Tonights talk is on a book that explores the life and legacy of Daniel Morgan. Morgan began life as a homeless, illiterate teenage laborer, through ambition and determination and a great deal of luck, he became a land owner, a congressman, and one of the American Revolutions greatest battlefield commanders. Daniel morgan, a revolutionary life, available in the back corner after the speech, is a deeply american story and the become is recently been published by doctoral better louis zambone. He earned his doctorate in American History from the university of oxford and an m. A. In medieval studies from Catholic University of america. He has received a number of scholarships and awards in the field of early American History, including a rockefeller fellowship from Colonial Williamsburg foundation. He is the post of the popular audience format podcast historically thinking. Please join me in welcoming dr. Al zambone. Al. [ applause ] well my thanks to ross perry and to Kelsey Atwood who make this is and other programs possible and to the staff of the Great Library which lies beneath our feet. Particularly to Ellen Mcalister clark, the director and michelle lee silverman. In fact the last time i was here they helped me ultimately unsuccessful attempt to find a engraving of a british soldier being flogged to death. Good times. So as ross indicated, im going to spend the next 30 minutes or so talking about Daniel Morgan. Poor boy, laborer, wagoner, militia officer and that meant something. One Time Military governor of western pennsylvania, one term congressman and presbyterian convert and at his death in 1802 owner up of to 250 acres of lands in the ohio valley. So there is a lot there. I wont be able to cover it all. I want to cover highlights. Up to the moment of his greatest military achievement, victory at battle of cal pens in january of 1780 and ill do that through a series of vignettes or scenes. I also want to spend time after that thinking aloud with you about some of the themes of his life and how theyre connected to the American Revolution but also to our own life. I also want to think about what it means to have a revolutionary life and what is means to be an American Revolutionary. As long as that vast event is important to us, as long as it is the seed of this republic, then thinking about what it means to be an American Revolutionary is important. But to do so i have to define my terms. As i like to tell students, just because you know what a word means that occurred in the 18th century doesnt mean it meant the same thing to them. So what does revolution mean in the 18th century . Im going to put this in your head as you think through morgans life in the next 30 minutes. Samuel johnson gives four or five definition of revolution in the 1755 dictionary of the english language. He defined first as the course of anything that returns to the same point at which it begins to move. It is only in the third definition that he describes revolution as a change in the state of a government or country. Now johnson was archtory and hater of the American Revolution. It is surprising then that noah webster in 1828 in his first dictionary spends five definitions before getting to a sixth definition which matches what we think of revolution. He nearly all of the first five definitions involve the regular occurring of something to its original state. Only in the sixth definition does he describe revolution as a change in politics, a material or entire change in the constitution of a government. And then he adds, we shall as the sentence, we shall rejoice though hear the greeks have effected a revolution. That is a dictionary with a sense of opinion. So the revolution is a curious english word. Much like somewhat like cleave. A word that means two things simultaneously. Returning to the same point, and eternal recurrence or doing away with recurrence altogether and creating something new. There is ambiguity there. There is tension there and therefore there is ambiguity and tension in the title Daniel Morgan, a revolutionary life. And let me assure you that ambiguity was intentional. But before i get carried with way with that subject, lets go to Daniel Morgans story. First imagine late winter of 1753. It is in win chester virginia, only it is not winchester yet. That is how early it is. It is a collection of houses and shops in the middle of the lower shenandoah valley. And at some point in the late winter, we dont know the exact day, a tall young man of uncertain age walked in with clothes on his back and nothing more. Hes been walking throughout the late winter. He spent three weeks in carl ill. He doesnt know his age. He doesnt know when he was born. All hell say for the rest of his life is he left home in new jersey or pennsylvania, hes not specific about which, he left home after argument with his father. He started walking, three weeks in carlyle, he arrived in fredericktown as it was then virginia and he stops there for the rest of his life. So i think it is one of the most important facts about Daniel Morgan is that we have no facts about his origin. After arriving there, he got busy. He moved to what is now clark county to what was then eastern Frederick County along the Shenandoah River between the opec creek and the Shenandoah River. And he started rubbing stumps which i can assure you having done it yesterday or the day before is the worst job anyone could possibly have. He then became manager of a sawmill. He started working a wagon for another owner and within two years owned his own wagon and engaged in independent hauling. And any of you who traveled 50 across the blue ridge over ash bis gap down paris virginia and turn right on the 17 and go past wearington to where the 17 and 29 split, you found his route. I thought how he would loved to have stopped at the sheetz. He would be disappointed they didnt serve rum. It was as a wagoner that he joined the march. It was as a wagoner he was struck