In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York,

31

W. H. TINSON, STEREOTYPER,

GEO. RUSSELL & CO., PRIN TERS.

PREFACE.

WHEN a writer puts forth a book, the subject of which has pre-engaged public sympathy, he is more than ordinarily obligated to furnish such explanations regarding its origin and character, as may give it a claim to public confidence. The chief, if not the only recommendations of this work, will be found in the motives which suggested it, and in the truthfulness of its details. However well-founded may be my fears, that I shall fail of success in all other respects, I cherish the hope that in these I shall prove more fortunate. Satisfaction to the reader and justice to myself, equally require, then, that in presenting these sketches to the public, the considerations with which they originated, and the circumstances under which they were completed, should be briefly stated.

At the death of General Morgan, his papers, correspondence, &c., went into the possession of his son-in-law, General Presley Neville. During the fifteen or twenty years which succeeded, many of these papers were lost or destroyed. What remained of them at the termination of this period, however, were collected, arranged, and bound into two large volumes, by the general's grandson, Major Morgan Neville, to whom, at the death of his father, they were left. When he died, these volumes became the property of his widow, who submitted them to my perusal, with the object of ascertaining whether the publication of a select portion of their contents would be advisable or not.

This collection is a very valuable one, embracing as it does, letters hitherto unpublished, from Washington, Greene, Lafayette, Wayne, Gates, Jefferson, Hamilton, Henry, Rutledge, and many other distinguished men of the revolutionary era. It was with no little pleasure that I perused and re-perused these interesting relics of men and times associated with such glorious recollections. They furnish an epistolary history of the war, from the pens of its leading spirits; and abound in facts and circumstances,

which the historian has either failed or feared to notice. But what chiefly attracted my attention, was the additional light which they shed upon the private character and military services of General Morgan, and upon the details of his long and eventful career. Until I saw these papers, I labored under the common error of assigning to him a position among the worthies of the revolution, far below that which he not only deserved, but actually occupied. My curiosity to learn all that was attainable of his history was now aroused. After examining all the sources of information within my reach, I became convinced that few, if any, of the heroes of that day furnished larger contributions than he did to the glory of our arms, or surpassed him in the amount and value of their services. Nevertheless, I found that beyond a few brief, and generally incorrect sketches, and a short paragraph in a biographical dictionary, almost everything regarding him, not incidental to the history of the revolutionary struggle, existed only in a tradition, already distorted by the operations of time, and soon to be merged into an irreclaimable oblivion; that his character and conduct had been misconceived in some cases, and misrepresented in others; and that from these causes, many of our revolutionary historians had been betrayed into statements at variance with facts, and injurious to his fame. The absence of full and correct information regarding a man whose name and deeds furnish so rich a source for national pride, has, besides, tempted Fiction to make him the theme of her legends. But the fanciful pictures which she has drawn, though recognizable, are not likenesses, while they fall far short of the spirit and dignity which invested the reality.

The American people hold in especial reverence the memory of those whose patriotism and valor were rendered conspicuous in the revolutionary war. The day is far distant, if, indeed, such a day will ever arrive, when they will cease to regard with interest everything in relation to that band of heroes and sages. I felt that the merit of good intentions would at least be accorded him, who would essay to rescue so distinguished a name from the fate with which it was threatened; and that if he should succeed in adding to the stock of correct information, regarding some of the most important events of the war, he might hope for a more gratifying indication of public approval. Yet, the original, and other sources of information then in my possession, furnished ample means, not only to compass these ends, but to vindicate his spotless reputation, to restore him to the high position which he occupied among the heroes and patriots of the war, and to win him a more enduring, if not a more favorable hold upon the memory of posterity. With reflections like these, originated the determi