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 Morgan,
DANIEL, military officer; born in Hunterdon county,
New Jersey, in 1736; at the
age of seventeen he was a wagoner in Braddock's army, and the next
year he received 500 lashes for knocking down a British lieutenant
who had insulted him. That officer afterwards made a public apology.
Morgan became an ensign in the militia in 1758; and while carrying
dispatches he was severely wounded by Indians, but escaped. After
the French and Indian War he was a brawler and fighter and a
dissipated gambler for a time; but he reformed, accumulated
property, and commanded a company in
Dunmore's expedition against
the Indians in 1774. In less than a week after he heard of the
affair at
Lexington he had enrolled ninety-six men, the nucleus of his
famous rifle-corps, and marched them to Boston. He accompanied
Arnold in his march to
Quebec in 1775, commanding
three companies of riflemen, and in the siege of that city was made
prisoner. As colonel of a rifle regiment, he bore a conspicuous part
in the capture of
Burgoyne and his army in 1777. After serving in
Pennsylvania, he joined
the remnant of the defeated army of
Gates at Hillsboro, North
Carolina; and on October 1 was placed in command of a legionary
corps, with the rank of brigadier-general. He served under
Greene; gained
a victory in battle at the Cowpens (for which Congress gave him
thanks and a gold medal) ; and was in Greene's retreat. He led
troops that suppressed the Whiskey Insurrection, and was a member of
Congress from 1795 to 1799. He died in Winchester,
Virginia, July 6, 1802. |
