Charles Fenton Mercer (1778-1858)

Charles F. Mercer is buried near here in Union Cemetery. During the War of 1812, he led a corps of Virginia militia defending Norfolk and rose to the rank of brigadier general. An attorney and owner of the Aldie Mill, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1810–1817) and in the U.S. Congress (1817–1839). Mercer promoted industry, commerce, public funding of transportation improvements, and the development of the American West. He became president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company in 1828. His advocacy of the emigration of free Black Americans to Africa led to the organization of the American Colonization Society in 1816.

Department of Historic Resources, 2026