Morris, Robert M.

Born: 1824-05-12 Washington, D.C.

Died: 1896-12-07

Son of Commodore Charles Morris of the United States Navy, Robert M. Morris attended the United States Military Academy from July 1841 to January 1842. When the Mexican War began, he volunteered for military service. In May 1846, Morris received a commission into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in the newly created Mounted Riflemen under the command of Persifor F. Smith. Morris participated in General Winfield Scott's expedition from Veracruz to Mexico City. He distinguished himself in several engagements, most notably at Contreras and Chapultepec. He was breveted first lieutenant for his gallant and meritorious conduct at Contreras and breveted captain for Chapultepec. In June 1848, he received promotion to first lieutenant. He remained in the army after the war, serving garrison duty in various posts in the American Southwest. From October 1854 to February 1855, he served as regimental quartermaster. He received promotion to captain in June 1858. At the beginning of the Civil War, Morris was serving in the New Mexico Territory. Morris and his regiment (redesignated the Third U.S. Cavalry in August 1861) joined in repelling a Confederate invasion of New Mexico in 1861 and 1862. He was breveted major for his service at the Battle of Valverde (February 20-21, 1862). Promoted to major of the Sixth U.S. Cavalry in March 1863, Morris transferred to the eastern theater. He was breveted lieutenant colonel for his gallantry and meritorious service at the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House (March 29, 1865). He retired from the military in 1873.

Gravestone, Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC; Wm. Hugh Robarts, Mexican War Veterans: A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, From 1846 to 1848 (Washington, DC: Brentano's, 1887), 13; Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1903), 1:728; "Morris, Robert Murray," The National Cyclopædia of American Biography (New York: James T. White, 1897), 4:278.