The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Author: James Edward Mitchell
John G. Morris kept a journal according to The Pennsylvania Magazine of History…, Vol. 17, No. 2 (1893) pgs. 200-03. He recorded that he was born in the Village of Redekin, Magdeburg, Prussia in March 1754. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church and educated in the schools of his province. He studied “medicine and surgery,” and was granted a diploma to practice.
During late 1776, he arrived at Philadelphia and settled in York County, PA. In early 1777, Morris passed a (PA) State Board of Physicians examination and was granted a certificate to serve as “surgeon in the Continental army,”…. The Continental Congress on May 10, 1777, John Morris wrote, commissioned Marquis de la Rouerie (aka Col. Charles) Armand to the rank of colonel, and authorized him to raise an independent company that was called, First Partisan Legion. Morris was appointed a surgeon’s mate attached with the legion while it was a part of the Northern Dept. of the Continental army.
Before Aug., 1780 his corps was ordered by Continental Congress to the Southern Campaign, with Gen. Horatio Gates who was chosen to replace captured Gen. Benj. Lincoln as Cmdr of the Southern Dept. Gates by Jul 25, took command advancing straight to Camden bypassing Salisbury and Charlotte (NC) where the army might have gathered more Patriot militia and increased their supplies.
Randell Jones, author of Before They were Heroes at King’s Mountain, copyright 2011 publ. by Daniel Boone Footsteps, Winston-Salem, NC, wrote betw, pgs. 316-24 that Gen. Gates marched his American forces across the Deep River immediately below Mill Creek through a barren area devoid of food and support. So scarce were American army supply stores, officers permitted soldiers and cavalry to eat green apples and early peaches before reaching Rugeley’s Mill on Aug 12, 1780. Gates unwisely permitted over 100 of his Maryland Continentals and 300 (NC) militia be separated and attached to Gen. Thomas Sumpter’s command on Aug 15, for the purpose of securing a river crossing(s) along the Catawba & Wateree River valleys. British Gen. Lord Cornwallis’ forces had departed Charleston, SC on Aug 10, and three days later made camp at Camden. On Aug 16, Patriot Col. Armand’s legion’s advanced cavalry collided with those of Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton skirmishing in the darkness before both sides retreated to their respective camps until the following attack the next day.
Jones detailed the order of battle of Camden and concluded two-thirds of Gate’s army was militia facing British Regulars advancing with bayonets upon an open field. The untested Patriot forces reeled after confronting [(British) Regulars], ADVANCING, FIRING AND HUZZAING. The (Patriot) majority fled. Banastre Tarleton’s cavalry circled around and rode in from the rear, causing Patriot resistance to collapse. Brig. Gen. Edward Steven’s (VA) Militia Bgde, chased down his retreating volunteers and attempted to rally them. American Gen. Baron DeKalb suffered multiple wounds during the battle and died while being attended by Cornwallis’ personal physician! American Gen. Griffith Rutherford, wounded seriously, was taken prisoner and held for a year before an exchange.
John G. Morris wrote that after the battle of Camden, he lost all his private papers, but was promoted to surgeon; and, after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown (Oct 19, 1781) the legion remained in Virginia for some months, then ordered to York, PA, where it (Nov 25, 1783) was disbanded-The Pennsylvania, Magazine of History and Biography Vol. 17, No. 2 (1893), pp. 200-203 Published by: Historical Society of Pennsylvania
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