Morgan–Storrs duel

Fort Pickens, Pensacola Harbor, Florida, looking seaward, Fort McRee in the distance, "from a sketch by Mrs. Lieutenant Gilman, just arrived from Pensacola" (Harper's Weekly, February 23, 1861)

The Morgan–Storrs duel was a duel in the early days of the American Civil War between an Alabamian named George S. Storrs and a Tennesseean named St. Clair Morgan, near Fort McRee at Pensacola, Florida on the night of March 20, 1861. The weapons were Sharps rifles, and the result was that Storrs wounded Morgan. Both duelists had attended United States military service academies and, subsequent to the duel, served as officers in the Confederate States Army.

Duel

Reports about the duel conflicted on a number of details, but most agreed that the duel was fought near Pensacola, at night, with Sharps rifles, and that Storrs wounded Morgan in the groin area, the shot passing through the body and out again.[1][2] What may be the earliest account of the duel came from a correspondent in nearby Warrington, Florida: "At an early hour yesterday morning the noise of rifles being fired off near Fort McRae [sic] caused the guard on duty, who hurried to the place where the report came from, and they soon discovered that there was a rencontre between two young men who were not attached to any of the companies here. It originated in a misunderstanding, and shots were exchanged, one coming off unhurt, the other being severely wounded in the thigh—it is hoped, however, not dangerously. The wounded man was conveyed to the Naval Hospital, where he is at present under the care of Dr. Hunter."[3] The Tobacco Plant newspaper of Virginia claimed that Morgan fired into the air, but "his antagonist, taking deliberate aim with his Sharp's rifle, wounded him in the groin."[4]

Entrance to Pensacola Bay in 1862 (Colton's maps of U.S. harbors via Library of Congress)

According to a widely republished newspaper report, the precipitating issue was a dispute over whether or not a number of Confederate-aligned men in a small boat should land below the walls of Fort Pickens, which was still under the control of the U.S. Army.[1] The disagreement (Storrs thought it was a bad plan that would get them captured) supposedly led to charges of cowardice and thus the duel.[1] An item in the Brooklyn Evening Star reported that a "Charleston letter" informed their editors that the story about reconnoitering Fort Pickens was "only a pretended one. The real cause of it was as to the possession of a bright mulatto girl. This I know from the best authority. To avoid disgrace, however, this cause was alleged."[5] The "bright mulatto girl" explanation was reprinted in Frederick Douglass' magazine the following month.[6]

Storrs was variously described as an Alabamian, who had until recently been a "midshipman in the U.S. Navy,"[7] "an officer of Capt. O'Hara's company,"[8] and a visitor at Fort McRee not associated at that time with any military unit.[9] The Storrs who duelled St. Clair Morgan was identified by the Wetumpka Spectator in June 1861 as George S. Storrs.[10]

News of the duel traveled fast to gathering Confederate forces; R. W. McGavock mentioned St. Clair Morgan's injury in his journal entry of March 25, 1861.[11]

See also: Battle of Pensacola (1861)

St. Clair Morgan

Officers of 10th Tennessee Infantry (Confederate), including R. W. McGavock (top) and St. Clair Morgan (bottom left)

St. Clair McIntosh Morgan was a first cousin of Confederate cavalry officer John Hunt Morgan.[12] Morgan was appointed from Tennessee to the United States Military Academy, in the same class as Jerome Bonaparte, Alexander McCook, and Philip Sheridan.[13] However, in the class registers for 1849, 1850, and 1851, Morgan typically had the lowest grades and the highest number of demerits.[14][15][16] Morgan submitted his resignation to the academy in 1851, per a letter held in a collection of his father's papers at the Tennessee State Library.[17] According to the USMA Archives and Special Collections Division, Morgan resigned June 20, 1851, "deficient in Natural and Experimental Philosophy."[18] Morgan's Cullum number is x-1852.[19]

Some early reports of the duel claimed "Morgan is the man who fired the first shot at the Star of the West"[7] from Morris Island in Charleston Harbor.[20] Current thinking generally attributes the first shot at the Star of the West to Citadel Cadet George E. Haynesworth.[21] In April 1861 the Chicago Tribune commented on the claim: "[Morgan] left Charleston in January in consequence of a fight with a New Yorker, Capt. Amos Colt, agent for the sale of Col. Colt's arms; the quarrel being forced on Colt by the Tennessean, who accused Colt of being the New York Tribune's correspondent, and struck him with a glove, when Colt incontinently gave him a most deserved thrashing in the hall fronting the counter of the Charleston Hotel, some fifty persons witnessing the scene. Something like a challenge passed subsequently, but nothing came of it, and Morgan found so cold South Carolinian shoulders turned upon him in consequence, that he presently departed for Florida. With respect to his being the man who fired upon the Star of the West, the statement may be true, or a bit of lying braggadocia. There were many claimants to the honor in Charleston, which was not generally assigned to St Clair."[22] The Tribune concluded this paragraph with the assertion that Morgan's mother, Matilda Grant Rose McIntosh Morgan, had once been tried in a court of law for whipping an enslaved girl to death.[22]

