirits sleep side by side in death-peace be to their ashes, and may a grateful
country remember their noble deeds. Their blood has been sprinkled upon the altar of their
county, and their noble lives offered up for their country's good.
Col. Mercer was a young man, being only about 32 years of age.
# 671 Major General C.S.A. William Dorsey Pender/1830 “ Boy Wonder of the Confederacy “ b 2-6-1830 Pender’s Crossroad , Edgecombe-NC wounded by shell fragments Gettysburg , PA 7-2-1863 evacuated to Staunton, Va , where leg amputated 7-18-1863, died same day massive hemorrhage, buried Calvary Episcopal Church Cemetery Tarboro-NC as was his distant Relative, #550 Colonel John Thomas Mercer/1830 ( 1830-1864) grandson of # 547 John Mercer/1776 (1776-1852) Lee-GA
(see # 547 & # 550 page 21), 1854 Graduate of U S Military Academy m Frances Shepherd (1841-1921)
