MORGAN
MORGAN
apology. In 1757 he was a member of the volun-
teer militia sent to quell Indian uprising at
Edwards Fort on the Cocapehon river. He was
commissioned ensign by Governor Dinwiddie
and took part in the Indian campaign of 1758.
While carrying despatches to Winchester he be-
came engaged in a fight with Indians in which
most of his comra^les were slain and he was
wounded by a musket ball, which passed through
the back of his neck and went through his mouth,
removing in its passage all the teeth on the left
side of the jaw. This was the only wound he
received during liis long military career. In
1762 he received a grant of land in Frederick
county, Va., and devoted himself to farming,
naming his place " Soldier's Rest." He was
married about this time to Abigail Bailey,
daughter of a farmer of that neighborhood,
said to have been a woman of beauty and refine-
ment. He served as a lieutenant in a regiment
of militia during the Pontiac war. In 1763-64
he was commissioned captain of militia, and in
1773 served against the Indians. In June, 1775,
he was appointed captain of one of the ten Vir-
ginia rifle companies raised to join Washington's
army at Boston. His company was composed of
ninety-six young woodsmen and reached the
American camp at Cambridge, Mass., in July,
1775, having travelled six liundred miles in
twenty-one days and being one of the first com-
panies to report. On Sept. 13, 1775, he was de-
tailed >yith his company on the expedition to
Quebec under Benedict Arnold, and was the first
to cross the St. Lkawrence river, Nov. 13, 1775.
He led the assault upon the northern and western
extremities of the lower town, and took the bat-
tery opposed to him and fought his way into the
town, where for lack of support his command
was captured Jan. 1, 1776. He remained a pris-
oner of war at Quebec until Aug. 10, 1776, wlien
he was discharged on parole and set sail for New
York. He stayed for a brief time at his home in
Virginia, and in November, 1776, he was com-
missioned colonel of the 11th Virginia regiment.
His parole soon expired and he was instructed to
recruit men for his regiment. Before his enlist-
ment was complete he was ordered to join the
army at Morristown, N. J., and arrived there with
180 riflemen in April, 1777. He was placed
in command of 500 sharpshooters, known as
Morgan's rangers, whose position was on the
skirmish line. On June 13, 1777, upon the ad-
vance of Lord Howe from New Brunswick, N. J.,
Morgan's rangers had several encounters, and
upon Howe's retreat toward Amboy, N. J., after
having failed to draw Washington into an en-
gagement, Morgan was sent forward to annoy
him. He took position on Long Hill, Chatham,
N. J., and thence followed Howe to Philadelphia.
He found General Gates at Stillwater in August,
1777; was a prominent figure at Freeman's Farm,
September 19, and at the surrender of Burgoyne,
October 7. He was complimented by both Gates
and Burgoyne, the latter characterizing his
rangers the finest regiment in the world. He
refused to listen to Gates's criticism of Wash-
ington's conduct of the war and assured him
that he would serve under no other man as com-
mander-in-chief. His name does not appear in
Gates's official report of the surrender. At White-
marsh, Pa., he rejoined Washington, who on
Dec. 7, 1777, met the advance of Howe's army
and compelled him to retire to Philadelphia, after
which the American forces went into winter
camp at Valley Forge, and Morgan returned to
his home in Virginia, where he spent several
weeks. During June, 1778, he served in the Mon-
mouth campaign, but was not present at the
battle of the 28th. He was commissioned colonel
of the 7th Virginia regiment in March, 1779, and
in June, 1779, congress having promoted inferior
officers over him, he resigned his commission
upon the appointment of General Gates to the
command of the southern army. Morgan was
urged to rejoin the army, but refused to be out-
ranked by commanders of state militia. After
the unfortunate battle of Camden, he joined
Gates at Hillsborough, was promoted brigadier-
general Oct. 13, 1780, and served under Gates and
Greene, and in December, 1780, he was sent by
Greene to threaten the inland posts of Augusta
and Ninety-Six. Cornwallis sent Tarleton to
prevent this manoeuver, and upon the approach of
a superior British force, Morgan retreated to a
grazing grounds known as the Cowpens and
awaited an attack. The ensuing battle of Jan.
17, 1781, was one of the most brilliant affairs of
the Revolutionary war and reflected credit upon
the military genius of Morgan. The British
army was surrounded and put to flight, but the
direction taken by Cornwallis obliged Morgan to
cross the Fords of the Catawba in order to join
Greene, and by a brilliant march he reached the
river first and warned Greene of the situation.
He took part in the manoeuvers leading to the
battle of Guilford Court House, which resulted in
Cornwallis's retreat into Virginia, but before the
battle in February, 1781, he was incapacitated
from further field service by an attack of rheu-
matism and he returned home. In 1781 he
joined in the suppression of the Tory rebellion in
Virginia, and subsequently reported to Lafayette,
near Jamestown, Va., and was given command of
the entire force of light troops in Lafayette's
command, but his illness compelled him to retire
in August, 1781. He engaged in the cultivation
of his farm, and became wealthy. In 1790 he
received from congress the gold medal voted
