The inscription to this bronze monument states:<br><br><br><span>“SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF HUGH MERCER, BRIGADIER GENERAL IN THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. HE DIED ON THE 12TH JANUARY, 1777 OF THE WOUNDS HE RECEIVED ON THE 2ND OF THE SAME MONTH. NEAR PRINCETOWN, IN NEW JERSEY, BRAVELY DEFENDING THE LIBERTIES OF AMERICA, THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES IN TESTIMONY OF HIS VIRTUES, AND THEIR GRATITUDE, HAVE CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED.”</span><br>

Photo taken after monument was erected in 1906

John Trumball painting of the death of General Hugh Mercer. Mercer is being bayoneted by British Soldiers in the center. 

Undated John Trumball sketch of Hugh Mercer

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Visit Fredericksburg-Hugh Mercer Monument 

Born in Scotland on January 17, 1726, Hugh Mercer was a trained physician working for the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie, pretender to the British throne, until Bonnie Prince and his army was destroyed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Mercer was then a fugitive and forced to flee to the American colonies, settling in Fredericksburg, Virginia and opening an apothecary shop. Active in politics and the military, he became a General in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was vital in the Battle of Trenton, Christmas of 1776 and was killed a month later during the Battle of Princeton (NJ). In 1906 this monument, sculpted by Edward V. Valentine, was erected in Fredericksburg Washington Avenue Historic District. 

Hugh Mercer Monument

Take a stroll through the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Along the way, you will see the city's historically significant buildings, monuments, and cemeteries. These sites offer a glimpse of Fredericksburg's past from pre-Colonial times until the Civil War. The tour starts at the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center, makes a circuit through these fascinating locations, and ends back at the FAMCC.

<p>The property on which the building now stands was part of land formerly owned by colonial governor, William Gooch (in office from 1727 to 1749). Charles Yates, who was born in England, erected the building before 1771 when he sold it to Scottish merchant John Glassel in 1771. Yates was a mason and merchant and likely chose this location for its proximity to the river. The building features fine interior woodwork, particularly in the southwest room, which contains latticework window heads and a garland over a fireplace.</p><p>Glassel was a British loyalist and left for Scotland at the outbreak of the American Revolution and never returned. As a result, he may not have completed the house as evidenced by the differences in the woodwork. The house may also have been erected in two stages. After he departed, he left the house in the care of a relative, William Glassell, who remained until he died in 1801. It appears that John Glassel's agent then rented it until 1814 when it became privately owned. The wife of President Chester A. Arthur, Ellen Lewis Herndon, spent her childhood in the home.</p><p>In 1966, the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation acquired the house and rented it until the foundation moved its offices to the house in 1975. In 1982, a local resident bought The Chimney's and converted it into a restaurant. A series of restaurants have been located here since then.</p>

<p>Aptly named for its pair of chimneys, The Chimney's is a historic house originally constructed by Charles Yates sometime before 1771. It is considered one the best examples of Georgian architecture in the city and is currently home to a barbecue restaurant. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.</p>

The Chimneys

<p>The first Baptist meetinghouse, a wood-frame building, in the city was likely built around 1804. It was located close to where the train station is today. Interestingly, the congregation was composed of enslaved people, free African Americans, and whites. In 1815, some started to attend services in a building where the present church is today. Five years later, the property owners sold the lot to the trustees of the new church. However, the first Shiloh Baptist church, known as the Shiloh Baptist Meeting House, was not built until the late 1830s or early 1840s. By then the congregation had grown to around 800 members, with the majority being African American. There were separate entrances for whites and African Americans, who also had to sit on the balcony. One enslaved member, Noah Davis, became a deacon in 1844 and eventually was allowed to become a preacher. Years later, he wrote a memoir about his life and used the money he earned from it to buy the freedom of his wife and most of his children.</p><p>In 1855, white members built a new meetinghouse, Fredericksburg Baptist Church, and the African-American members remained at Shiloh Baptist. They were not totally independent, however, as the law at the time required a white overseer to be at African-American church services. This individual was Rev. George Rowe, who charge a $50 per month salary.</p><p>In 1862, the Civil War reached Fredericksburg when Union troops occupied the city for several months (the fierce Battle of Fredericksburg occurred from December 11-15). Many residents left the city, including about half of the Shiloh Baptist congregation (roughly 400 people); some escaped to Union lines while others were force to flee with their owners. Unsurprisingly, services were rarely held at the church in the war years. The sanctuary on the second floor became an army barracks and hospital, and the first floor was used as a stable. The building was severely damaged during the war and would take a long time to repair.</p><p>Within a few years, Shiloh Baptist had recovered and its membership grew and would continue to grow. On one afternoon in March 1877, 90 new converts were baptized, most of whom were baptized in the Rappahannock River. The congregation also began involving itself in political activities. It organized Emancipation Day (New Year's Day) marches and in 1876, the church minister, Rev. Dixon, ran unsuccessfully for the Fredericksburg City Council.</p><p>On June 11, 1886, disaster struck the church when the rear wall collapsed, forcing the congregation to meet in the courthouse. Apparently the church could not be repaired so plans were developed to build the present one. About half of congregation, however, wanted to move the church to a new location. They began worshipping there (in building known as the Revere Shop) and called the new congregation "Shiloh Baptist Church." This resulted in a legal dispute that was settled in November 1888, when a judge ordered the first Shiloh Baptist to include the words "Old Site" in its name and the new congregation to add "New Site." Construction of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) was completed in 1890.</p><p>It appears Shiloh Baptist established a Sunday School in 1866 and by 1891, the number children attending rose to over 200. In 1905, the minister at the time, Rev. James E. Brown, created a committee that established an African-American high school called the Fredericksburg Normal &amp; Industrial Institute. It opened in October. Until then, a school for African-American children, built in 1884, only offered classes from grades 1 to 7. The high school was first located in a farmhouse for many years until it acquired a new building in 1925. It remained there for 13 years then moved into an elementary school building that was expanded to make way for high school students. The new school was called the Walker-Grant School. Shiloh Baptist also provided a night school for adults from 1923-1927.</p><p>Shiloh Baptist became an important voice for the African-American community. It shared its views regarding social justice and civil rights issues in a newsletter titled <em>The Shiloh Herald</em>, which was established in 1925. In one example, the March 1927 newsletter was critical of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a Texas law that prohibited African Americans from voting in the state's Democratic primary elections. Shiloh Baptist also invited many prominent civil rights leaders of the era including W.E.B. Dubois and Mary McLeod Bethune gave lectures at the church.</p><p>The congregation supported and participated in local civil rights activities. For example in 1960, it held a large meeting to encourage the African-American community to conduct sit-in protests at lunch counters. Twenty high school students were trained and the protests began on July 1. The students targeted Woolworth's, W.T. Grant's, and People's Drug Store throughout the month. It worked. Around the end of the month Woolworth's and W.T. Grant's changed desegregated their stores and allowed African Americans to sit and be served.</p><p>The church and grounds changed and grew over the course of the 19th century. A central bell tower was added in the early 1900s that was, as alluded to above, removed. The current facade was reconfigured to its present appearance in the 1940s. The educational annex was built in 1976. In 2003, the church roof was raised and rebuilt.</p>

