Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/437

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MORGAN
MORGAN
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regiment, and held that command until May. 1863, when, his health failing entirely, he was trans- ferred to the veteran reserve corps, and became colonel of the 2d regiment of that corps, which post lie held until within a few days of his death. lie was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, 18 March, 1865. Gen. Morgan participated with the 1st regiment in all its battles, from Bull Run to Fredericksburg, inclusive. He was brave and cool in action and a strict disciplinarian.


MORGAN, George Washbourne, organist, b. in Gloucester. England, 9 A j)ril, 1823 ; d. in Tacoma, Wash., 10 July, 1892. He played the service in the church of St. Nicholas as a youth, and was subse- quently organist in other churches. He then went to London, where he remained several years and made his first appearance as a solo oi'ganist. In 1853 he came to New Yoi'k. where he afterward re- sided. He was organist of St. Thomas's and Grace Episcopal churches, and St. Ann's and St. Stephen's Roman Catholic churches, and of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. He has played in various parts of the United States with much success, and since 1880 has given annual organ recitals at Ohickering hall. Mr. Morgan was the first to introduce in this country the organ-works of Bach, Plesse, and Men- delssohn, and music written for the organ with pedal obligate. He has published an Episcopal service in F. — His daughter, Maud, harpist, b. in New York city, 22 Nov., 1864, studied music with her father and with the harpist Alfred Toulrain. She first appeared in 1875 in a concert with Ole Bull. She possesses good technique, and has been well received in New York and elsewhere.


MORGAN, George Washington, soldier, b. in Washington county, i^a., 20 Sept., 1820 ; d. at Fort Monroe, Va., 27 July, 1893. His grandfather gave Jefferson information regarding Aaron Burr's con- spiracy. In 1836 he left college, and. enlisting in a company that was commanded by his brother, went to assist Texas in gaining her independence. LTpon his arrival there he was commissioned a lieu- tenant in the regular Texan army, but, after attain- ing the rank of captain, he retired from the service. In 1841 he entered the U. S. military academy, but left in 1843, and, removing to Mount Vernon, Ohio, began to practise law there in 1845. At the beginning of the war with Mexico he was made colonel of the 2d Ohio volunteers, and he was sub- sequently appointed colonel of the 15th U. S. in- fantry, which he led with ability under Gen. Scott, receiving for his gallantry at Contreras and Churu- busco, where he was severely wounded, the thanks of the Ohio legislature and the brevet of brigadier- general. He afterward practised law until 1856, and was then appointed U. S. consul to Marseilles, where he remained until he was made minister to Portugal, which post he held from 1858 till 1861. He returned to this country, and on 21 Nov., 1861, was made brigadier-general of volunteers and as- signed to duty under Gen. Don Carlos Buell. In March, 1862, he assumed the command of the 7th <livision of the Army of the Ohio, with which he was ordered to occupy Cumberland gap, in south- east Kentucky, then held by the Confederates. He forced the enemy to retire on 18 June, 1862, but in September of that year he retreated toward the Ohio, being harassed by constant attacks from Col. John H. Morgan's guerillas, and in November he was with Major-Gen. Jacob D. Cox in the valley of the Kanawha. He was with Gen. William T. Sher- man at Vicksburg. was afterward assigned to the 13th army corps, and commanded at the capture of Fort Hindman, Ark. Owing to failing health. he resigned in June, 1863. While in favor of main- taining the Union at any cost. Gen. Morgan was opposed to interference with the state institution of the south. In 1865 he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio, and in 1866 was elected to congress as a Democrat, serving on the committee on foreign affairs. His seat was contested by Columbus Delano, who sup- planted him on 3 June, 1868 ; but he was again elected, and held his seat from 4 March, 1869, till 3 March, 1873, serving on the committees on for- eign affairs, military affairs, and reconstruction. He was a delegate-at-large to the National Demo- cratic convention at St. Louis in 1876.


MORGAN, Helen Clarissa, educator, b. in Ma- sonville, Delaware co., N. Y., 25 Feb., 1845. When she was twelve years old her parents removed to Oberlin, Ohio, to give her the advantages of the college at that place, where she was graduated in 1866. In 1869, when the American missionary as- sociation decided that Fisk school should be de- veloped into a university, she was invited to be the pioneer there in the work of a higher education for the colored people. She began by giving in- struction in Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and when the institution had become firmly estab- lished she was formally given the professorship of Latin, thus being the first woman to occupy a professor's chair in an American co-educational university. To Miss Morgan more than to any one else is due the success of the institution in keeping its advanced classes together in its early years.


MORGAN, Sir Henry, buccaneer, b. in Wales in 1635 ; d. in Jamaica in 1688. Although the son of a wealthy farmer, he shipped as a common sail- or for Barbadoes and afterward went to Jamaica, where he joined the crew of a pirate vessel. The expeditions in which he took part were fortunate, and, aided by his comrades, he purchased a ship, was elected captain, and, becoming famous for his exploits in the Bay of Campeche, was taken into favor by Mansfield, an old buccaneer, who ap- pointed him vice-admiral. On the death of Mans- field in 1668, the buccaneers made Morgan their leader, and he soon became one of the most for- midable of the chiefs. Having made some valu- able captures, he persuaded his followers not to waste their money foolishly, but to reserve it for great enterprises. Many of them accepted his ad- vice, and in a few months he had a fleet of twelve vessels manned by 700 men. He first attacked a Cuban city, which he forced to pay a heavy ran- som, and then took Porto Bello, where he commit- ted great excesses. The freebooters, having re- embarked without meeting any resistance, trans- ported their treasures to Jamaica. Their booty brought them new companions, and Morgan, by the favor of the governor, obtained a vessel of thirty-six guns. He sailed to the coast of Santo Domingo and gained possession of a large French ship by stratagem. While celebrating his victory the vessel blew up, and 350 Englishmen and all the French prisoners were thrown into the sea. Morgan escaped with thirty of his followers. His fleet still numbered fifteen vessels and 960 men, but he lost seven ships and 400 men in a tempest. These reverses prevented him from attacking a rich Spanish flotilla which was expected at Sama- na. Instead he sailed to Maracaibo, seized the fort, which he destroyed, carried off the artillery, forced Gibraltar and Maracaibo to pay ransoms, burned a fleet that was superior to his own in the bay, and then safely regained the ocean. A storm forced him to repair to Jamaica in order to refit in 1669. He had now acquired a fortune and wished to live quietly for the rest of his days ; but his