A Miller that understands the Management of a Wind-mill, and can procure a proper Recommendation, may have good Wages, on applying to the Subscriber during the General Court, at _Williamsburg_, or afterwards, at his House in _Stafford_ County, before the last Day of November, or if any such Person will enclose his Recommendation, and let me know his Terms by the Post from _Williamsburg_, he may depend on meeting an Answer at the Post-Office there, without Charge, the first Post after his Letter comes to my Hands. _John Mercer_ In the meanwhile, the war had broken out in full scale, and the disaster at Fort Duquesne had taken place. Mercer apparently learned the bad news at a Stafford court session, for he noted in his journal on July 9, after observing his attendance at court, "General Braddock defeated." We can imagine his concern, for both George and John Fenton were participants in the campaign. On April 18, 1756, John Fenton was killed in action while fighting under Washington.[131] Curiously, his death was not mentioned in the journal. Instead, we learn of the death of John Mercer's horse on the way to Williamsburg in April and of the fact that, on his return in May, Mercer lost his way and traveled 46 miles in a day. He tells us that he went "to M^r Moncure's by water" on May 26, a distance of 15 miles, and that he made a round trip from Mr. Moncure's to Aquia Church for a total of 12 miles. On July 14, he noted that he went "to Maj^r Hedgman's & returning thrown out of the chaise & very much bruised." The demands of the war are revealed in journal entries made in June 1757. On the 20th he wrote, "to Court to prick Soldiers & home," and on the 27th, "to Court to draft Soldiers & home." As at other times in the journal, birth and death, in their tragic immediacy and repetitiveness, were juxtaposed in September: on the 24th, "Son John born"; on the 27th, "Brother James died at Albany"; on the 28th, "Son John died." In 1758 George Mason ran for the office of burgess from both Stafford and Fairfax. On July 11, Mercer went to the Stafford elections, where "Lee & Mason" were chosen. On the 15th, he went "to M^r Selden's & home by water to see M^r Mason," who evidently had come to Marlborough for a visit. Four days later, he traveled to Alexandria for the elections there and saw "Johnston & Mason" elected. In the fall of 1758 he went, as usual, to Williamsburg. His route this time was long and devious, taking him to both Caroline and King William County courthouses on the way, for a total of 121 miles in five days. We learn of one of the hazards of protracted journeys in the 18th century from a notation repeated daily in his journal for four days following his arrival: "at Williamsburg Confined to Bed with the Piles."