George W. Morgan

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George Washington Morgan
United States Ambassador to Portugal
In office
1858–1861
Preceded byJohn L. O'Sullivan
Succeeded byJames E. Harvey
Personal details
Born(1820-09-20)September 20, 1820
United States of America
Union
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1846–1848, 1861–1863
Rank Brigadier General
Commands15th Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsMexican War

American Civil War

George Washington Morgan (September 20, 1820 – July 26, 1893) was an American

United States Ambassador to Portugal from 1858 to 1861, during the term of President James Buchanan
.

Early life and career

Morgan was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, to a prominent family. His grandfather, Col. George Morgan, was the first to give President Thomas Jefferson the information regarding Aaron Burr's conspiracy.[1] G. W. Morgan was educated in local schools, and then in 1836, he withdrew from Washington College at the age of 16 and enlisted in a military company that was commanded by his older brother, Thomas Jefferson Morgan. They traveled south to Mexican Texas to fight in the struggle for independence from Mexico. Morgan received a commission in the regular Texas Army under Sam Houston as a lieutenant, and rose to captain commanding the post at Galveston. He served with Captain Robertson's rangers and Company B of the First Regiment of Texas Rangers. He resigned in 1839 to return to Pennsylvania.[2]

In 1841, he entered the United States Military Academy, but left in 1843 due to poor grades. He moved to Mount Vernon, Ohio, studied law, passed the bar exam, and established a law practice there in 1845. He served as prosecutor for Knox County.

When war erupted with Mexico, Morgan was appointed

guerrilla warfare and murder of American soldiers, Colonel Morgan seized a number of prominent Mexican citizens and issued a proclamation announcing that for every American soldier killed by the guerrillas, a citizen would be executed. The murders ceased at once.[3] He was breveted to brigadier general in 1848 for his gallantry at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco
, where he was severely wounded. Returning to Ohio to recuperate, he received the formal thanks of the Ohio legislature.

Morgan resumed his law practice in Mount Vernon. He married Sarah H. Hall of Zanesville, Ohio, on October 7, 1851, and they had two children.[2]

He was a lawyer until 1856, when he was appointed by President

Minister to Portugal, which post he held until 1861, when he returned to the United States following the outbreak of the Civil War.[1]

Civil War

Morgan during the Civil War

Morgan, due to his previous military experience in two wars, was appointed as a brigadier general in the

Western Theater. In March 1862, Morgan assumed command of the 7th Division of the Army of the Ohio and was ordered to southeastern Kentucky to drive the Confederates from the strategic Cumberland Gap and occupy it. Moving quickly, Morgan defeated Carter L. Stevenson
's Confederates and chased off the defenders on June 18, 1862. He then successfully manned the gap with his four brigades of infantry, augmented by artillery placed on the heights.

However, in September, he was forced to hastily retreat towards the Ohio River as Braxton Bragg invaded Kentucky, cutting off his supply routes. Morgan conducted a masterful retreat in the face of the much superior enemy force, despite being harassed by constant attacks from Col. John H. Morgan's guerrillas. George Morgan's 8,000 men marched over 200 miles from Cumberland Gap in sixteen days to Greenup, Kentucky, arriving there on October 3 on their way to Camp Dennison in Ohio.[4]

In November, Morgan served with Maj. Gen.

Jacob D. Cox in western Virginia (now West Virginia) in the Kanawha River Valley, defending Charleston
.

The following year, Morgan commanded the 3rd Division of the

Fort Hindman in Arkansas. His health having deteriorated from the lengthy campaigning, and dissatisfied with the use of black troops
, Morgan resigned his commission on June 8, 1863, and returned to Ohio and civilian life.

Later life and political career

George Washington Morgan

While strongly in favor of maintaining the

Jacob D. Cox
.

Nonetheless, he continued to pursue a political career, and in 1866 was elected to the

Radical Republicans. Morgan ran for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, but was defeated by James G. Blaine
.

Retirement and death

Following his retirement from Congress, Morgan was a delegate-at-large to the 1876

He died at Fort Monroe, Virginia on July 26, 1893, the last surviving general of the Mexican-American War.[1][6] He was buried in Mound View Cemetery in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. IV. James T. White & Company. 1893. p. 71. Retrieved December 2, 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c Handbook of Texas Online
  3. ^ Newark Daily Advocate, August 18, 1900, Newark, Ohio
  4. ^ "Kentucky Historical Society". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
  5. ^ Appletons Cyclopedia
  6. The Standard Union
    . Cleveland, Ohio. July 27, 1893. p. 4. Retrieved December 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

References

Attribution

Further reading

  • Asbury, Samuel E., ed., "Extracts from the Reminiscences of General George W. Morgan," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 30 (January 1927).

External links