When George Washington was in Pennsylvania with Brad-dock, he became attracted to a young Scotch physician named Hugh Mercer, who he induced to come to Fredericksburg.
The building which Dr. Mercer is said to have used as an apothecary shop and office has been restored. It stands on the corner of Amelia and Caroline Streets. Washington is said to have kept a desk in the shop for the transaction of his business when he came to the Fredericksburg section. This quaint little building has recently been restored by the Citizens’ Guild of Washington’s Boyhood Home.
Mercer left the apothecary shop to take command of the Third Virginia Regiment, recruited largely from Fredericks-burg and the immediate vicinity. He rose to the rank of general and died of wounds received in the Battle of Princeton. He is buried in Philadelphia. The United States Government has erected a monument in his honor in Fredericksburg.