Morgan's 1861 gunshot injury caused him ongoing health problems but he recovered well enough to serve in the Confederate States Army.[23] He enlisted September 1, 1861, and became Captain of a company of the 10th Tennessee (Confederate).[24] The company he organized may have mustered in at Fort Donelson.[25] Morgan was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga.[12][26][27]

George S. Storrs

"Confederates dragging guns up Kenesaw" sketched by A. R. Waud at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain depicts an effort led by Storrs

George Strong Storrs graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1858, and served a two-year tour on the USS Wabash (1855) in company with classmate and future admiral George Dewey.[28][29] Storrs' older brother was a junior officer in the Confederate States Army and was accidentally killed by a camp sentinel at Norfolk, Virginia in May 1861.[10][30] Storrs' younger brother became a captain in the 7th Alabama Cavalry Regiment.[31] Storrs enlisted in the Confederate States Army on July 19, 1861.[29] After moving up the ranks he ultimately served as an officer in French's Division of the Confederate Army of Tennessee,[32] and was remembered in the memoirs of his commanding officer, Major-General Samuel Gibbs French, as "Major Storrs, my chief of artillery, a most gallant man."[29] Storrs' most notable achievement of the war was his 1864 emplacement of cannons on the crest of Little Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia: "Given permission to try to place the guns on the steep mountain, Storrs soon had crews hauling guns up the mountain. They had to cut trails with axes. Since the mountain was too steep for horses, the soldiers tied ropes to the guns and pulled them up by hand."[29] The battle of Kennesaw Mountain was a decisive Confederate victory.[29] When General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered in North Carolina in April 1865, Storrs sent his men and their horses home from the unit's encampment in Augusta, Georgia.[29]

After the war, Storrs went to Brazil for a time, then worked for railroads in the Pacific states, and finally moved to Texas.[29] He married, became a teacher, and then worked for several years as a surveyor in Texas for real estate developments and railroad lands.[29] He resided in Dallas for the rest of life with his wife, also a schoolteacher.[28] Storrs died in a convalescent home in Dallas in 1930, at the age of 91.[28]

