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DANIEL MORGAN:
THE FAMOUS VIRGINIAN RIFLEMAN, AND HIS ADVENTURES WITH THE INDIAN BEAR
DANIEL MORGAN was a famous Virginian rifleman. As a young man he enlisted in the French and Indian War, and joined an army under Colonel St. Clair, who, as you remember, no doubt, was so signally defeated by Little Turtle.[1] The bravery of St. Clair sometimes amounted to rashness. His enemies have even accused him of indiscretion. At any rate, when camped near the head waters of the Mississippi, on the plains of the Chippewa, he placed his men near a dense forest, in which his redskinned enemies could easily pick off his sentinels without exposing themselves, in the least, to danger from return fire.
For five nights his army lay in this position, and for five nights a sentinel was posted near the gloomy borders of the forest. Alas! Every man who had held the place was shot. This struck terror to the hearts of the soldiers, and, when a sentinel was to be posted upon the sixth night, no one would come forward to take the position, without a serious protest. St. Clair knew that it was only throwing away men’s lives to place a sentinel in such an exposed situation, so he insisted upon no one occupying it. This pleased his followers mightily. “Colonel,” said many, “you are a sensible man.”
Upon the evening of the sixth day, however, a rifleman from the Virginia corps appeared before the Colonel’s tent. His name was Daniel Morgan.
“Sir,” he remarked, saluting, “I feel that I can take charge of this post. Put me there and see what I can do.”
St. Clair looked at him dubiously.
“I think that you are rather rash,” said he. “But you can have what you desire. Go, and good luck to you, my son.”
Soon afterwards, the new guard marched up. The scout fell in behind, shouldered his rifle, and went forward.