Towns

VA, USA

James Monroe Wounded at Trenton

December 26, 1776

DateDecember 26, 1776
Precisionday

James Monroe, an eighteen-year-old Virginia officer with Fredericksburg connections, was wounded at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, while crossing the Delaware with Washington. He was struck in the shoulder by a musket ball. His Fredericksburg-area upbringing and Rappahannock Valley connections placed him within the same Patriot network as Mercer and Weedon.

People Involved

Hugh Mercer(Continental Army Brigadier General)

Scottish physician who fled Scotland after Culloden, settled in Fredericksburg, became a close friend of Washington, and rose to Brigadier General in the Continental Army. Fatally wounded at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, after being mistaken for Washington by British soldiers. One of the most admired officers the Revolution lost.

Mary Ball Washington(George Washington's Mother)

George Washington's widowed mother, who moved to a house in Fredericksburg in 1772 and lived there until her death in 1789. Maintained a complicated relationship with her famous son throughout the war years, repeatedly requesting his presence in Fredericksburg while he was occupied with military command.

James Monroe(Continental Army Lieutenant)

Virginia native who studied law in Fredericksburg under Thomas Jefferson and served in the Continental Army, being wounded at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776. His Fredericksburg connections and Rappahannock Valley roots placed him within the same Patriot network as Washington, the Lewises, and Hugh Mercer.

George Weedon(Continental Army Brigadier General)

Fredericksburg tavern keeper who rose to Brigadier General in the Continental Army, serving under Washington through multiple campaigns including Brandywine and Germantown. A close friend of Mercer's before the war, Weedon's career traces the same arc from Fredericksburg tavern culture into Continental service.