Storrs' papers from the American Civil War, held in the Richmond County Historical Society manuscript collection in Augusta, Georgia, offer valuable details about the daily lives of Confederate officers and Confederate artillery strategy. During his lifetime, Storrs published several articles and poems reflecting his Civil War experience, including a poem published 1883 called "Bury the Hatchet" that acknowledged Confederate defeat and urged the former Rebels to contribute to the advancement of the reunited States.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Duel Near Pensacola". The Wilmington Daily Herald. Wilmington, N.C. April 1, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Duel at Pensacola". The Charleston Daily Courier. March 27, 1861. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "A correspondent of one of the Florida papers". Daily Nashville Patriot. March 26, 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  4. ^ "The Pensacola Duel". Tobacco Plant. April 5, 1861. Retrieved 2023-09-09 – via Virginia Chronicle: Digital Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "How the Fool Dieth". Brooklyn Evening Star. April 2, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Douglass, Frederick, ed. (May 1861). "Duel" (PDF). Douglass' Monthly. Vol. III, no. I. Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Transcription Center, Anacostia Community Museum Archives. Rochester, New York. pp. 43–44. Retrieved 2023-09-07 – via Smithsonian Institution.
  7. ^ a b "The Duel Near Pensacola". The Baltimore Sun. March 30, 1861. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Reported Duel". The Courier-Journal. March 28, 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Image 1". The daily sun. Columbus, Ga. March 27, 1861. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Georgia Historic Newspapers .
  10. ^ a b "Wetumpka Spectator". Southern Statesman. June 8, 1861. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Shearn, Andrea; Heller, J. Roderick (Winter 2015). "Journal of Colonel R. W. McGavock: March 22, 1861—February 5, 1862". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 74 (4): 246–297. ISSN 0040-3261. JSTOR 44019584.
  12. ^ a b Ramage, James A. (1986). Rebel Raider: The Life of General John Hunt Morgan. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. p. 9. ISBN 9780813115764. LCCN 86001548. OCLC 13126951. Project MUSE book 28768.
  13. ^ "Entry for St Clair M Morgan, 1850", United States Census, 1850 – via FamilySearch
  14. ^ "v1849 14". usmalibrary.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  15. ^ "v1850 14". usmalibrary.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  16. ^ "v1851 12". usmalibrary.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  17. ^ "MORGAN, SAMUEL DOLD (1798-1880) PAPERS 1828-1967" (PDF). TN State Library & Archives.
  18. ^ USMW Archives and Special Collections Division via L. Mosher, Cadet Engagement Librarian, USMA Library (email)
  19. ^ "Alphabetical Locator of Graduates and Former Cadets" (PDF). west-point.org. 2010.
  20. ^ "First gun, Morris Island". Chicago Tribune. April 3, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Behre, Robert (March 25, 2018). "The Citadel's early story". Charleston Post and Courier. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  22. ^ a b "A paragraph about the duel". Chicago Tribune. April 6, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Barbière, Joseph (1868). Scraps from the Prison Table: At Camp Chase and Johnson's Island. Joseph Meredith Toner Collection (Library of Congress). Doylestown, Pa.: W. W. H. Davis, Printer. pp. 144–145. hdl:2027/hvd.32044014462527. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via HathiTrust.
  24. ^ "St. Clair McIntosh Morgan, 1861-1865", United States Confederate Officers Card Index, 1861-1865 – via FamilySearch
  25. ^ Crabb, Alfred Leland (1956). "The Twilight of the Nashville Gods". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 15 (4): 291–305. ISSN 0040-3261. JSTOR 42621306.
  26. ^ "From the battle-ground in North Georgia". The Daily Dispatch. September 26, 1863. Retrieved 2023-09-07 – via Perseus Electronic Resources (tufts.edu).
  27. ^ Morgan, Mrs. Irby (1892). How it was; four years among the Rebels. Nashville, Tenn.: Printed for the author, Methodist Episcopal Church South Printing House. pp. 59–60. hdl:2027/nc01.ark:/13960/t8w968j0x. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via HathiTrust.
  28. ^ a b c United Daughters of the Confederacy (September 1930). "Maj. George S. Storrs". Confederate Veteran. Vol. XXXVII, no. 9. Nashville, Tenn.: S.A. Cunningham. p. 357 – via George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida & Internet Archive.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sutherland, C. Tom (Summer 1993). "Major George S. Storrs, CSA". Richmond County (Ga.) History. 24 (1). Augusta, Ga.: Richmond County Historical Society: 2–28. Georgia Heritage Room (GR 975.864 R v.24/no.1), Augusta–Richmond County Public Library System.
  30. ^ "Henry R. Storrs". Wetumpka Spectator. May 17, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  31. ^ "Alabama, her history, resources, war record, and public men : from 1540 to 1872 / by W. Brewer". HathiTrust. p. 243. hdl:2027/yale.39002008659741. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  32. ^ "George Strong Storrs, 1861-1865", United States Confederate Officers Card Index, 1861-1865 – via FamilySearch

Read other articles:

List of military aircraft of Finland

The following is a list of military aircraft of Finland, both historical and currently in use by the Finnish Defence Forces. Current inventory Model Origin Type Operational Quantity In service Retired Image Details Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II  United States Multi-role fighter 0 64 2026 Block 4-version Boeing F/A-18C Hornet  United States Multi-role fighter 55 57 1995 Boeing F/A-18D Hornet  United States Two-seat trainer 7 8 1995 BAE Hawk Mk.66  United Kingdom Two-se...

 

Anemoi

Gli Anemoi Borea e Scirone. dettaglio dalla Torre dei Venti Gli Anemoi (in greco antico: Ἄνεμοι?, Ánemoi Venti, al singolare Ἄνεμος) furono nella mitologia greca le personificazioni dei venti. Indice 1 Mito 2 Raffigurazione 3 Culto 4 I venti greci 5 Note 6 Bibliografia 7 Altri progetti 8 Collegamenti esterni Mito Erano i figli del Titano Astreo, dio del crepuscolo, ed Eos (nella mitologia romana Aurora), la dea dell'aurora.[1] Raffigurazione Gli Anemoi vengono rappresen...

 

Sub-regions of Finland

Administrative subdivisions formed in 2009 You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Finnish. (June 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not tran...

