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FRENCH & INDIAN WAR – MERCER, James (d. 1756). An archive of 40 letters from Mercer to his mother and brother, William Mercer, written during his travels in Europe, Jamaica, and North America, 1736-1755 (Including five letters by Col. Mercer from Fort Oswego, 1755-56), and approximately 70 letters written in the aftermath of Col. Mercer’s death, including correspondence of James Grahame, Mercer’s friend, and a 13-page account of the Battle of Oswego by Grahame, praising Mercer and indicting Gov. William Shirley.
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FRENCH & INDIAN WAR – MERCER, James (d. 1756). An archive of 40 letters from Mercer to his mother and brother, William Mercer, written during his travels in Europe, Jamaica, and North America, 1736-1755 (Including five letters by Col. Mercer from Fort Oswego, 1755-56), and approximately 70 letters written in the aftermath of Col. Mercer’s death, including correspondence of James Grahame, Mercer’s friend, and a 13-page account of the Battle of Oswego by Grahame, praising Mercer and indicting Gov. William Shirley.
220 pages, (various sizes), bound together in boards bearing spine-title, “Lt. Col James Francis Mercer of Sir William Pepperell’s Late 562st Regt of Infantry. Dr Graham & Mr Douglas.” (Right margins of some letters frayed, several letters folded).
“The constitution all through British America is a democracy.” An important French and Indian War archive from a high-ranking British officer in command of Fort Oswego, in which he narrates the events preceding his death in battle, as well as some of his impressions of America – foreshadowing the coming revolution. On 18 February 1755, Mercer provides his first impressions of America, which he finds much more hospitable than the disease-ridden West Indies: North America, he writes, is “the finest country on the globe, luxuriant and abounding with all the necessarys of life. The industrious hand is the only thing wanting here to make it a perfect paradise.” 9 June 1755: “We are forming four attacks against our enemys on this continent, in which if we succeed, I hope they’l abandon Canada.” 22 July 1755, he mentions Braddock’s defeat and death: ‘We have just heard of our loss in the back parts of Virginia, with the death of the general.” He is not always impressed by the American inhabitants of this natural paradise. 22 July 1755. “The constitution all through British America is a democracy,” which allowed for "dissentions and animosities” which only gave “advantages to the enemy.” Nothing would satisfy Americans “while there is a Frenchman on this continent,” but they seemed inclined to let “their Mother country [be] at the expense of chasing them off it.”
In the summer of 1756, the war intensifies, and Mercer's responsibilities increase as he gains his fateful command at Fort Oswego. “I am now,” 14 March 1756, “by various causes, the second in command on this continent, and not entirely without some hopes of another testimony of his Majesties favor.” Fate, and General Montcalm, had other plans. The French general led a force of 3,000. But poor supplies had forced Mercer’s regiment of Massachusetts men to suffer badly in winter quarters. By the time Montcalm descended upon them, Col. Mercer’s force of 2,000 was just over half that number in fighting effectiveness. Indeed, the men had been close to mutiny in the spring, as outlined in Grahame’s damning account of the battle. Montcalm also showed his tactical superiority, gaining the high ground on Mercer, and pounding the fort’s fortifications to rubble. When a cannonball killed Mercer on the morning of 14 August, the defenders quickly surrendered. [With:] Papers Relating to the First Settlement and Capture of Fort Oswego. 1727-1756. [n.p., n.d.]. pp. [443]-506, octavo, bound in titled wraps with four folding maps.
220 pages, (various sizes), bound together in boards bearing spine-title, “Lt. Col James Francis Mercer of Sir William Pepperell’s Late 562st Regt of Infantry. Dr Graham & Mr Douglas.” (Right margins of some letters frayed, several letters folded).
“The constitution all through British America is a democracy.” An important French and Indian War archive from a high-ranking British officer in command of Fort Oswego, in which he narrates the events preceding his death in battle, as well as some of his impressions of America – foreshadowing the coming revolution. On 18 February 1755, Mercer provides his first impressions of America, which he finds much more hospitable than the disease-ridden West Indies: North America, he writes, is “the finest country on the globe, luxuriant and abounding with all the necessarys of life. The industrious hand is the only thing wanting here to make it a perfect paradise.” 9 June 1755: “We are forming four attacks against our enemys on this continent, in which if we succeed, I hope they’l abandon Canada.” 22 July 1755, he mentions Braddock’s defeat and death: ‘We have just heard of our loss in the back parts of Virginia, with the death of the general.” He is not always impressed by the American inhabitants of this natural paradise. 22 July 1755. “The constitution all through British America is a democracy,” which allowed for "dissentions and animosities” which only gave “advantages to the enemy.” Nothing would satisfy Americans “while there is a Frenchman on this continent,” but they seemed inclined to let “their Mother country [be] at the expense of chasing them off it.”
In the summer of 1756, the war intensifies, and Mercer's responsibilities increase as he gains his fateful command at Fort Oswego. “I am now,” 14 March 1756, “by various causes, the second in command on this continent, and not entirely without some hopes of another testimony of his Majesties favor.” Fate, and General Montcalm, had other plans. The French general led a force of 3,000. But poor supplies had forced Mercer’s regiment of Massachusetts men to suffer badly in winter quarters. By the time Montcalm descended upon them, Col. Mercer’s force of 2,000 was just over half that number in fighting effectiveness. Indeed, the men had been close to mutiny in the spring, as outlined in Grahame’s damning account of the battle. Montcalm also showed his tactical superiority, gaining the high ground on Mercer, and pounding the fort’s fortifications to rubble. When a cannonball killed Mercer on the morning of 14 August, the defenders quickly surrendered. [With:] Papers Relating to the First Settlement and Capture of Fort Oswego. 1727-1756. [n.p., n.d.]. pp. [443]-506, octavo, bound in titled wraps with four folding maps.