Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan (1736-1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and Congressman from Virginia. He was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and later commanded the troops that suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion. He served one term in Congress (1797-1799) representing Virginia.

Table of contents 1 Early Years 2 French and Indian War 3 Civilian Life 4 Boston and Quebec 5 11th Virginia regiment 6 Saratoga 6.1 Freeman's Farm 6.2 Bemis Heights 7 New Jersey and Retirement 8 The Southern Campaign 8.1 The Battle at the Cowpens 9 After the Revolution 10 Further reading 11 External links

Early Years Daniel was born on July 6, 1736, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He as the fifth of seven children of James Morgan (1710-1782), a forge worker. When he was 16, he left home after a fight with his father. After working at odd jobs through Pennsylvania, he continued into the Shenandoah Valley. He finally settled in frontier Virginia, near what is now Charles Town, West Virginia.

Morgan was a large, rough man, poorly educated, and he preferred drinking and gambling to study. But he also showed a huge capacity for work. He worked clearing land, in a sawmill, and as a teamster. In a year he had saved enough to buy his own team, and concentrated on being a teamster. French and Indian War In 1755 Morgan was hired as a civilian teamster to accompany the Braddock Expedition against Fort Duquesne. After the Battle of the Wilderness (July 9, his work removing the wounded brought hum to the attention of a young militia Colonel, George Washington.

In 1758 he joined a company of Virginia rangers as an Ensign. While carrying dispatches from Fort Edward (near Capon Bridge, West Virginia) to Winchester, Virginia, his party of only three men was ambushed. The other two were killed and Daniel was seriously wounded. A bullet hit him in the neck and went through his cheek. It knocked out the teeth in his left jaw, but he stayed in the saddle and was able to escape. Civilian Life After the war Morgan return to work as a teamster. He bought a house in Winchester, and in 1762 he set up housekeeping with sixteen year old Abigail Bailey. By the time the couple married in 1773 they already had two daughters, Nancy and Betty. He prospered at farming, building a farm of 255 acres near Winchester.

He remained active in the local militia. In 1763 he was a Lieutenant preparing forces to resist the Indian uprising known as Pontiac's Conspiracy. In 1774 he went to war again in the action known as Lord Dunmore's War, now a Captain of militia. In a campaign that lasted five months he led his company against the Shawnee Indians, striking deep into Ohio. Boston and Quebec The Siege of Boston commenced after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and caused the creation of the Continental Army. The Congress also called for the formation of ten rifle companies from the middle colonies to support the siege, and Virginia late in June of 1775 agreed to send two. The Virginia House of Burgesses chose Daniel Morgan to form one of these, and serve as its Captain. He recruited 96 men in ten days and assembled them at Winchester on July 14. He then marched them to Boston, Massachusetts in only 21 days, arriving on August 6, 1775.

Later that year, when the Congress decided to invade Canada, Colonel Benedict Arnold convinced George Washington to send an eastern offensive against Quebec in support of Montgomery's effort. From among his forces Washington agreed to send three rifle companies, if they volunteered. All of these companies at Boston volunteered, so lots were use to choose who should go, and Morgan's company was among those chosen. Arnold named Captain Morgan to lead all three companies as a unit. The expedition set out Fort Western on September 25, with Morgan's men leading the advance party.

At the start, the Arnold Expedition had about 1,000 men, but by the time they arrived at the Isle of Orleans[?] on November 9 it had been reduced to 600. (Note: historian's have never reached a consensus on the use of a standard name for this epic journey.) When Montgomery arrived they launched their disastrous assault, the Battle of Quebec (1775)[?], on the morning of December 31. Arnold's force attacked the lower city from the North, but went down early with a bullet in his leg. Morgan took over leadership of this force, and they successfully entered the city following Daniel over the first barricade. When Montgomery fell, the British General Carleton, moved cannon and men to the first barricade, behind Morgan's force. Split up in the lower city, subject to fire from all sides, they were forced to surrender piecemeal. Morgan himself finally gave his sword to a French priest, refusing to give it up to the British troops. He was among the 372 men captured, and remained a prisoner until exchanged in January 1777. 11th Virginia regiment When he rejoined Washington, Morgan was surprised to learn that he had been promoted to Colonel for his efforts at Quebec. He was assigned to raise and command a new regiment, the 11th Virginia of the Continental Line. By April, Morgan had recruited 400 men, to fill its ranks.