<p>Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) is a pillar of the African-American community in Fredericksburg. Built in 1890, it is home to a congregation whose roots date to the early 1800s when the city's first Baptist church was founded in 1804. Shiloh Baptist has played an active role in many facets of African-American life in Fredericksburg, particularly in the areas of education and civil rights. In terms of architecture, the church reflects the changing needs and wants of the congregation. Originally designed with Classical elements, the church was modified to its Gothic appearance and features a pair of bell towers, buttresses, lancet windows, and a triangular parapet. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.</p>

Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site)

<p>In 1720, the House of Burgesses of Virginia (the representative body of the Virginia colony) designated the property where St. George's now stands to be the site of an Anglican church. Construction of the first church, a frame structure called Rappahannock Church, did not begin until 1732 and was not completed until 1741. However, church services began to be held in 1734. Members George Washington's family started to attend services in 1738.</p><p>The American Revolutionary War severed the church-state ties. By then the Anglican Church had become known as the Episcopal Church, and membership decreased significantly as many considered it a vestige of British rule. The Rappahannock Church appears to have been unused in the coming years and it fell into disrepair. In 1813, a young 20-year old minister, Edward McGuire, became the minister of the church, which only had 12 members at the time. He was ordained the next year and remained for 45 years. He oversaw the construction of the second church, this time built of brick, in 1815. Some time in the next decade, the congregation renamed itself St. George's.</p><p>In 1816, the church established the first Sunday school in the region, which enabled poor children to learn to read and write. A school building was erected in 1823 and was later named Faulkner Hall in honor of Rev. Thomas G. Faulkner, who served as rector in the 20th century. Attendance peaked in 1846 with more than 350 students and 30 teachers. Interestingly and rare for the time in Virginia, 80 enslaved children attended the school and classes were integrated. By 1850, Sunday school was prevalent throughout the state. This ended when weekday public schools were established in 1870.</p><p>The present church replaced the brick building in 1849. A fire in 1854 damaged the building but the church was restored and partially reconfigured. An addition was built as well, and the bells were replaced (they are still rung today). Church services were sporadic during the Civil War but as noted above, St. George's was used as a hospital twice. It was also the location of a Confederate religious revival services in 1862 and 1863. The building did suffer some damages in this period but repairs were completed in 1870. The first of the 16 stained glass windows were installed in 1876, three of which were made by Tiffany Studios. The construction of McGuire Hall in 1959 was the last major development on the church grounds (an addition was built to it in 1995). The church was restored in the 2000s.</p>

<p>St. George's Episcopal Church, built in 1849, is the third church that has been located on this site. An excellent example of Early Romanesque Revival architecture, the building was designed by Baltimore architect Robert Cary Long, Jr. and features a 168-foot central clock and bell tower, three arched doorways with Tuscan pilasters, a pair of quatrefoil windows, tall arched stained glass windows, and decorative arched brickwork along the roof eaves. The clock in the tower was added in 1851 and still works today. During the Civil War, the church was used as a hospital in 1862 after the First Battle of Fredericksburg and in 1864 after the Battle of the Wilderness. The church is connected to a school building erected in 1823 and another school that was constructed in 1959. The buildings surround a courtyard that contains a cemetery. St. George's was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.</p>

St. George's Episcopal Church

<p>In the 1800s, Fredericksburg boasted many hotels that offered lodging to people traveling to and from Washington D.C. Like many hotels today, they also served as event and theater venues. By the early 1900s, however, hotels had declined thanks to the rise in popularity of steamboats and railroads. This did not last long. Hotels soon rebounded with the emergence of the automobiles and visitors once again came to Fredericksburg in large numbers. The Princess Anne was one of the hotels that were built in this period.</p><p>The Princess Anne Hotel was the most popular venue in Fredericksburg for many years. Weddings, debutante balls, and other events were held here. The restaurant was very popular, and the hotel also had a delicatessen and bar. The hotel eventually declined by the 1970s, and there was a question about the building's future. A local developer bought it in 1976 and proceeded to restore and convert it into an office building.</p>

<p>When the building was completed in 1914, it was home to the largest and finest hotel between Richmond, Virginia and Washington D.C. Designed by local architect Philip N. Stern in the Colonial Revival style, the former hotel features a two-story portico and round, arched windows on the first floor. The hotel had a banquet hall, pool room, shoe shine parlors, and a restaurant. Many prominent figures were patrons of the hotel including President Warren Harding who stayed one night and Winston Churchill, who ate lunch there twice. The former hotel is now an office building. The structure is a contributing property of the Fredericksburg Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building stands on the site of a previous structure known as the Barton House, erected in 1785 by the first American ambassador to England, James Maury. Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Daniel Webster were among the prominent visitors to the Barton House.</p><p></p>

