In December, at a council of war, a change of policy was agreed upon, and the unexpected and successful attack upon Trenton was the result, Mercer rendering most efficient service. The British, however, gathering their forces, made ready to retaliate; and the cause of liberty seemed lost, when Mercer boldly suggested by a night march to surprise them in their stronghold at Princeton. His advice was acted upon; but in that memorable battle--a battle that did more to secure us our independence than any other during the war--the brave General Mercer lost his life. Dismounted by the death of his horse, and separated from his command, disdaining to surrender, he met single-handed a detachment of the enemy, and was beaten to the earth by the butts of their muskets and stabbed by their bayonets. Carried by his aid from the battle-field to a neighboring house, he lingered for nine days in great agony, expiring on the 12th of January, 1777. His remains were taken to Philadelphia, where his funeral was attended by thirty thousand people. St. Andrew’s Society of that city have erected a monument to his memory at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Mercer County, Kentucky, was named in his honor. JOSEPH REED. Joseph Reed, born in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1724, served during the French and Indian War. In 1765, he settled at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. When news of the battle of Lexington reached this peaceful neighborhood, he volunteered with many of his neighbors, and marched away to the camp at Cambridge, reaching there in time to participate in the battle of Bunker Hill, where with John Stark and the left wing of the army, posted behind a rail-fence, he aided in keeping the British at bay and covering the retreat of the main body from the redoubt. In 1776, he was ordered to join the reinforcements under Sullivan, marching to the relief of the American army in Canada. Reed, with many others, was attacked by small-pox, and after a long illness rose from his bed incapacitated for further active service. Congress, on the 9th of August, 1776, promoted him to the rank of brigadier-general, and he retained command for a while, hoping to regain his health and strength. Finding himself, however, unfit for duty, he retired shortly after on half-pay, and returned home nearly deaf and blind. He passed the remainder of his life in Fitzwilliam, enjoying the esteem and respect of all who knew him, and died at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, on the 13th of February, 1807. JOHN NIXON.