The Marquis beamed upon him with satisfaction in his countenance. He spoke to him in a fatherly manner and added:
“Now, if there is any assistance you require from me, either with money or men, do not hesitate to ask for it.”
Morgan shook his head.
“None at all. I am glad to take the risk, but I would not like to do this work unless my motives are perfectly understood. I only ask one thing and that is that if I should be detected and executed you will cause a notice to be inserted in the New Jersey papers saying that I was acting under the orders of my commanding officer.”
The required condition was readily accepted by the General, who then proceeded to explain just what he wished to ascertain.
That night Morgan entered the British lines in the guise of a deserter, and was warmly welcomed by the English soldiers. The officer who first met him looked at Morgan with some curiosity, and said:
“Why did you leave the rebels? Were you afraid that they were about to be defeated?”
Morgan protested warmly that he had no such thought in his mind.
“I have been with the American army from the beginning of the war,” he said, “and I went into the contest with all my heart and soul. While I served with General Washington I was perfectly satisfied and I would have gone until the end, but when they put me under the charge of a Frenchman I felt that it was time to call a halt. I was unwilling to fight under a foreigner. I did not like it, I chafed under it, and finally I made up my mind to desert, and here I am.”
With this story, which was given with an air of the greatest plausibility, the British were satisfied. They received the supposed deserter without suspicion and assigned him to duty as a soldier in one of the English regiments. But before going on actual duty the young man was taken to Cornwallis and his story repeated. The British general was attired in all the glory of his high office and the members of his staff presented a glittering array of gold lace. Morgan could not help but contrast their prosperous appearance with the shabby and threadbare condition of the American army. Cornwallis was an imposing looking man who evidently was filled with the importance of his rank. He spoke harshly enough to his officers, but assumed a kindly manner with the deserter from the American ranks.