Princess Anne Building

<p>The historic Fredericksburg Town Hall was constructed between 1814 and 1816 to replace a structure built in the early 1760s. This earlier structure was quite important in its day, having been visited by George Washington several times in connection to the Masons, the Society of the Cincinnati, and a Peace Ball held in 1783; however, it had fallen into disrepair. The new, Federal-style town hall served as the seat of city government, with a market (Market Square) in the paved area behind the building. Market Square long predates the town hall, having been in use since the 1730s. The brick and stone town hall was designed to incorporate both civic and economic functions, as it featured an arcaded basement level on its rear with space for shops and sandstone steps connecting it to the main open square. (The arches in the back of the structure were originally open; stucco walls were constructed over them around 1912, when modern stores that had developed around the property mooted the aging market.) The construction of the town hall transformed this site from a hub for farmers and craftsmen into the true focal point of the city.</p><p><br /></p><p>Fredericksburg was an early and important commerce hub in Virginia, and one of several towns that erected a combination market and town hall. The idea, connecting what were two essential city functions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, was adopted from England but Americanized in design and execution. The Fredericksburg Town Hall specifically flourished as a center for business and government, as well as important civic functions (such as a ball in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824). The Confederate and Union armies also used the building as a headquarters and hospital during the Civil War. It is also significant statewide, as, “the sole Antebellum survivor of what is probably the most important urban civic building style type found in early America.”[8]</p><p><br /></p><p>In addition to the market space in its basement, the town hall was designed with a public gathering space on the second floor and rental office space in the wings. Over the years, modern conveniences were installed, and large rooms were subdivided and reoriented multiple times into smaller offices. This resulted in the loss of most of the original interior decorations; however, late-1980s renovations restored some of the original floor plan. Fortunately, the town hall’s exterior remains largely intact.</p><p><br /></p><p>The city government moved out of the historic structure in 1982. The Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center (FAMCC) was chartered three years later and took over the old town hall. The property is now part of the 40-block Fredericksburg Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places individually in 1994.</p><p><br /></p><p>In January 2004, the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center purchased the 1927 Planters National Bank building (also known as the Farmers &amp; Merchants State Bank and the First Virginia Bank) and the adjacent 1890s Carley building on Prince Anne and William Streets. The buildings were christened the Catherine W. Jones McKann Center, and the FAMCC spent millions converting these buildings into its primary location. Despite a large donation campaign, the museum was forced to go into significant debt. The effects of the Great Recession and an unprofitable operations plan spelled an uncertain future for the FAMCC, and operations were suspended in April 2015. The McKann Center buildings were ultimately auctioned for $1.4 million in February 2016, and the museum moved back into the Town Hall, where it reopened as simply the Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM) in April 2017. Today, the FAM is dedicated to preserving and promoting the story of Fredericksburg by means of its large collection of artifacts from the region’s prehistoric settlers to recent development. The museum features exhibits on Fredericksburg’s history, the Rappahannock River, and historic furniture; displays a large general collection and a “People’s Gallery” of locals’ collections; and is currently gathering objects and stories related to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

The Fredericksburg Area Museum is located at the town’s historic Town Hall and Market Square. The market square dates back to the 1730s; the town hall was constructed between 1814 and 1816. The property is significant as the civic, social, and economic center of Fredericksburg for much of its early history, as a headquarters and hospital during the Civil War, and as the only surviving town hall/market complex in Virginia. The museum was established in the town hall in the mid-1980s after city government relocated to a different building. It moved its main exhibits to the Catherine W. Jones McKann Center from 2004 to 2015 but returned to the town hall after auctioning the McKann Center in 2016. Today, the museum features multiple exhibits detailing Fredericksburg’s storied past, from prehistoric ages to the current day. 

The Fredericksburg Area Museum at the Historic Town Hall and Market Square

<p>Ayokunle Odeleye grew up in Fredericksburg and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned a bachelor's degree in art in 1973 and a master's degree in sculpture in 1975, both from Howard University. He has taught art in high schools and colleges and universities, including at Kennesaw University from 1989-2018. St. George's Episcopal Church commissioned Odeleye to create the sculpture in 2013. It commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. </p><p>On April 18, 1862, Union troops crossed the Rappahannock River into Fredericksburg and would occupy the city until September. At the time, John Washington was the enslaved personal servant of a woman, Mrs. Taliaferro, who allowed him to hire himself out as a bartender and steward at the Shakespeare Hotel, which was located on Caroline Street. On the evening of the 18th, the hotel owner instructed Washington to pay the staff and close the building. He then left the city for North Carolina. The owner wanted Washington to go with him but Washington declined and apparently convinced the owner he would remain loyal. Washington ignored this and poured drinks for himself and his fellow enslaved bar workers. After toasting the Union troops, it appears Washington returned to the bank building before leaving to cross the river into the Union lines. </p><p>Washington's mother was an enslaved woman and his father was a white man. As a result of this mixed background, his light-skinned complexion gave him advantages, such as being able to freely run errands for Mrs. Taliaferro (he was often confused for a white person). His mother was also literate, which was uncommon for enslaved people, and taught Washington how to read and write (white relatives and friends helped as well). He also became acquainted with boating and the river. These skills, his life experiences, and his long-desire to be free, helped him escape that evening of April 18. After the war, he settle in Washington D.C. where he raised a family. His mother and other relatives joined him there. Washington wrote a book about his life titled <em>Memorys of the Past Born</em>. </p><p>On May 23, 1862, President Lincoln visited Union troops at their camps at Marye's Heights, an elevated site overlooking the city where fierce fighting took place on December 13 during the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11-15). In the National Bank building, Lincoln met with the provost marshal for about 30 minutes before stepping outside of the main entrance. He gave a brief speech then walked down the steps and departed. </p>

<p>This plaza at the corner of Princess Anne and Williams Streets features a sculpture commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation and a historical marker. The sculpture consists of a human figure with its arms raised releasing a dove into the sky. Artist Ayokunle Odeleye created it in 2013. The historical marker describes the significance of a set of stairs that was originally located at the front entrance of a former bank building down the street. On May 23, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln stopped at the bank, which became the headquarters for the Union troops occupying the city, and exited the building through the main entrance and walked down these steps. The steps are also associated with an African American man, John Washington (183-1918), who, on April 18, 1862, walked down them for the last time. He actually lived on the second floor of the building for most of his childhood.  </p>

