Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan fought the French and Indian War as a wagoner, took a British lash that he never forgot, and then built a reputation as a rifle commander in the Revolution. He went to Quebec with Arnold, was captured, exchanged, and came back to the Saratoga campaign, where his riflemen made the woods a bad place for British officers.

Cowpens, on January 17, 1781, was his masterpiece. He set militia in front with orders to fire twice and retire, then a Continental line, then cavalry. Banastre Tarleton came on as if the first line were the only line. Morgan wrecked him in an hour. The Southern war turned on that field.

Sciatica and a worn body took him out of the later chase. He served a term in Congress and died in Winchester, Virginia, on July 6, 1802.

He was not a court general. He was a man who understood militia, distance, and how to make an enemy's confidence into a trap. Greene gave him the room. Morgan used it.