Thomas Armstrong Morris | |
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| Born | (1811-12-26)December 26, 1811[1] |
| Died | March 22, 1904(1904-03-22) (aged 92)[1] |
| Buried | Crown Hill National Cemetery and Arboretum, Section 37, Lot 597,Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Branch | United States Army Indiana Militia (Union) |
| Service years | 1834–1836, 1861 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General (Indiana Militia) |
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Thomas Armstrong Morris (December 26, 1811 – March 22, 1904)[1] was an American railroad executive andcivil engineer fromKentucky and a soldier, serving as abrigadier general of the Indiana Militia in service to theUnion during the early months of theAmerican Civil War. During theWestern Virginia Campaign in 1861, he played an important role in leading regiments from West Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio in clearing theConfederate army fromwestern Virginia during theBattle of Philippi, a move that helped bolsterpro-Union sentiment and contributed to the creation of the separate state of West Virginia. Morris was also instrumental in the planning and construction of theReconstruction eraIndiana State House.
Thomas Morris was born inNicholas County, Kentucky.[2] He was one of three sons of Rachel and Morris Morris, anIndianapolis pioneer who moved to central Indiana fromKentucky and later became theIndiana State Auditor.
Young Morris was educated in the local schools and was apprenticed at the age of twelve in the print room of Indianapolis's first newspaper. Three years later, he resumed his studies. In June 1830, he accepted an appointment to theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York. He graduated fourth in the Class of 1834 and became an officer in the 1st U.S. Artillery stationed atFort Monroe inVirginia and then atFort King in Florida. He served in several engineering capacities, including in Indiana where he helped extend theNational Road intoIllinois. He resigned from the army to accept the role as the state's Resident Engineer and supervised the construction of theCentral Canal, theMadison and Indianapolis Railroad, and theTerre Haute and Richmond Railroad. He later served as the president of the Bee Line and then theIndianapolis and Cincinnati Railroad. Morris also became acolonel in the Indiana statemilitia.
At the start of the Civil War,Governor of IndianaOliver Morton appointed Morris as thequartermaster general of the state's troops. On April 27, 1861, he was appointedbrigadier general in the Indiana state militia.[3] Soon, Morris took command of abrigade of newly raisedIndiana state troops and led them into western Virginia. His troops became known as the "Indiana Brigade" and were attached to theDepartment of the Ohio under fellow railroaderGeorge B. McClellan. Morris was the overall Union commander at theBattle of Philippi. He fought in several other engagements in West Virginia including the battles atRich Mountain andCorrick's Ford. Around noon on July 13, 1861, Morris attacked the rear guard of the retreating Confederate forces at Corrick's Ford on theCheat River. Morris's men pursued the Rebels for several miles in a running skirmish before finally routing them after killing Confederate GeneralRobert S. Garnett. The victory helped secure western Virginia for the Union. He mustered out of the militia on July 27, 1861.[3]
Morris declined appointments to the rank ofbrigadier general of US Volunteers in September 1862, and tomajor general of US Volunteers in October 1862. He instead returned to the railroad industry, becoming president of theIndianapolis and St. Louis Railroad in 1868. In 1877, he was a commissioner overseeing the construction of the Indiana State House, which was built in 1880. He also oversaw the construction of theUnion Railway andUnion Depot in Indianapolis, and was president of the Indianapolis Water Company from 1888 until his death.
Morris died at his daughter's home inSan Diego, California, at the age of 92 and was buried in Indianapolis.[4]
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