Emancipation Proclamation Sculpture and Historic Footsteps Historical Marker

<p>The Slave Auction Block, at the corner of Charles and William Streets in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is a 3.4-foot-tall, 800-pound block of Aquia stone—the same stone used in the White House and United States Capitol. It dates back to the early-to-mid-1800s and was most likely placed as a carriage step in concurrence with the opening of Joseph Sanford’s United States Hotel in 1843 (known as the Planter’s Hotel starting in 1851). The block was probably intended to help guests mount horses and disembark from carriages. However, the site also became notorious as the center of the American domestic slave trade in Fredericksburg. This trade, which sold approximately 1.2 million individuals from 1760 to 1860, was a brutally inhumane but profitable business. There were at least twenty slave auctions in front of the Planter’s Hotel between 1846 and 1862 (as well as the occasional property auction), many of which sold well over forty individuals and brought in tens of thousands of dollars. This corner was the main, if not the only, site for organized slave auctions in Fredericksburg, a town the local newspaper called “the best place to sell slaves in the State.”[11]</p><p><br /></p><p>The block was recognized as the community’s chief auction site in 1984 with a plaque placed by the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc (after a prior marker was stolen). However, its authenticity has been a controversial topic since at least 1924, when the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce petitioned City Council to have the stone removed. The Chamber maintained that it would stir up ill sentiment and that its sole historic purpose was to allow women to mount horses; they contended that the stone was never used to present humans for sale. This view was emphatically endorsed at the time by John T. Goolrick, a local historian and Confederate veteran. Shortly thereafter, a local auctioneer, N.B. Kinsley, emerged with an 1857 newspaper article that advertised a slave auction to take place in front of the Planter’s Hotel, where the block is located. He also collected several accounts of the block’s use in slave auctions and presented the story of George Triplett, a deceased former slave widely believed to have been the last man sold at the site (in 1862, to Fredericksburg’s mayor). Kinsley argued that the block was indeed used for mounting horses, but that it was also used to exhibit slaves for auction. His counterargument silenced the Chamber, and the block remained.</p><p><br /></p><p>The original advertisement that Kinsley cited has been lost, but at least nineteen other advertisements for sales at the hotel have since been discovered; while none mention the block specifically, several are as precise as “before the front door.” The block was first tied to slave auctions in the historical record in 1893. It is also mentioned in the official History of the City of Fredericksburg in 1908, and, five years later, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities expressed interest in marking the site. Further evidence for its use in slave auctions is the story of Albert Crutchfield, who is seen behind the block in a 1920s postcard. He was a former slave who contended he was sold there around 1859 when he was about fifteen. (However, he was most likely born around 1854 and sold sometime after 1860.) Debate over the block’s usage has continued to this day; some argue that, while slave auctions were certainly held at the site and the block may have been used for some connected purpose, it was too small to be practical for displaying slaves. More recent research and archaeological excavations have suggested that it was a signpost, noting the square hole in its top, and never a step or a true “auction block,” but that it is still tied to the slave auctions held there.</p><p><br /></p><p>In recent years, the block has again become an object of controversy. A vandal broke several large pieces off the stone in 2005. After the death of Heather Heyer during the events surrounding the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, locals held a prayer vigil at the auction block and called for its removal. The Fredericksburg City Council discussed the issue and took public comments over the next month, ultimately deciding to preserve the block in its current location. However, in March 2018, they hired the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience to study the auction block, how it was portrayed in local history, and how it was viewed in the community. The Coalition ultimately recommended either removing the block to a museum where it could be displayed with more context or preserving it in place with signage that told its whole story. The community and City Council debated these proposals—arguments varied from viewing the block as a racist shrine and symbol of brutal oppression in need of immediate removal; an important but painful artifact better kept in a museum where it can be protected from disrespect and damage and its tragic past can be fully examined and interpreted; and a rare intact historic site that is a necessary reminder of evil and should be preserved and kept in the public eye. In June 2019, the City Council voted to remove the block; this decision was followed by several public meetings and administrative actions. In December, the City Council was sued on a procedural matter by businesses located near the site. The lawsuit, which made it all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court, was ultimately dismissed in April 2020. The removal was further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, on June 5th, 2020, the block, which was a centerpiece of the George Floyd protests in the Fredericksburg area during the summer, was removed in preparation for relocation to the Fredericksburg Area Museum. The city funded the removal, an exhibit for the block in the museum, and a new sign for the original location as part of a larger project to emphasize the community’s African-American history, including a Civil Rights Trail and new historic markers.</p>

The Slave Auction Block, located on the corner of Charles and William Streets in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is one of the few surviving relics from the slave trade in the city. The block was most likely placed at the site as a carriage step or signpost in the early 1840s. However, this corner became the primary auction site in Fredericksburg between that time and the Civil War; hundreds of slaves were sold there in at least twenty separate sales over that period. While the block’s direct connection to slave auctions has been long debated, testimony from area residents and former slaves suggests some purpose for it in the sales that occurred there. The block has been vandalized several times over the years as well as used for “mock slave auctions” and otherwise disrespected. As a result, and with the intent of preserving the block in a place where its tragic past can be more completely dealt with and interpreted, the City Council voted to relocate the block to the Fredericksburg Area Museum (after several years of public meetings and discussions). It was removed on June 5th, 2020, and will be placed in a new exhibit in the museum sometime later in the year.

Fredericksburg Slave Auction Block Site

<p>James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1758. He briefly attended college at William &amp; Mary before leaving to join the Revolutionary War effort. He served at the Battle of Trenton in 1776, where he was injured, and was present as a Lieutenant Colonel with George Washington at Valley Forge. After the war, Monroe served in the Virginia state legislature, the Confederation Congress, the Virginia Ratifying Convention (he initially opposed the Constitution), and the United States Senate, and as Minister Plenipotentiary to France, Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State and Secretary of War under President Madison, and President from 1817 to 1825. In 1786, after his marriage to Elizabeth Kortright, he and his family moved to Fredericksburg, where his family lived until 1789. Monroe ultimately died on July 4th, 1831.</p><p><br /></p><p>He was an influential leader during many integral events in America’s early history, from the Louisiana Purchase to the War of 1812 to the “Era of Good Feelings.” Monroe is most famous for his eponymous Doctrine, which declared the United States’ opposition to any European colonization in the Americas. (The Museum currently displays a circa 1795 desk that is rumored to have been the place where he wrote out the Monroe Doctrine.) Also while President, he signed the Missouri Compromise, a bill intended to settle the dispute on the number of free and slave states. As a result of the Compromise, the new states of Missouri and Maine became slave and free, respectively. Slavery was also banned in states in the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase. This balancing act was characteristic of Monroe’s views; he struggled with the conflict between slavery and America’s founding ideals. He also believed that any attempt to end slavery would tear apart the country, and, as such, held to an expansive view of states’ rights while also supporting Congressional debate. (His optimistic middle way ultimately failed, and, as he feared, the country fell into the Civil War.) Monroe was also an advocate of African American resettlement colonies and a sympathizer of the American Colonization Society. They sponsored and promoted such a colony in Liberia, and its capital was eventually named Monrovia after James Monroe.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Monroe museum was founded by his descendants in 1927. Monroe’s great-granddaughter, Rose de Chine Gouverneur Hoes, purchased a building believed to have been his Fredericksburg law office from 1786 to 1789 when it was about to be demolished. She used the structure to house some of the family’s large inherited and purchased collection of Monroe artifacts. The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library was organized by her son, Laurence Gouverneur Hoes, in 1948. He built an addition to the building and converted the structure into a proper museum. He added to the collection and ultimately turned the museum over to the Commonwealth of Virginia, which eventually passed it to the University of Mary Washington. The “James Monroe Law Office” was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. However, it has since been discovered that the structure, actually three separate buildings connected later, was built between 1816 and the 1840s and, as such, could not have been the home of Monroe’s law practice. The central building was an early nineteenth-century attorney’s office, however, and Monroe’s office was located very close by on Charles Street.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today, the museum preserves and displays the Monroe family’s collection of heirloom furniture, James Monroe’s papers and effects, and other important historical artifacts. It is dedicated to researching the story of James Monroe and educating visitors about his life and legacy via its exhibits, archives, events, and online resources.</p>

The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was established by his descendants in 1927 and is currently operated by the University of Mary Washington. It is located close to the site of James Monroe’s law office from 1786 to 1789, in a building constructed between 1816 and the 1840s. The museum is open year-round with multiple exhibits on President Monroe, describing his early colonial days as a Revolutionary soldier to his time as President and beyond. James Monroe served as the fifth President of the United States from 1817 to 1825 and is best remembered for his contributions to American foreign policy in the Monroe Doctrine. Throughout his life, Monroe was ubiquitous in the major events of the young country: he served in the American Revolution, as Governor of Virginia, as Minister to France, and as Secretary of State and Secretary of War during the War of 1812. The museum has the world’s largest collection of original Monroe artifacts and documents, many obtained directly from his family.

