|
|
VITAL STATISTICS
|
BORN: 1808 in Fredericksburg, VA.
DIED: 1877 in Baden-Baden, GERMANY
(Where he had gone to seek a cure for ill health).
CAMPAIGNS: Savannah, Defenses, Atlanta, Dalton, Marietta, Kenasaw Mountain.
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED: Brigadier General
|
|
BIOGRAPHY
|
| Hugh Weedon Mercer was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on November 27, 1808. He graduated from West Point in 1828, and served in the US Artillery, spending much of his service time in Georgia. After an assignment as an aide to Bvt. Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, he left the army, married a woman from Savannah and settle in that city. He worked as a bank cashier, and was an artillery officer in the local militia. In 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate army, and was promoted to brigadier general by the end of October. In August of 1862, he played a major role in impressing the first group of slaves and free blacks into service for the Confederacy. By November, however, he lost his authority to impress workers, and depended on Gov. Joseph E. Brown and local sheriffs to provide slaves to join the Confederate effort. At the beginning of the Atlanta Campaign, he left Savannah and took command of the Army of Tennessee. Fighting at Dalton, Marietta, Kennesaw Mountain, and the Battle of Atlanta, he became ill during the campaigning in Tennessee. Mercer was relieved of command, and sent to Savannah, serving under Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee. When Hardee retreated in December of 1864, Mercer left the city, returning after the fighting ended. He resumed his work in banking, and moved to Baltimore in 1869, where he worked as a commission merchant. Mercer traveled to Baden Baden, Germany, in order to find a cure for illness. He died there, on June 9, 1877. |
|
