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Table of Contents > Historic Autographs > Lot 17 |
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Lot Number: 17
Click for a Printable PageSign-in to Bid or Register to Bid Estimate Range: $400 - $500 Starting Bid: $200 |
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1826 CHARLES MORRIS Autograph Letter Signed as the U.S. Navy Commissioner to Captain Charles H. Ridgley |
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CHARLES MORRIS (1784-1856). U.S. Navy Commissioner 1823-1827 and also served as Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repairs 1844-1847; in 1810 Morris was appointed first lieutenant of the Constitution, as Second in Command, under fellow Connecticut native Isaac Hull; because of his heroism, Morris received the honor of meeting Napoleon, at which time he presented the Emperor with the gift of a Model of the frigate USS Constitution. May 22, 1826-Dated, Autograph Letter Signed, “Morris” as United States Navy Commissioner, measuring 8” x 10”, 1 page, Navy Commissioner’s Office (Washington), Choice Very Fine. Boldly written to Captain Charles H. Ridgley, regarding directions given to him by other Commissioners, Commodore Bainbridge, and Jones, regarding acknowledgement of the receipt of a prior letter, with Docket on the blank reverse. Naval service was already a family tradition for Charles Morris when he became a midshipman at the age of 15; it was the advent of a long and illustrious life in uniform. Though his star's luster has faded in recent American memory, Morris was a prominent figure in the early days of the Navy, and he served on the front line of several key historic events. From the burning of the Philadelphia to the Constitution-Guerriere battle to pioneering work in the field of naval science, Commodore Charles Morris was a ubiquitous presence in America’s Age of Fighting Sail.Morris’ strong familial naval ties presaged his future. His father, Charles senior, was a Navy purser, and his uncle Noadiah had served as secretary to Captain Silas Talbot in the frigate Constitution. In July 1799, at the age of 15, Charles Morris became midshipman in the 20-gun ship Baltimore, then shortly thereafter on board the frigate Congress (38 guns). The latter vessel was dismasted in a storm while sailing to the Indian Ocean, and Morris, hit by a falling spar, dislocated his shoulder. His father, the Congress’ purser, asked if he wished to reconsider a life in the Navy. The midshipman resolutely remained committed. On his return to Boston, he was assigned to the Constitution, under the command of Captain Edward Preble. Morris’ first naval combat experience occurred during the American wars against the Barbary powers. While the Constitution was at Syracuse, Sicily, he became one of 70 volunteers for an expedition to destroy the U.S. frigate Philadelphia, which had struck a reef and now lay crippled and captured in Tripoli Harbor. On February 3rd, 1804 Lieutenant Stephen Decatur sailed the bomb ketch Intrepid with his band of volunteers to the Barbary Coast. Commodore Preble and the young midshipman obviously had formed a bond, because Morris was armed with two of Preble’s own pistols. After 15 days on tempestuous Mediterranean waters, Decatur’s raiders entered the enemy harbor. Using a ruse, they pretended the ketch was a Maltese trader that needed to tie up to a mooring because of a lost anchor. Shortening sail, the Intrepid drifted within range of the principal battery protecting the harbor. Shortly after 2300 on a sultry night, the crew edged the ketch alongside the stricken Philadelphia. An armed boarding party crouched out of sight below the ketch’s gunwales. When contact was made and lines secured, Morris was the first to spring aboard the disabled frigate, followed immediately by Decatur and the rest of the Intrepid’s crew. They quickly engaged the Barbary crew in hand-to-hand combat on the deck of the Philadelphia. The Tripolitans who resisted were killed, and the rest fled by leaping overboard. Then the Americans successfully torched and destroyed the disabled American ship. Decatur made sure that no one was left on board then swung from the now-blazing Philadelphia safely onto the ketch’s rigging as his men cast off. They were pursued by small-arms and cannon fire. Frantically pulling on the sweeps, they rowed out of the illuminated harbor bathed in the flickering flames of the raging ship-blaze. For his distinguished action, Morris was promoted to first lieutenant and reassigned to the brig Hornet, which made a voyage to France to deliver dispatches. Because of his heroism, he received the honor of meeting Napoleon, at which time he presented the emperor with the gift of a model of the Constitution. In 1810 Morris was appointed first lieutenant of the Constitution, Second in Command under fellow Connecticut native Isaac Hull. This was a very desirable posting, but like many of his junior-officer contemporaries, Morris worried about the slowness of promotion in the Navy. In peacetime, the system was based on seniority and demonstrated ability as master of a ship. Although only 23, Morris seemed to exude ambition and applied to command a small cruiser rather than continue as first lieutenant in the Constitution. Captain Hull cast a formidable shadow under which subordinates could rarely shine. Morris believed the best path to promotion and success in the Navy was by obtaining an independent command. He applied for appointment as a lieutenant colonel of artillery in the army. In spite of his impatience with bureaucracy, Morris realized that Hull, “gives his first Lieut every opportunity of displaying taste or talents that they can desire.” The good fortunes of the Constitution in the upcoming War of 1812 battles would moot his ambitions to leave naval service. Morris admitted to little formal education or to “justly claim peculiar merit, literary accomplishment or [wealth] ... Nor has nature been over bountiful in her favor [with him].” Still, he worked hard to overcome these deficiencies and taught himself French, mathematics, mapping, and hydrography. He wrote his autobiography without the view of publicizing his accomplishments in life, but as a record of it for his descendants. One historian described him as “the foremost man of the old Navy, one who united judgment and self control, in the highest degree, with courage and zeal, and who was as successful in the office as upon the quarter deck ... the modest record of a blameless life.” Morris died on 27 January 1856 after 57 years of naval service. “Flags were hung at half-mast; minute guns fired; high government officials attended the funeral and many glowing tributes [attested] to his character and service.” His furloughs and absences from active duty amounted approximately to only two years. A newspaper obituary stated: “History will chronicle [Morris’] name among the most illustrious of those who have contributed to the naval glory of the country. The newspaper proved wrong in its prognostication, but correct in its approbation. Why has Morris been largely forgotten? During the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812 he performed heroic acts, many of which were pivotal. But he was a deputy to other naval figures, men who were transformed by history into icons. By the time Morris rose to his own command, the days of glory from naval combat were largely behind him, but that is conjecture. Charles Morris’ long and noteworthy service occurred during the crucial formative years of the U.S. Navy, a time in which this naval officer stood high in the esteem of his countrymen for bravery, wisdom, and integrity. |
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Lot Number: 17
Click for a Printable Page Sign-in to Bid or Register to Bid |
Estimate Range: $400 - $500 Starting Bid: $200 |
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Early American History Auctions, Inc. 1520 Commerce St., # 312 • Winchester, VA 22601 Phone: 858 • 759 • 3290 Email: Auctions@EarlyAmerican.com |
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