across the face by a british officer and being dan morgan struck him back and was sentenced to 500 lashes. This is not a death sentence. Don hagist has told me that he has discovered one british soldier who received the sentence of 500 lashes twice in the same year and survived and was chosen as an exemplar soldier. One has to wonder. But it was done. He took his lashes. He dined out on the story for the rest of his life. The drum major miscounted. In the end he only got 499. The king, he said, owed him one more and he mustnt be allowed to collect the bill. That was a story which showed what a hell of a fellow he was. He had remained conscious the entire time. Not only conscious, he had been able to count. I think that most of us would find that hard work. Nest vignette, april 1756. Followi ining morgans whippinge frontier of virginia is open to attack from the ohio valley. Morgan miraculously goes from being flogged to being in the virginia rangers. A curious unit that exited 100 years. A Halfway House between the virginia militia and the permanent fulltime soldiery which all americans were against. The rangers were tasked with watching the western frontier, guarding against indian incursion. Young George Washington, 24 years old, only had the rangers to rely upon as he brought his new virginia regiment into the full spirit and discipline he wanted them to have. So morgan is a ranger. Yet, that is a lot less glamorous than it sounds. He seems to have spent most of the winter of 1755 and 56 along with a 19man company. There were supposed to be 60. Drinking a large amount of run. A wagonamount of run. You can see the 24yearold is prematurely aged. Sometime in april, hopeful will i after consuming the rum, morgan and one of his companions are ambushed by a war party. His fellow ranger is killed in the first volley. Morgan is shot through the face. Comes out in front of his face, knocked out most of the teeth on the left side of his face. He remains in the saddle. He had a really good horse. He was fond of that horse. Not only did he stay in the saddle, the horse turned to face back the way they had come from, started to trot and eventually gallop without morgan having to do anything. Thereby, he saved his hair and his life. Thats the last we hear of morgan in the french and indian war. He disappears for a couple of years. Then he is back to his old profession, hauling a wagon and getting into trouble. He appears a lot in the Frederick County court records. In 1759, he is in jail for at least a month on charge of bu burning down a tobacco barn. He is tried for criminal assault. Yet ultimately, he could boast a clean record. Many indictments, no convictions. Some of those suits for assault almost certainly came from opponents in a series of encounters which would make a mixed martial arts artist look abashed. This is virginia boxing which has really no rules other than when they beg for mercy you should give it to them. That one is not always followed. These bouts left morgan scarred for the rest of his life. In his last years, his pastor was helping him in and out of bed. Saw that there was a tow on his one of his fee that was folded back over the toe. How did that happen . I got that kicking bill davis over at battletown. He said, i never could get it to set straight. And yet, despite all that, despite drinking Copious Amounts of rum, we know that from the records of the store in which he patronized, despite having no fewer than three women charging credit to his account simultaneously, despite being the purchaser of what i would have to say only can say is an unreasonable number of socks, about 35 over one year. Who has that many socks, even today . He seems to have been someone who is working very hard to be that classic southern stereotype, the man whose last words were, hey, everyone, watch this. And yet, he dies with the aforementioned rank, honor, family and property. One has to wonder, how in the world did that happen . He and one of those three women, abo abigail, curry. They moved in together. Common law marriage. They eventually had two girls. He began to buy land and more land and more land. This is important, he was able to vote. You have to own a certain amount of land, 50 acres, to vote in virginia. You cant be a tenant. He also somehow picked up learning. In 1764, he could not sign his name to a contract. By 1768, he could write a business letter. Its bad writing, but its writing. In four years he learned how to do it. Writing meant ability to have political office. He began to ascend virginia offices. First as a road surveyor, then a lieutenant in the militia, then capta captain. He commands a company in dunmores war in 1774, the last colonial war fought in the ohio valley. So far, so good. So far, he has experienced more and better life than any homeless boy wandering down the great wagon road from lancaster ever should. Then came the revolution. Fast forward to june 1775. A new jersey preacher says how winchester is full of the war of drums, marching, parades, dan morgan is in the heart of it. Three of his best friends are on the committee of safety, the alternative patriot government that runs Frederick County and really the politics of the entire valley of virginia. They not surprisingly, appoint him to command a new company of riflemen which will be part of the new Continental Army gathered outside of boston. He sets off with his company on july 15th and arrived in cambridge, massachusetts, on august 6th. 484 miles, give or take. They didnt march every day. So they were sometimes marching 30 miles a day. As morgan later remarked very proudly in his extremely brief autobiographical remarks, i did not lose a single man. Then as always, morgan believed in both speed and discipline. Fast forward, october 1775. Morgan is with his virginians and on another march through the maine woods. A hurricane struck the new england coast. The rivers and creeks of the appalachians through the back