America’s 250th anniversary is next year and the official America 250 celebration has begun. With that comes an interest in Revolutionary War history and the patriots who fought for our county’s independence.
I have been asked if there are any Revolutionary War soldiers buried here in Mercer County, Ohio. That is a good question and I am not really sure of the correct answer.
According to the Graves Registration Cards at the Mercer County courthouse and the Fort Recovery Monument, there are at least five Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Mercer County, but there may be more. Tombstones do not exist for those five, although two of them have been memorialized on the Fort Recovery Monument.
Henry Leasor (1733-1833), Revolutionary War, buried in Murlin Cemetery, Union Township. Henry Leasor and his father William, an immigrant from Scotland who settled near Richmond, Virginia, both served in the Revolutionary War and received land grants for their service. After the Revolution, Henry moved to Hardin County, Kentucky. In 1832 his daughter Elizabeth married Abram Murlin and moved to Union Township, Mercer County. While visiting his daughter Elizabeth in Mercer County, Henry was killed by a falling tree and was buried on the Murlin farm. [1]

Henry Leasor, Mercer County, Ohio, Graves Registration Card
James Shoonover (no dates), Revolutionary War, New York Militia, Capt. Hardings Company, reportedly buried at Macedon Cemetery, Washington Township. On the back of his Graves Registration Card: Cemetery record from Mr. Doner, whose father was the caretaker 60 years ago.

James Shoonover, Mercer County, Ohio, Graves Registration Card
Amos Spencer (no dates), Revolutionary War, Army, Virginia Continentals, reportedly buried at Macedon Cemetery, Washington Township.

Amos Spencer, Mercer County, Ohio, Graves Registration Card
Two Revolutionary War soldiers, Capt. Robert H. Kirkwood Jr and Staff Officer William McMahon, are officially recorded as buried at Fort Recovery Monument Park. Kirkwood was killed during St. Clair’s Defeat, aka the Battle of Wabash, on 4 November 1791. McMahon was killed during Anthony Wayne’s Victory on 30 June-1 July 1794. The Fort Recovery Monument was erected by Congress in 1912, in memory of those two battles and is located on Elm Street in Fort Recovery.

Fort Recovery Monument (2025 photo by Karen)
Capt. Robert H. Kirkwood Jr (1756-1791), born in New Castle County, Delaware, served in Delaware during the American Revolution. He died at Fort Recovery on 4 November 1791, during St. Clair’s Defeat by the Indians. …By now a widower, in 1791 he [Kirkwood] was commissioned a Captain in the 2nd US Infantry which was tasked with building a line of forts in the Northwest Territory. Having come out of 32 Revolutionary War battles without a significant wound, Robert Kirkwood’s luck finally ran out. One of his companions described his death, “There, resting beneath a tree, lay old Kirkwood, scalped…” [2] Kirkwood has been proved by the DAR and the SAR.

Officers’ names inscribed on circles on Fort Recovery Monument (2025 photo by Karen)
Staff Officer William McMahon (1749-1794), born 9 January 1749 in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, served in Virginia during the American Revolution. He died in battle on 30 June 1794, during Anthony Wayne’s Victory at Fort Recovery. McMahon was a doctor/surgeon of the 3rd & 4th Regiments. McMahon has been proved by the DAR and the SAR.
Those appear to be the five Revolutionary War soldiers who are buried in Mercer County.
However, there may be more Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Fort Recovery. During those battles in 1791 and 1794, in addition to the officers listed as killed, regular soldiers also fought, were killed, and were buried there. Some of them may have also served in the Revolutionary War.

Roll of the Dead, Fort Recovery Monument (2025 photo by Karen)
ROLL OF DEAD
St. Clair’s Defeat
Major General Richard Butler
Colonel Oldham
Majors Ferguson, Hart, Clark, Lemon, Griggs & Montgomery
Captains Bradford, Phelon, Kirkwood, Price, VanSwearingen, Tipton, Purdy, Smith, Piatt, Gaither, Crebbs & Newman
Lieutenants Spear, Warren, Boyd, McMath, Burgess, Kelso, Read, Little, Hopper & Likens
Ensigns Cobb, Balch, Chase, Turner, Wilson, Brooks, Beatty, Purdy & Bines
Quartermasters Reynolds & Ward
Adjutant Anderson
Surgeons Grasson, Chase & Beatty
Officers Ford, Morgan, Butts, McCrea, Thompson, McNickle, Crawford, Morehead, Doyle & Cummings
13 other Officers
630 American Soldiers
Wayne’s Victory
Major McMahon
Captain Hartshorn
Lieutenant Craig
19 Officers
120 American Soldiers
The surnames of the officers are listed, but without their given names and a lot of additional research, it is not known who among them may have served in the Revolutionary War. Plus, 32 other Officers and 750 American Soldiers who died are not named, some of whom may have served in the American Revolution.
Someone has gone to a lot of work on Find a Grave.com, listing 556 memorials for soldiers buried at Fort Recovery Monument Park. These memorials include Officers and enlisted men, most from the 1791 battle, along with some veterans of more recent conflicts. The Find a Grave soldiers’ memorials from the 1791 battle come from soldier lists and lists of those killed. [3]
That would be quite a research project to determine who among that list of soldiers killed also fought in the American Revolution.
Maybe someone has already done that.
Yes, a simple question with a complicated answer.
Another bronze plaque on the Fort Recovery Monument:

Plaque on Fort Recovery Monument (2025 photo by Karen)
This monument was erected by the congress to commemorate the valor and perpetuate the memory of the heroic soldiers who were here slain in those two memorable conflicts of the North West Territory, the defeat of Arthur St. Clair and the Victory of Anthony Wayne.
It marks the sacred spot where lie buried the fallen heroes who so bravely met and fought the savage foe. Who as advance guards entered the wilderness of the west to blaze the way for freedom and civilization. Who sacrificed home and life to the great duty of securing for a future inheritance vast dominions and great institutions…
[1] The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio, 1929, p.223. Information from Henry’s grandson, at age 80, and grandmother, as told to great-granddaughter, Mrs. Lillian Thomas, 226 W. Livingston St, Celina.
[2] Capt. Robert Henry Kirkwood, Find a Grave Memorial no. 71818366, Fort Recovery Memorial Park; Find a Grave.com.
[3] Winthrop Sargent’s list of Killed and Wounded at St. Clair’s Defeat; and The Soldiers of America’s First Army 1791 by Richard M. Lytle.
You are welcome! Happy Independence Day!
Thanks for posting this history about our country!
That is a lot! They are beautiful monuments and they age and weather very well. Thanks for writing.
There are about one or two dozen of these in Pine Grove Cemetery in Middletown Ct. I am 70 and…
It does make you wonder how vast the wooded areas were around here. And how big the trees were! Thanks…