Twin Peaks (serie televisiva 2017)

Twin PeaksI titoli di testa della seriePaeseStati Uniti d'America Anno2017 Formatoserie TV Generefantastico, drammatico, thriller Stagioni1 Episodi18 Durata53-60 min (episodio) Lingua originaleinglese Rapporto16:9 CreditiIdeatoreMark Frost, David Lynch RegiaDavid Lynch SceneggiaturaMark Frost, David Lynch Interpreti e personaggi Kyle MacLachlan: Dale Cooper Doppiatori e personaggi Stefano Benassi: Dale Cooper FotografiaPeter Deming MontaggioDuwayne DunhamDavid Lynch MusicheAngelo Bada...

 

維文 (新加坡)

本條目存在以下問題，請協助改善本條目或在討論頁針對議題發表看法。 此生者传记条目需要补充更多可供查證的来源。 (2015年9月18日)请协助補充可靠来源，无法查证的在世人物内容将被立即移除。 此條目過於依赖第一手来源。 (2015年9月18日)请補充第二手及第三手來源，以改善这篇条目。 此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2015年9月18日)请协助補充多方面可靠来源以改善这篇条�...

 

Hi-Point Carbine

Hi-Point karabin adalah serangkaian karaben bilik untuk 9x19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, dan .45 ACP. Mereka sangat murah, dibangun menggunakan polimer dan paduan logam sebanyak mungkin, menghasilkan penurunan biaya produksi dan harga jual. Referensi Pranala luar Hi-Point Link Central Hi-Point 995 carbine product page Diarsipkan 2010-10-23 di Wayback Machine. Hi-point .40S&W Carbine review Diarsipkan 2005-03-07 di Wayback Machine. Hi-Point 995 Range Report / Review Diarsipkan 2005-02-26 d...

Mehdi Charef

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Desember 2022. Untuk kegunaan lain, lihat Charef (disambiguasi). Mehdi CharefLahir21 Oktober 1952 (umur 71)Maghnia, AljazairPekerjaanSutradaraPenulis naskahTahun aktif1985-kini Mehdi Charef (lahir 21 Oktober 1952) adalah seorang sutradara dan penulis naska...

 

Saint-Geniès (Dordogne)

Pour les articles homonymes, voir Saint-Geniès. Saint-Geniès Le château et l'église de Saint-Geniès. Blason Administration Pays France Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine Département Dordogne Arrondissement Sarlat-la-Canéda Intercommunalité Communauté de communes du Pays de Fénelon (nouvelle) Maire Mandat Michel Lajugie 2020-2026 Code postal 24590 Code commune 24412 Démographie Populationmunicipale 902 hab. (2021 ) Densité 27 hab./km2 Géographie Coordonnées 44° 59′...

 

Loreto (Włochy)

Loreto gmina Sanktuarium loretańskie Herb Państwo  Włochy Region  Marche Prowincja Ankona Kod ISTAT 042022 Powierzchnia 17,69 km² Wysokość 127 m n.p.m. Populacja (I 2010)• liczba ludności 12 325 • gęstość 696,7 os./km² Numer kierunkowy 071 Kod pocztowy 60025 Położenie na mapie prowincji Ankona Położenie na mapie MarcheLoreto Położenie na mapie WłochLoreto 43°26′N 13°37′E/43,433333 13,616667 Multimedia w Wikimedia Commons Has...

Daftar Bupati Hulu Sungai Tengah

Bupati Hulu Sungai TengahPetahanaH. Aulia Oktafiandi, S.T., M.AppCom.sejak 26 Februari 2021Masa jabatan5 tahunDibentuk1959Pejabat pertamaH. A. H. Budhi GawisSitus webhulusungaitengahkab.go.id Berikut ini adalah daftar Bupati Hulu Sungai Tengah yang menjabat sejak pembentukannya pada tahun 1959. No Bupati Mulai Jabatan Akhir Jabatan Prd. Ket. Wakil Bupati 1 H. A. H.Budhi Gawis 1959 1962 1   – - H. A.Burhanul A. 1962 1963 - [Ket. 1] Achmad Zainie Y. S. 1963 1963 [Ket. 2&...

 

Biregular graph

Graph families defined by their automorphisms distance-transitive → distance-regular ← strongly regular ↓ symmetric (arc-transitive) ← t-transitive, t ≥ 2 skew-symmetric ↓ (if connected)vertex- and edge-transitive → edge-transitive and regular → edge-transitive ↓ ↓ ↓ vertex-transitive → regular → (if bipartite)biregular ↑ Cayley graph ← zero-symmetric asymmetric In graph-theoretic mathem...