James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library

<p>The Fredericksburg Area War Memorial Park, located at the intersection of George, Barton, and Liberty Streets, includes memorials dating back to 1926. This first memorial, the World War I memorial flagpole and plaque, was planned, funded, and built by the War Memorial Committee. Fredericksburg threw a grand celebration for its returning doughboys in July 1919; it honored the seventeen who could not come home with this plaque listing each of their names, as well as the units formed in the local area. The Committee also installed a captured German cannon in front of the memorial.</p><p><br /></p><p>During World War II, scrap metal was in high demand. The cannon, along with probably countless other now-rare relics, was taken for the war effort; “it would be melted down and turned back into bullets to be shot back at the Germans.”[10] It was not replaced for exactly twenty years. In 1962, the local American Legion post was able to acquire a World War II-era US Navy twin 40mm antiaircraft gun on its original ship mount from the US Marine Corps Museum, and it was installed at the site.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the mid-1990s, the memorial was in poor condition and in need of restoration. Some suggested repairing it and replacing the gun with a World War I piece. This plan was initially approved; however, sometime later, City Council adopted a proposal to remove the gun, now a safety hazard, completely and install a “volunteers’ memorial” in the park. This plan received little public attention until the gun was suddenly removed in 1998. Succeeding outcry from veterans’ groups and the local community caused the Council to rethink the proposed volunteers’ memorial and instead support a restoration of the current World War I memorial and an expansion to honor the soldiers who died in all of America’s modern conflicts.</p><p><br /></p><p>This effort was led by the newly-created Fredericksburg Area Veterans Council, which is composed of representatives from several local veterans’ and support groups. The new memorial, christened the Fredericksburg Area War Memorial, was completed in 2008 and dedicated on September 13th of that year. It is composed of a granite capstone (with the inscription “Our Fallen Heroes”) supported by six granite slabs. Several of these slabs list the names of the more than four hundred soldiers from Caroline, King George, Orange, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Counties and Fredericksburg itself who died in World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terror. Several others are left blank, to honor the soldiers who will die in future conflicts. The memorial is surrounded by a brick “Walk of Honor” dedicated to hundreds of other local veterans.</p><p><br /></p><p>The memorial has been vandalized several times—once each year in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Today, the memorial and surrounding park are used for Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies.</p>

The Fredericksburg Area War Memorial Park, located at the intersection of George, Barton, and Liberty Streets, includes memorials dating back to 1926. These include the World War I memorial flagpole and plaque, which lists the names of local soldiers who died in that war; a World War II US Navy twin 40mm antiaircraft gun, installed to replace a cannon that was melted down for World War II manufacturing; and the Fredericksburg Area War Memorial, completed in 2008 to expand the scope of the park to honor local soldiers in all of America’s conflicts in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The park also serves as the location for Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies each year.

Fredericksburg Area War Memorial Park

<p>The Fredericksburg area was ravaged by four major battles during the Civil War – the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. These caused over 15,000 deaths, not to mention thousands and thousands more from illness and disease. Many soldiers were buried where they fell or in the fields surrounding homes that had been taken over as hospitals. Once the war ended, the United States government made a concerted effort to recover Union soldiers’ remains and bury them in national cemeteries. The military had reburied 300,000 men in 73 such cemeteries, including Fredericksburg National Cemetery, within five years of the war’s end. However, there was no matching national effort for Confederate troops. This spurred the creation of dozens of Ladies’ Memorial Associations, dedicated to creating and maintaining Confederate cemeteries, across the south. Many of these organizations were simply postwar outgrowths of groups of civilians that had been supporting the Confederate army during the war. They were quite successful; in fact, over a quarter of all the Confederate dead are buried in cemeteries established by just seven of Virginia’s Ladies’ Memorial Associations.</p><p><br /></p><p>The chief sponsors of Fredericksburg’s Ladies’ Memorial Association were J. Horace and Betty Lacy. They owned Ellwood Manor, which was used as a Confederate hospital during the war, and Horace served as an aide to several Confederate generals. Rebel soldiers were buried on their property, and the Lacys attempted to keep records of the graves on their land. As a result, they saw the need for official Confederate cemeteries in the region. Betty began organizing Fredericksburg’s Ladies’ Memorial Association in the spring of 1866. On Sunday, May 6th, preachers across the city advertised a new effort to create a cemetery for the Confederate dead buried throughout the region. The Association’s first meeting was held on May 10th and was addressed by Horace Lacy. They recruited him to go on a speaking tour throughout both the north and the south to collect donations for their project; his oratorical skill earned him the nickname “the Lion of the Wilderness” and raised over $10,000. The members of the Association hosted shows and fairs to further fund the new cemetery.</p><p> </p><p>The Association soon purchased two lots immediately north of the Fredericksburg City Cemetery; there was talk of a merger, but it never occurred. The new Confederate Cemetery was dedicated in May 1870. It is the final resting place of 3,553 Confederate soldiers from fourteen states, including 2,184 unidentified sets of remains. The unknown soldiers are buried in the center of the cemetery, while the other graves are located in a St. Andrews Cross/”Southern Cross” arrangement. These graves were originally marked by wooden posts, which were replaced in the 1880s by Georgia marble headstones. The unknown graves are marked by a monument that was begun in July 1874. The dirt mound and granite base were completed by May 1881 and topped by a mock artillery shell. The shell was replaced by a life-size bronze statue of a Confederate soldier in 1891.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are six Confederate generals buried here: Seth Barton, Dabney Maury, Abner Perrin, Daniel Ruggles, Henry Sibley, and Carter Stevenson. Perrin was killed in battle near Fredericksburg, but the others died after the war and were buried here. Only about a third of the three-acre cemetery is used for Confederate burials, as plots on the remaining land were sold to local civilians to help pay for the cemetery’s upkeep. This makes it somewhat difficult to differentiate the Confederate Cemetery and the City Cemetery, which are still owned and operated by separate entities. The Fredericksburg &amp; Spotsylvania National Military Park has a list of all those interred in the Confederate Cemetery, and inquiries can be made by calling (540) 373-6122.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Confederate Cemetery is open daily from dawn to dusk and can be accessed through the 1870 Classical Revival-style cast iron gate on Washington Avenue. A map is displayed at the entrance to help guide visitors through the cemetery and its different sections. It remains in the care of the Ladies’ Memorial Association, one of only two remaining in Virginia. They hold one of the country’s longest-running Memorial Day ceremonies there every year. It was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2018 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Recently, the Association and the community have begun working to acquire and set new flat granite headstones in front of the deteriorating 1880s markers.</p>

The Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery was dedicated by the Ladies Memorial Association in 1870. The Association was founded in 1866 to create a cemetery for the reinterment of Confederate soldiers buried in the Fredericksburg area. Over 3,500 soldiers are buried within the cemetery walls. Because of the chaotic nature of battle during the Civil War, 2,184 of the remains are unidentified; they are buried under a twenty-foot-high monument in the center of the cemetery. Grave plots in other parts of the cemetery were also sold to local civilians to raise money for its upkeep. A yearly Memorial Day ceremony—one of the longest-running such events in the country—is held by the Association to preserve the memories of those lost in the Civil War. The cemetery is located on Washington Avenue next to the Fredericksburg City Cemetery and is open daily from dawn to dusk.

Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery

<p>Fielding Lewis was an exceedingly prosperous merchant when he married Betty Washington, sister of George Washington and Fielding’s second wife, in 1750. Two years later, he purchased 861 acres near Fredericksburg, eventually expanding the plot into a 1,300-acre plantation. Some sources report that he began building the home that would become known as Kenmore almost immediately after this purchase; however, more recent research suggests that the mansion was not completed until around 1775. The home’s exterior was a relatively plain Georgian-style design constructed from brick laid in a Flemish bond. Two simple wooden dependencies—a kitchen and a laundry—sat on each side of, and perpendicular to, the main structure. However, the mansion’s interior was extravagant and gave it lasting significance. The “exquisitely lavish and rich” plasterwork on the ceilings, molding, walls, and mantelpieces, all created by an unknown “Stucco Man,” is widely reported by architects and historians to be one of the grandest and most intricately-designed examples in the country.[20] Motifs include flowers, classical characters, fruits, ribbons, and even a scene from Aesop’s fables.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Lewises were a very prominent family, even outside of their connection to George Washington. Fielding Lewis was sworn in as Colonel of the Spotsylvania County militia in 1758 and elected to the House of Burgesses in 1760. He also ran very successful farming, trading, and sales businesses, and, by the time of his death, he owned over one hundred slaves. (His store remains in Fredericksburg and is currently the headquarters of the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc.) The Lewises even commissioned portraits of their family from famed artist C. W. Peale to hang in their new home. Fielding Lewis was also an influential leader in the Revolutionary War. In 1774, he served as the chairman of the Spotsylvania County Committee and was tasked with gathering supplies for Virginia and Continental Army troops. The following year, Virginia’s third Revolutionary Commission appointed him commissioner of a new gun manufactory in Fredericksburg to produce and repair weapons. Lewis was also an integral part of the establishment of Virginia’s navy and the outfitting of its ships. He was so committed to both of these ventures that he spent thousands of pounds of his own money and even sold some of his property, knowing that he would most likely not be repaid. Lewis resigned from the gun manufactory in 1780 due to ill health and near-bankruptcy, and he died in late 1781 or early 1782.</p><p><br /></p><p>Betty Lewis lived in the house after the war and until her death in 1797, after which her stepson John sold the estate to Seth Barton. It was then purchased by John Thornton, in 1815, and by Samuel Gordon, in 1819. The Gordon family named the estate Kenmore after their ancestral home in Scotland. During the Civil War, it was a central location in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (in December 1862). The home was hit by both Union and Confederate cannonballs. The estate was also the site of action during the Second Battle of Fredericksburg in May 1863. After the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, Kenmore was taken over by Union troops to use as a hospital; 103 soldiers were buried on the property until they were reinterred in Fredericksburg National Cemetery.</p><p><br /></p><p>The shot-through ceilings and blood-stained floors from the war left Kenmore in a severe state of disrepair. Fortunately, William Key Howard, who purchased the home in 1881 (after it served briefly as a boys’ school), was dedicated to restoring it. His son, William Key Howard, Jr., is credited with singlehandedly saving the beautiful plasterwork from destruction and carefully restoring it to as close as possible to its original grandeur. The Howards ultimately sold the estate in 1914. It passed through several owners and was further subdivided, ultimately taking up less than one city block when it was owned by E. G. Heflin in 1921.</p><p><br /></p><p>Heflin was interested in selling Kenmore for development. This prompted a group, spearheaded by Emily White Fleming, her daughter Annie Fleming Smith, the Washington-Lewis Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and soon the newly-formed Kenmore Association to attempt to save the estate. They began fundraising in early 1922 by simply writing letters; a formal campaign was launched with a speech from then-Vice President Calvin Coolidge in July. They raised enough money to completely pay for the property on January 1st, 1925, and it opened to the public later that year. The Garden Club of Virginia undertook the recreation of Kenmore’s gardens as its first such project, hiring famed landscape architects Charles Freeman Gillette and James Greenleaf to design the grounds. The Kenmore Association built new brick dependencies (a kitchen and an office) over the foundations of the originals, which had been destroyed. They also worked to repair and preserve the home, which has now undergone many restorations. The Association, now known as The George Washington Foundation, continues to operate Kenmore as an historic house museum.</p>

The home known today as Kenmore was built by prosperous merchant and Revolutionary War patriot Fielding Lewis and his wife, George Washington’s sister Betty, either in the early 1750s or around 1775. The Georgian-style mansion is noted for its intricately-designed plasterwork, said to be some of the grandest in the United States. The Lewis family owned the property until Betty’s death in 1797; it was eventually purchased by the Gordon family, who named the estate Kenmore (after their ancestral home in Scotland). Much of the First Battle of Fredericksburg in the Civil War occurred in the immediate vicinity of the mansion, and it was used as a Union hospital after the Battle of the Wilderness. Kenmore was heavily damaged during the conflict but was restored in the succeeding decades by the Howard family. When the estate was threatened by development in the early 1920s, it became the focus of an intense fundraising campaign to preserve the property. The Kenmore Association (now The George Washington Foundation) saved the home and continues to operate it as a museum. Kenmore was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

