594 MORRIS, WILLIAM W. 



had put down. The influence he had in the 

 Chamber proceeded entirely from this tendency 

 of his character, audacity in great moments of 

 crisis, and conciliation when the danger was 

 over and the battle won. 



MORRIS, Brevet Brigadier-General WILLIAM 

 WALTOX, U. S. army, colonel 2d U. S. artillery, 

 born at Ballston Springs, N. Y., in 1801, died at 

 Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Dec. 11, 1865. He 

 came of distinguished ancestors, whose names 

 had been honorably associated with the history 

 of our nation from its birth ; entered West 

 Point at the close of the second War of Inde- 

 pendence in 1815, and graduated July 1, 1820, 

 as second lieutenant of the 6th infantry. With 

 that regiment he distinguished himself in Indian 

 warfare near Council Bluff, Iowa, for which 

 services he received the promotion of first lieu- 

 tenant. In 1824 Lieutenant Morris was hon- 

 ored by a transfer from the infantry to the ar- 

 tillery ; receiving a first lieutenancy in the 

 4th regiment of the latter service. When 

 the war with the Seminole Indians in Florida 

 began, General Thomas S. Jessup, who had as- 

 sumed command of the army in the Creek Na- 

 tion (now Alabama), organized a battalion of 

 mounted Creek volunteers for service against 

 the Seminoles, and gave the command to Lieu- 

 tenant Morris, with the volunteer rank of ma- 

 jor. At the head of this force Major Morris 

 formed the advance of General Jessup's com- 

 mand, marching into Florida to the assistance 

 of Governor R. K. Call and Colonel Zachary 

 Taylor, and arrived in time to take part in the 

 "great" Indian battle of Wahoo Swamp, on 

 November 21, 1836. The battle was a total de- 

 feat for the Indians. They were driven across 

 the Withlacoochee, with a loss of fifty killed, 

 while our loss was only eight killed and nine- 

 teen wounded. For his conduct on this occa- 

 sion Major Morris was promoted to a captaincy 

 in the 4th artillery, the promotion dating 

 December 17, 1836. He was also engaged in 

 several other affairs with the Indians, the most 

 important of which were the battles of the 

 Okeechobee (December 25, 1837), the affairs at 

 Hatcheeluskee Creek (January 27, 1837), Camp 

 Moore, Clear River, Waccassassa, and Mosquito 

 Inlet. His conduct in those several engage- 

 ments gained him a brevet promotion. His 

 brevet, which was that of major, was dated 

 January 27, 1837 (the day of the Hatcheeluskee 

 affair), and read that it was given " for gallant 

 conduct on several occasions, and general efB- 

 ciency in the war against the Florida Indians." 



When the war with Mexico began, Captain 

 Morris had become Irregularly attached to the 

 Judge Advocate's department of the army, and 

 though actively engaged and distinguished at 

 the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Pal- 

 ma, the reputation which he won in that war 

 was more that of a military lawyer than a 

 warrior. During .the nine years of garrison 

 life, from 1837 to 1840, he had won a reputa- 

 tion as one of the ablest military lawyers in the 

 service; and after the famous campaign of 



MOTT, VALENTINE. 



General Scott against the city of Mexico ha 

 fairly opened, Captain Morris was employed as 

 his legal talent rendered most appropriate. Ho 

 was made Military Governor and alcalde of 

 the city of Tampico on the occupation of that 

 city, being removed shortly after to assume the 

 same duties in the more important post of Pue- 

 bla. Here he remained until tie close of the 

 war. Captain Morris was proiuoted major, 

 November 4, 1853, and attached *to the 4th 

 artillery, and placed on duty as commandant of 

 Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory. He was re- 

 lieved of this command by Colonel D. S. Miles 

 in 1860, and ordered to the command of Fort 

 Ridgely, Minn., where he was on duty until 

 shortly before the commencement of the late 

 war, when he was ordered to Fort McHen- 

 ry, Baltimore. He was in command at this 

 point on the memorable 19th of April, when 

 the riots occurred in the streets of that city, 

 and he caused much surprise and no little in- 

 dignation among the secessionists by his prompt- 

 ness in training his guns on the riotous city. 

 Here General Morris remained during the en- 

 tire war, his career marked by no startling 

 events, but his conduct always distinguished by 

 firmness, fortitude, and faithfulness. 



It was shortly after assuming command at 

 Fort McHenry that Colonel Morris (lie had 

 been promoted lieutenant-colonel, May 14, 

 1861) took the important step of refusing to 

 answer a writ of habeas carpus granted by a 

 Maryland judge, in order to obtain possession 

 of a soldier of the garrison of Fort MoHenry, 

 Against the advice and arguments of all his 

 friends, legal advisers and fellow officers, Colo- 

 nel Morris deliberately concluded to refuse the 

 surrender of the culprit ; and though the habeas 

 corpus had not been formally suspended, he de- 

 cided that the commencement of hostilities 

 necessarily suspended it. He was the first offi 

 cer who resisted the execution of the writ of 

 habeas corpus after the war began, though 

 hasty historians have given the credit to Gen- 

 eral B. F. Butler. He always acted with a 

 firmness only intensified by its deliberation and 

 coolness. He possessed great perseverance, 

 and was of iron will, though mild mannered 

 and affectionate to an unusual degree. He 

 was a man of fine personal appearance, and dig- 

 nified and courtly manners. Colonel Morris re- 

 ceived his full promotion to the colonelcy of 

 the 2d- artillery on November 1, 1861, and his 

 brevet of brigadier-general in the regular army 

 was dated June 9, 1862, "for meritorious ser- 

 vice." 



MOTT, VALEXTLXE, M. D., LL. D., an eminent 

 American surgeon, for many years at the head 

 of his profession in the world, born at Gk:i 

 Cove, Oyster Bay, Long Island, August 2<>, 

 1785, died in New York city, April 26. 

 His father, Dr. Henry Mott, a native of Hemp- 

 stead, L. I., practised medicine for many years 

 in New York, and died in 1840, at the ago 

 of 83. Valentine Mott received his classical 

 instruction from private instructors at New- 