His recruiting test for riflemen became a campfire legend. He got several broadsides printed with a picture of the head of a British officer (some versions said King George) and only recruited those who could hit this target with their first shot at 100 yards. Word of this even reached England, and Morgan was regarded as a war criminal, since aiming at particular people wasn't viewed as sporting. Aiming at officers was viewed as criminal.

On June 13, 1777 Morgan was placed in command of an assembled Light Infantry Corp of 500 riflemen, including his own. Washington assigned them to harass General William Howe's rear guard, and Morgan followed and attacked them during their entire withdrawal across New Jersey. Saratoga Morgan and his regiment were reassigned to the army's Northern Department and on August 30 he joined General Horatio Gates to aid in resisting Burgoyne's offensive.

Before the Battle of Saratoga, Morgan's riflemen were able to drive Burgoyne's Indians behind the British regulars. This meant that the British didn't have any good intelligence about American movement and force disposition.

Freeman's Farm

Morgan's led his regiment, with the added support of Henry Dearborn's New Hampshire 300 man infantry, as the advance to the main forces. At Freeman's Farm they ran into the advance of General Simon Fraser's wing of Burgoyne's forces. Every officer in the British advance party died in the first exchange, and the advance guard retreated. Morgan's men charged without orders, but the charge fell apart when they ran into the main column, under General Hamilton. Benedict Arnold arrived, and he and Morgan managed to reform the unit. As the British began to form on the fields at Freeman's farm, Morgan's men continued to break these formations with accurate rifle fire from the woods on the far side of the field. They were joined by another seven regiments from Bemis Heights.

For the rest of the afternoon, American fire held the British in check. But, repeated American charges were repelled by British bayonets. Eventually, low on ammunition, the Americans withdrew. The British claimed victory, since they held the field, but they had twice the casualties of the Americans.

Bemis Heights

Burgoyne's next offensive resulted in the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7 and Morgan was assigned command of the left (or western) flank. The British plan was to turn that flank, using an advance by 1,500 men. This brought Morgan's brigade once again up against General Fraser's forces.

Passing through the Canadian loyalists, Morgan's Virginia sharpshooters got the British light infantry trapped in a cross fire between themselves and Dearborn's regiment. Although the light infantry broke, General Fraser was rallying them, when Benedict Arnold arrived to remark that that man was with a regiment. Morgan reluctantly ordered him shot by a sniper, and Timothy Murphy obliged him.

With Fraser mortally wounded, the light-infantry fell back into and through the redoubts occupied by Burgoyne's main force. Morgan was one of those who then followed Arnold's lead to turn the counter-attack from the British middle. Burgoyne retired to his starting positions, but about 500 men poorer for the effort. That night, he withdrew to the village of Saratoga, New York about 8 miles to the northwest.

During the next week, as Burgoyne dug in, Morgan and his men moved to his north. Their ability to cut up any patrols sent in their direction, convinced the British that retreat wasn't possible.

New Jersey and Retirement After Saratoga, Morgan's unit rejoined Washington's main army, near Philadelphia. Throughout 1778 he hit British columns and supply lines in New Jersey, but was not involved in any major battles. He was not involved in the Battle of Monmouth but actively pursued the British forces and captured many prisoners and supplies. When the Virginia Line was reorganized on September 14, 1778 Morgan became the Colonel of the 7th Virginia regiment.

Throughout this period Morgan became increasingly dissatisfied with the army and the Congress. He had never been politically active, or cultivated a relationship with the Congress. As a result, he was repeatedly passed over for promotion to Brigadier, favor going to men with less combat experience but better political connections. While still a Colonel with Washington, he had temporarily commanded Weedon's brigade, and felt himself ready for the position. Besides this, his legs and back aggravated him from the abuse taken during the Quebec Expedition. He was allowed to resign on June 30, 1779 and returned home to Winhester.