Kenmore

<div>This cemetery is located behind the Mary Washington Monument on Washington Avenue in Fredericksburg. It is forty feet&nbsp;wide and thirty feet. long. A thick brick wall surrounds the graves, and is accessible&nbsp;&nbsp;through an iron gate. It is believed that Samuel Gordon, the first Gordon who lived at the Kenmore Plantation&nbsp;from 1819-1859, created the cemetery. After a legal dispute with the National Mary Washington Monument Association in 1966 about ownership of the land, the cemetery was handed over to the city of Fredericksburg.</div><div><br></div><div>There are twelve graves located at the cemetery.&nbsp;Most are headstones; four are table markers, two family markers including an obelisk, and a footstone. Most are made of marble and each faces east to symbolize spiritual resurrection. Every gravestone except for one has carvings of names and birth and death dates. Some have decorations carved into the stone and Bible verses. The graves are in adequate shape with the exception of some moss, discoloration, some cracks and tilting. Those who are buried here range in age from three months to ninety-four years. Below is a list of each member of the Gordon family buried here:</div><div><br></div><div>Samuel Gordon - 1779-1845</div><div><br></div><div>Susan F. Gordon - 1775- 1869</div><div><br></div><div>Alexander B. Gordon - 1815-1861</div><div><br></div><div>Patsy F. Wallace (no dates)</div><div><br></div><div>John Gordon - (1792-1826)</div><div><br></div><div>Alexander Gordon - 1798-1832</div><div><br></div><div>W K G (no dates)</div><div><br></div><div>W. K. Gordon - 1799-1886</div><div><br></div><div>Eliza S. Gordon - 1810-1872</div><div><br></div><div>Ella Gordon - died 1835</div><div><br></div><div>Rosalie Gordon - died 1856</div><div><br></div><div>George Gordon - died 1864</div><div><br></div><div>Ella Gordon - died 1866</div><div><br></div><div>George Lorimer Gordon - died 1861</div>

Located behind the Mary Washington Monument, this cemetery is the resting place for twelve members of the Gordon family. It is believed to have been established by Samuel Gordon, the first of the Gordon family to take residence at the Kenmore Plantation. The city of Fredericksburg gained ownership of the cemetery in 1966, though it was previously cared for by the National Mary Washington Association. Currently the cemetery is open to visitors from dusk until dawn. 

The Gordon Family Cemetery

<div>Located on Washington Avenue, the Mary Washington Monument pays homage to Mary Ball Washington, George Washington and Betty Washington Lewis's mother. Mary Washington was buried here in 1789, beside Mediation Rock. The monument is&nbsp;located near her daughter's house, the Kenmore Plantation. <br><br>President Andrew Jackson dedicated the first monument to the "Mother of Washington" in 1833.&nbsp;The monument was never completed however, after the primary donor and the contractor each died a few years later.&nbsp;The unfinished stone obelisk lay in pieces for the next&nbsp;sixty years. In response to attempts to auction off the property in 1889, the&nbsp;National Mary Washington Monument Association of Fredericksburg and the National Mary Washington Memorial Association were established to finish the monument. After some debate, it was decided to install an entire new obelisk, as the unassembled original&nbsp;had deteriorated. The new monument was completed&nbsp;in 1893 and rededicated by President Grover Cleveland.&nbsp;<br><br></div><div>In 1937, the National Mary Washington Monument Association of Fredericksburg approached the Garden Club of Virginia to request that they landscape the grounds of the monument.The garden club commissioned Alden Hopkins, a recipient of the Garden Club of America's fellowship to the American Academy in Rome, to create a plan. At first, the association built brick walls and steps to make the monument look like more of a unit. As for the landscaping, Hopkins said he wanted "a dignified setting for the Monument, attractive in any season with atmosphere, a feeling that it is surrounded by plants that belong because they are native [to Virginia] and of Mary Washington's time." He chose the flowers and trees that "will take the least amount of care and attention and do best if undisturbed, yet will give a fine effect in color of foliage, scent, flower or old time atmosphere."&nbsp;<br></div>

Originally commissioned by President Andrew Jackson, this monument is dedicated the the memory of Mary Ball Washington, the mother of George Washington. Mary was buried in this location in 1789. The monument lays blocks away from her daughter's home, the Kenmore Plantation. The monument was originally commissioned to be built in 1833, but was not finished until 1893. The grounds were landscaped in 1937 by Italian artist Alden Hopkins.

Mary Washington Monument

<p>Walker-Grant School, which was built in 1936 as an elementary school and added high school grades in 1938, was named after two activists—Joseph Walker and Jason Grant. Walker was born into slavery and one of Grant's parents was enslaved. In 1905, both helped establish the African-American high school called the Fredericksburg Normal and Industrial Institute, which moved to the elementary school to form the Walker-Grant School. </p><p>When it came for graduation in 1950, the school did not have enough room for the ceremony since there were 27 students in the class, which was the largest to date. As a result, the school asked permission from the city to use the Fredericksburg Community Center. The city refused, replying that the center was for whites only. The school representatives, which included senior class president James Walker, appealed and the city agreed but on the condition that everyone entered the back door. They rejected this idea. Walker said he would rather receive his diploma on the sidewalk. In light of this development, Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) offered to hold the ceremony instead. </p><p>On graduation day, the seniors dressed up in their cap and gown and marched, with the supporters, to the community center. There they sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which was considered the "Negro national anthem." After hearing a prayer, Shiloh Baptist minister Dr. Phillip Wyatt gave a speech and presented "dummy" diplomas to the seniors. The protesters then marched to Shiloh Baptist Church, which was still small for the ceremony.</p>

<p>On June 6, 1950, the African-American senior graduating class of Walker-Grant High School, as well as around three hundred others, gathered outside of the Fredericksburg Community Center to protest how the city treated the school, which requested permission to use the center for the seniors' graduation ceremony. The city refused but then allowed the school to use the building as long as everyone entered and left through the back door. The seniors and school rejected this and they decided to protest in response. From the community center, the students and protesters marched to Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) where the ceremony was held. A historical marker describing the protest is located here in front the Dorothy Hart Community Center. </p>

Walker-Grant School Class of 1950 Graduation Protest

<p>The Rising Sun Tavern
was originally a home owned by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of
George Washington. Charles bought the property and constructed the
one-and-a-half story residence around 1760. He lived here for the next twenty
years before leaving to establish Charles Town in present-day West Virginia.
During the Revolutionary War, the home was visited by prominent figures
including Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, John Marshall, James Madison, and
John Paul Jones. In 1781, George Washington held a “Peace Ball” here to
celebrate his victory at the Battle of Yorktown nearby. The Virginia chapter of
the Society of Cincinnati held their first meeting here in 1783. </p>