 

Hung parliament

Parliament without an absolute majority Part of the Politics seriesParty politics Political spectrum Left-Wing Far-LeftCentre-Left Centre Centre-LeftRadical CentreCentre-Right Right-Wing Centre-RightFar-Right Major ideologies Agrarianism Anarchism Christian democracy Communism Conservatism Environmentalism Fascism Feminism Green politics Liberalism Libertarianism Monarchism Nationalism Populism Progressivism Classical radicalism Republicanism Social democracy Socialism Syncretism Third Way Ty...

Federal government of Brazil

Executive authority of Brazil This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Federal government of Brazil – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Federal Government of Brazil Governo FederalPolity typeFederal presidential republicConstitutionConstitution of Bra...

 

Giacomo Allegretti

Questa voce o sezione sull'argomento poeti italiani non cita le fonti necessarie o quelle presenti sono insufficienti. Puoi migliorare questa voce aggiungendo citazioni da fonti attendibili secondo le linee guida sull'uso delle fonti. Segui i suggerimenti del progetto di riferimento. Stemma della famiglia AllegrettiBlasonaturacuore d'oro su campo azzurro Giacomo (o Jacopo) Allegretti (Forlì, prima del 1326 – Rimini, 1393) è stato un poeta, filosofo, medico e astrologo italiano, è n...

 

South African Police Cross for Bravery

SA Police Cross for Bravery - 1st TypeRibbon: 44mm, blue, with a white-gold-white centre panel.TypeDecorationAwarded forConspicuous and exceptional gallantryCountryRepublic of South AfricaPresented bySouth African PoliceEligibilityAll ranksStatusDiscontinued 1989 The South African Police Cross for Bravery was a high-ranking decoration, that existed between 1963 and 2004. It initially had only one class, but it was expanded to three classes in 1988. First type Instituted on 20 May 1963, retros...

2012年夏季奧林匹克運動會男子4×100米混合泳接力比賽

2012年夏季奧林匹克運動會游泳比賽 自由泳 50公尺   男子   女子 100公尺   男子   女子 200公尺   男子   女子 400公尺   男子   女子 800公尺 女子 1500公尺 男子 背泳 100公尺   男子   女子 200公尺   男子   女子 蛙泳 100公尺   男子   女子 200公尺   男子   女子 蝶泳 100公尺   男子   女子 200公尺   男子   女子 混�...

 

الرحلة الكبرى (فيلم)

الرحلة الكبرىملصق الفيلممعلومات عامةالصنف الفني فيلم دراما[1] — فيلم طريق — قصة تقدم في العمر تاريخ الصدور 2004 24 نوفمبر 2005[2] (ألمانيا) مدة العرض 108 دقيقة اللغة الأصلية الفرنسيةالبلد  المغربمواقع التصوير آكس أون بروفانس — بلغاريا الطاقمالمخرج إسماعيل فروخيالسين�...

 

Mike J. Rogers

Mike J. Rogers Michael J. „Mike“ Rogers (* 2. Juni 1963 im Livingston County, Michigan) ist ein US-amerikanischer Politiker. Von 2001 bis 2015 vertrat er den Bundesstaat Michigan im US-Repräsentantenhaus. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Werdegang 1.1 Kongress-Abgeordneter 1.2 Übergangs-Team Trump 2 Weblinks 3 Einzelnachweise Werdegang Mike Rogers besuchte bis 1985 das Adrian College in Michigan und war zwischen 1985 und 1989 Soldat der US Army. Von 1989 bis 1994 arbeitete er in Chicago für das FB...

Tracy L. Garrett

United States Marine Corps general Tracy L. GarrettBornSeattle, WashingtonAllegianceUnited StatesService/branchUnited States Marine Corps ReserveYears of service1978–2014RankMajor GeneralCommandsInspector General of the Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps Forces, EuropeBattles/warsIraq WarAwardsLegion of MeritBronze Star MedalAlma materUniversity of WashingtonNaval War College Tracy L. Garrett is a retired major general of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. During her military ...

 

Romain Maes

Questa voce sull'argomento ciclisti belgi è solo un abbozzo. Contribuisci a migliorarla secondo le convenzioni di Wikipedia. Romain MaesRomain Maes al Tour de France 1935Nazionalità Belgio Ciclismo SpecialitàStrada Termine carriera1942 CarrieraSquadre di club 1933 Alcyon-Dunlop1934 Alcyon-DunlopLabor1935 Alcyon-Dunlop1936 Alcyon-DunlopLabor-Dunlop1937Labor-Dunlop1938 Mercier1939-1942Individuale   Modifica dati su Wikidata · Manuale Romain Maes...