woods, north woods of maine are overflowing. Morgan as one of his pennsylvania riflemen remembered was wearing leggings and a loincloth which exposed his thighs to thorns and briars. His thighs were bleeding with cuts. This pennsylvania rifleman would remember how morgan once took a piece of firewood and threatened to beat a pennsylvania rifleman who had discharged his rifle as a way of unloading it rather than screwing down the muzzle and drawing it out. Morgan was also, again he was hell for discipline. He insisted the riflemen carry heavy wooden boats across the appalachians even though the skin on their shoulders was worn, bloody and wagged. Eventually begins to snow. All the virginmen are lost. They lose the money, medicine chest and morgan is once again, has the clothes on his back and his rifle. As you know, i should hope, the attack on quebec was unsuccessful. Morgan did not succeed in establishing a 14th colony. Benedict arnold, his commander, was wounded and literally the first shot out of the box. Richard montgomery, the overall commander of the assault, was killed by nearly the second one. Morgan and his virginians were killed or captured. One story that i will pretend is true. It might be true. It probably is true. It sounds true. Should be true. Is that morgan refuses to s surrend surrender. Eventually, he is backed up against the wall by the threatening french canadian militia who not long ago, 15 minutes ago had been shouting viva l a liberty. Morgan wept for various reasons, often for rage. He surrendered his sword to a priest. He said not a damn one you have skwound r scoundrels will have it. I will give it to a brave man like that. Morgan was a very bad prisoner. He fought with fellow american officers whom he suspected of being thieves and liars. Most were from connecticut. When he and his fellow prisoners were returned to the United States days after the declaration of independence was read by washington to his Continental Army, he leapt out of the boat and kissed the ground. That summer of 1776. He is on parole, that 18th century gentlemanly thing. Its unknown whether George Washington remembered morgan in a ranger company. He must have known him from washingtons various dealings in the valley. Whatever he knew about him, he marked him down as a man worthy of command. In fact, he gave him a double command. He gave him command of both the 11th virginia regiment and a corps of riflemen, hunters and woodsmen taken from the Continental Army. I should say that washington was deeply disappointed with the riflemen he had gotten in the summer of 1775. He wrote his brother jack and his brother charles. He said, most of them are irishmen immigrated who know more of a rifle than my horse. This time well, also the 8th virginia had been outfitted with rifles and had proven a disappointment when they went to defend charleston. What morgan ends up doing is collecting men who are actually shoot from throughout the army and outfitting them with other peoples guns, trying to see if these people, in fact, actually know how to use a rifle. This is the corps of riflemen. Its a temporary collection of these men. By june 1777, he established them into a somewhat cohesive unit. He has officers for them. And they are skirmishing almost daily with the british army until july, after which the british army disappears onto ships in new york harbor and into the atlantic. July and august are spent marching daily in the heat of northern new jersey. In late august, even though washington needed to stop the british army from attacking philadelphia i think one of washingtons most magnanimous acts, he stopped them from seizing the hudson river valley. Its there, fast forwarding to september and october of 1777, on this great land above the hudson river, that morgan wins not just a national but an international reputation. He is once again commanded by benedict arnold. Gates is a near neighbor of his in virginia. They have drunk rum together. One begins to wonder when reads morgans letters who hasnt he drunk rum with other than George Washington. Morgan, during the battle, used his men like a sniper rifle. He killed officers, artillerymen, horses. He broke apart opposing british formations. Even more importantly, i think, than his performance in the battle was the unseen, unheard scouting that they performed between the battles. Morgans riflemen keep the british army from doing its own reconnaissance, from basically knowing what is going on. He exsells cels at that. The principal reason for frances entry into the war. Saratoga was like all victories, a victory with many architects. Its impossible to imagine saratoga as a victory without the contribution of morgan and his riflemen. Fast forward again, june 1779. Two years later, mostly disappointing for morgan. He could not feed on his victories any more than any other officer in the Continental Army could. We underestimate the stress put upon the officer corps and noncommission officers for the most part who had families at home. Victory, glory and honor were good for an 18th century soldier. They believed in them more than modern soldiers say they do. Victory, glory and honor could not feed a family. They could not plow a field. Morgan was bored at valley forge. He took a leave, went home. 1778, not a great year. 1779, turned out to be much worse. In june, he was passed over for promotion to brigadier general. And to command of the new corps of light infantry, a unit that was to replace the corps of riflemen. These are positions that was impossible for reasons of National Army politics for him to actually have. But so far as he was concerned, being passed over amounted to taking away even his victory, glory and honor. So he resigned from the army. He wrote, as is generally known, that i commanded the light troops of our army and this command is now taken away from me, it will naturally be judged that this change of officers has taken place either on account of som