Mercer’s Revolutionary Tales
Discover a compelling collection of facts, short stories, and personal accounts that bring to life the people, places, and pivotal moments of the American Revolution. Mercer County’s “Revolutionary Tales” highlights individuals from all walks of life as they navigated family life, civic duty, and community roles through the civil unrest, war, and the founding of a nation.
Explore the early stirrings of rebellion, the trials of wartime, and the dawn of independence through a lens focused on Mercer County’s rich Revolutionary history. From bustling taverns, quiet homesteads, vital waterways, and key crossroads, Mercer County was at center stage—especially during the pivotal “Ten Crucial Days.”
Mercer County was truly the Crossroads of the American Revolution. With “Revolutionary Tales,” uncover the deep roots of freedom, resilience, and revolution in New Jersey’s Capital County—while also hearing the often-untold stories of Black, Indigenous, and women figures whose voices have long been overlooked in traditional narratives.
Mercer County: History So Good, It Should Come with a Spoiler Alert
Right in the center of the Garden State, Mercer County delivers a plethora of history. Visitors and residents can tour two Revolutionary War battlefields, pass Einstein’s old stomping grounds at Princeton University, and pay respects to Aaron Burr and Grover Cleveland all before lunch? Mercer County set the stage for the Battles of Trenton and…
Welcome to Lënapehòkink, Kithane
Let us not forget, the land now known as Mercer County was originally inhabited by the Lenape people. European settlers referred to them as Delaware Indians. The Lenape lived in this region for approximately 12,000 years before Europeans arrived. Mercer County was established in 1838. Previously, the land that now comprises Mercer County included townships…
Jacob Francis: A Free Man of Color’s Fight for Freedom
After the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, Americans laid siege to Boston. One of the soldiers, and a member of a Massachusetts regiment, was Jacob Francis, a free Black man. Born near Trenton in Amwell Township in 1754, he was indentured as a boy until age 21. He passed through several owners, the…
Charity Begins in a Tavern!
Adapted from the Trent House Eyewitness Collection* Charity Brittain was born in 1720 into the prominent Tucker family of Trenton. She married Henry Bellerjeau, who died in 1746, and later married Joseph Britton, a shoemaker from Trenton. Charity operated a tavern in their home, which she continued to manage after Joseph’s death in 1755. Throughout her life, she…
Mercer: Behind the Name
Hugh Mercer was born on January 17, 1726, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was heavily shaped by his education at the University of Aberdeen where he earned a degree in medicine. He would later use this education to become a remarkable physician and courageous soldier. Hugh served as an assistant surgeon with Jacobite forces during the…