Biography
Morris was born in Woodstock, Connecticut, 26 July 1784, and after being appointed a Midshipman in July 1799 served in the Quasi-War with France, Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He was promoted to Captain in March 1813. He served as a Navy Commissioner from 1823 to 1827, and as the Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repairs from 1844 to 1847.
In 1812 Morris was executive officer on the USS Constitution under the command of Isaac Hull during her battle with the HMS Guerriere, in which action Morris was severely wounded. In 1814 he commanded the USS Adams in raiding expeditions against British commerce. Cornered in the Penobscot River in Maine by a British squadron under Capt. Robert Barrie, Morris and his men went ashore with their cannons and, assisted by local militia attempted to hold off the British amphibious force in the Battle of Hampden. The British regulars routed the Americans, however, and Morris and his crew had to scuttle the ship and escape overland to Portland, Maine.
In 1835, his daughter Louise eloped and married William Wilson Corcoran.
He died in Washington, D.C., 27 January 1856.
Read more about this topic: Charles Morris (naval Officer)
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