<p>In 1786, Charles
transferred ownership of the home to his son George Augustine Washington. From
there it apparently changed hands several times, and at some point was
converted into a tavern. It was originally named the Eagle or Golden Eagle
Tavern, but was known as the Rising Sun Tavern by 1822. It was considered to be
an “upper” or “proper” tavern- a respectable establishment that could be used
by the upper class and women. In addition to providing lodging for both travelers
and their horses, taverns also served as restaurants and an assembly place for
socializing. At one point, the Rising Sun Tavern also housed Fredericksburg’s
post office. It closed at some point around 1830.</p>

<p><span>In 1907, the tavern was
purchased by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
(Preservation Virginia). It has since been restored and renovated several times
over the past century, and retains much of its original woodwork. In 2013,
Preservation Virginia transferred ownership of the tavern to the Washington
Heritage Museums organization. Today the Rising Sun Tavern is open to the
public as a museum, and also hosts events throughout the year.&nbsp;</span></p>

The Rising Sun Tavern was built in 1760 by Charles Washington, brother of George Washington. Originally serving as Charles' personal residence, the building was visited by many of the Founding Fathers including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Marshall. After Charles left, the home was opened as a tavern for the next several decades. An establishment such as the Rising Sun was considered to be an "upper" tavern, where people of the upper class would typically lodge. The tavern was acquired by Preservation Virginia in 1907, and turned over to Washington Heritage Museums in 2013. It is open to the public for guided tours. Visitors can view the taproom, private dining room, and public and private accommodations. 



Rising Sun Tavern

<p><span>The earliest known
owners of the white frame house on the corner of Charles Street and Lewis
Street were Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis, Mary Washington’s daughter and
son-in-law, who lived nearby at the Kenmore Plantation. They sold the land and
the house to Michael Robinson in 1761. George Washington purchased this home in
1772 for $275 at his mother Mary’s request, so that she could be close to Betty.
Mary spent the last seventeen years of her life in the house. One of her
favorite activities was gardening; it is rumored that during the Revolutionary
War, Marquis de Lafayette paid Mary a visit and found her gardening in the
backyard. Other notable visitors to the house included John Marshall, George
Mason, Thomas Jefferson, and the Lee family. In 1789, George Washington visited
his mother to inform her that he had been elected the first U.S. President, and
to receive her blessing. She died later that year on August 25.<br>
In the years following Mary Washington’s death, the house fell into a state of
disrepair. In 1889, plans were made to dissemble the home and move it to the
Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 as a tourist attraction. It was instead acquired in
1890 by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (today known
as Preservation Virginia), who opened it to the public as a museum in 1903. In
1930, architect Philip Stern directed a complete restoration of the home. The garden,
containing a few of the original trees, was also restored by the Garden Club of
Virginia. In 2013, Preservation Virginia turned over ownership of the house to
Washington Heritage Museums, an organization that oversees Fredericksburg
historical sites.</span></p>

<p>Today the Mary
Washington House remains open to the public as an eighteenth century-based
museum. The museum includes eight items original to the house, such as Mary
Washington’s “best dressing glass.” There is also a gift shop selling merchandise
such as locally-made products, tea, and eighteenth century artworks. The Mary
Washington House can be rented as a venue for events such as weddings as well. </p>

Purchased in 1772 by George Washington, this is the home where Mary Ball Washington spent the last seventeen years of her life. Mary Washington was fond of the gardens and was frequently found there during the Revolutionary War. After her death, the home fell into  disrepair until it was acquired by Preservation Virginia. Preservationists completely restored the home, and today, it serves as a house museum under the Washington Heritage Museums organization. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Mary Washington House

<b>Hugh Mercer</b><br><p>Born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1726, Hugh Mercer
trained in medicine at Marischal College and became an assistant surgeon in the
army of Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. For his
participation in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and as a survivor of the Battle
of Culloden, Mercer was hunted by the British as a rebel and was forced to flee
to America in 1747. Settling near Philadelphia, Mercer practiced medicine for
the next eight years. During the French and Indian War, Mercer joined the
military as a captain, earning a silver medal and the title of Colonel after he
was wounded in 1756 and made his way alone on foot back to Philadelphia. Either
through the military or by their mutual participation in the local Masonic
lodge, Colonels Hugh Mercer and George Washington met and became friends.
Washington convinced Mercer to move his medical practice to Fredericksburg in
1761.



</p><p>From 1771 to 1775, Mercer and another physician,
Ewen Clements, operated an apothecary shop and medical office together.
Mercer's patients ranged from the Washington family and prestigious merchants
to tradesmen, actors, and slaves. Medicine in the eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries centered around balancing the "four humors" or
bodily fluids, and like other physicians of the time, Mercer's treatments
included bleeding and purging in order to achieve this equilibrium. Some of the
medicines dispensed in the apothecary include purging pills, laudanum,
magnesia, snakeroot, crab claws, stomach elixirs, and saline mixtures, as well
as herbal remedies. Mercer and his partner also pulled teeth, set broken bones,
and performed amputations.</p>



<p>Along with George Washington, Patrick Henry, and
James Monroe, Hugh Mercer attended gatherings in the Rising Sun Tavern to
discuss American Independence. When the Revolution began, Mercer became a
Brigadier General in the Continental Army, playing a key role in both battles
of Trenton. In 1777, during the Battle of Princeton, he was mistaken by the
British for General Washington and stabbed multiple times. Mercer survived for
several days in a field hospital, under the care of Dr. Benjamin Rush.</p>



<p><b>The Museum</b><br></p><p>The Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop museum is not in Mercer's original
building, though it does sit catty-cornered to the original shop location. The restored
museum building was constructed around 1772, and housed Henry Mitchell's
tobacco shop, where Mercer was a customer. In addition to the displays, there
are guided tours in period costume, and a garden behind the museum where
medicinal herbs used in Mercer's time are grown.<br></p>

Hugh Mercer, an immigrant from Scotland and survivor of the Battle of Culloden, lived and practiced medicine in Fredericksburg for over 15 years. His most famous patient was Mary Washington. When the Revolutionary War began, he chose to join the American forces and was killed in the Battle of Princeton. The Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, inside a restored 18th century building, is a museum of medicine, pharmacy, and military and political affairs. Located at 1020 Caroline Street, the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop is now owned by Washington Heritage Museums. Tours are given daily.

Fredericksburg Walking Tour

Hugh Mercer Monument

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information