In June of 1780 he was urged to reenter the service by General Gates, but he declined. Gates was taking command in the Southern Department and Morgan felt that being outranked by so many militia officers would limit his usefulness. After Gate's disaster at the Battle of Camden, Morgan thrust all other considerations aside, and went to join the Southern command at Hillsboro, North Carolina[?]. The Southern Campaign He met Gates at Hillsboro, and was given command of the light infantry corps on October 2. At last, on October 13, 1780, Morgan received his promotion to Brigadier General.

Morgan met his new Department Commander, Nathaniel Greene, on December 3, 1780 at Charlotte, North Carolina. Greene didn't change his command assignment, but did give him new orders. Greene had decided to split his army and annoy the enemy in order to buy time to rebuild his force. He gave Morgan's command of about 700 men the job of foraging and enemy harassment in the back country of South Carolina, while avoiding direct battle.

When this strategy became apparent, the British General Cornwallis sent Colonel Banastre Tarleton[?]'s British Legion to track him down. Morgan talked with many of the militia who had fought Tarleton before, and decided to disobey his orders, by setting up a direct confrontation.

The Battle at the Cowpens

Morgan chose to make his stand at Cowpens, South Carolina. On the morning of January 17, 1781 they met in the Battle of Cowpens[?]. By this time the opponents were numerically equivalent, with about 1,000 each. Morgan had been joined by militia forces under Andrew Pickens and William Washington's dragoons. Tarleton's legion was supplemented with the light infantry from several regiments of regulars.

Morgan's plan took advantage of Tarleton's tendencies for quick action and his disdain for the militia, as well as the longer range and accuracy of his Virginia riflemen. The marksmen were positioned to the front, then the militia, then the regulars at the hilltop. The first two units were to withdraw as soon as they were seriously threatened, but after inflicting damage. This would invite a premature charge.

The strategy worked very well. In less than an hour, Tarleton's 1,076 men had took 110 killed, and 712 captured. The captives included 200 wounded. Although Tarleton escaped, the Americans captured all his supplies and equipment, even including the officers slaves.

Cornwallis had lost not only Tarleton's legion, but his light infantry, wwhich limited his speed of reation for the rest of the campaign. Congress later voted Morgan a gold medal for his actions, while Virginia gave him land and an estate (abandoned by a Tory). The damp and chill had aggravated his sciatica to the point where he was in constant pain. So on February 10, he returned to his Virginia farm. On July 7, 1781 Mogan briefly joined Lafayette to once more pursue Banastre Tarleton, this time in Virginia, but they were not successful.

After the Revolution After Morgan returned home to Charles Town, he became gradually less active. He turned his attention to investing in land, rather than clearing it, and eventually built an estate of over 250,000 acres. As part of his settling down, he joined the Presbyterian church and built a new house near Winchester, Virginia in 1782. He named the home Saratoga after his victory in New York. He spent more time on his family, becoming especially attached to his nineteen grandchildren. The Congress awarded him a gold medal in 1790 to commemorate his victory at Cowpens.

In 1794 he was briefly recalled to national service, as he lead militia units to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. By presenting a massive show of force, he managed to resolve the protests without a shot being fired. Morgan ran election for the U.S. Congress twice, as a Federalist. He lost in 1794 but won nest time to serve a term from 1797 to 1799. He died on July 6, 1802 at Saratoga.

In 1821 Virginia named a new county Morgan County in his honor. (It is now in West Virginia.) The states of Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee followed their example.

Morgan and his actions served as one of the sources for the fictional Benjamin Martin character in The Patriot movie released in 2000. Further reading

• Daniel Morgan: Revolutionary Rifleman; by Don Higginbotham;. 1961, University of North Carolina Press; Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Daniel Morgan: Ranger of the Revolution; by North Calahan; 1961, AMS Press; ISBN 0404090176
• The life of General Daniel Morgan of the Virginia line of the Army of the United States : with portions of his correspondence; by James Graham; Zebrowski Historical Publishing; ISBN 1880484064
• The Old Waggoner; by Idella Bodie; 2002, Sanpiper Publishing; (A young person's book); ISBN 0878441654

External links

• His Congressional Biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000946)
• Discussion of The Patriot movie (http://www.patriotresource.com/battles/cowpens)