The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 39, July 1935 - April, 1936 Page: 279
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The Mercer Colony in Texas, 1844-1883
sions of lieutenancy in 1798 and of captaincy of Cavalry in the
United States Army in 1800.10
By his vote in the Virginia Assembly he opposed the War of
1812, but when war was declared he volunteered his service to
Secretary of State Monroe.11 Mercer served as Major of the 5th
Virginia Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward
Jones, from February 20, 1814, to June 10, 1814. He served as
Inspector General of the Virginia Militia from August 31, 1814,
until his resignation, November 9, 1814.12 In this last command,
he was serving as an aide to Governor Barbour when Richmond,
Virginia, was being placed in a state of defense after the fall of
Washington.'8
Mercer's commissions of high military rank were in no way
an index of those interests in which he expended his great energy.
In fact, he condemned the war of the United States against the
Seminoles, 1818, for, as he said, it "drained the treasury of its
specie, and drove the government to the negotiation of loans in
order to preserve its credit."'4 He supported Henry Clay, repre-
sentative from Kentucky, 1821, in his resolution favoring the
immediate recognition of the revolted South American countries,15
and assisting them in setting up their independence by sending
ministers there forthwith.
In his study and practice of law, even as a legislator and a
congressman, no man assisted Mercer more than his godfather,
Associate Justice Bushrod Washington, of the Supreme Court of
the United States. The Justice had been a student of Mercer's
10Wold, Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1927, p.
1083; James Mercer Garnett, Biographical Sketch of Honorable Charles
Fenton Mercer, 1778-1858, p. 5.
11The Farewell Address of the Honorable C. F. Mercer to His Constit-
uents, 1839. Library of Congress. Appendix: Accounts of dinners ten-
dered and toasts made in recognition of his service were taken from
Leesburg, Genius of Liberty, December 27, 1839. John Wright gave the
following volunteer toast, "Charles Fenton Mercer. He opposed by his
vote the declaration of the last war with Great Britain but he was one
of the first to draw the sword in the defense of his country."
"Major General James F. McKinley, War Department, Washington,
D. C., July 28, 1933, to N. Ethie Eagleton.
13"Notes on South Side Virginia." Virginia State Library Bulletin,
XL, 61.
'Garnett, Biographical Sketch of Honorable Charles Fenton Mercer,
1778-1858, p. 22.
"Annals of Congress (1819-20), III, 1083.279
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 39, July 1935 - April, 1936, periodical, 1936; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101095/m1/305/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.