Richard Valentine Morris (March 8, 1768 – May 13, 1815) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer and politician.

Early life

He was born on March 8, 1768, in Morrisania, then a town in Westchester County, which became in 1898 a neighborhood in the borough of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

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. He was one of ten children born to

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Conti ...

(1726–1798), a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

, and Mary Walton (1727–1794), a member of a well-known merchant family. His uncles included Staats Long Morris, Richard Morris, the Chief Justice of the

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, and

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the ...

, a United States Senator from New York. His grand-uncle was Robert Hunter Morris, a Chief Justice of the

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, and his great-grandfather was Colonial Governor

. His aunt, Helena Magdalena Morris (1762–1840), was married to John Rutherfurd (1760–1840), a United States Senator from New Jersey who served from 1791 to 1798.

Career

On June 7, 1798, he was appointed as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in command of , during the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

with

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and made several successful captures of French vessels. At the reduction of the US Navy after the war with France, Morris was retained as fifth in rank and recalled to command the Mediterranean Squadron in 1802 during the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war ...

. In command of , Morris led an unsuccessful blockade of Tripoli, mostly remaining in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

for the better part of 1803. Morris was relieved of duty and command of the squadron would turn over to Edward Preble in . Recalled to the United States, Morris faced a court of inquiry which decided that he had not "discovered due diligence and activity in annoying the enemy". On May 16, 1804,

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Robert Smith, with the agreement of President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, revoked his captaincy in the U.S. Navy and dismissed him from the service. Morris had brought his wife and young son on board with him and was accused of taking actions "more reflective of a concerned husband and father than a military commander in the midst of a war." In 1804, he published ''A Defence of the Conduct of Commodore Morris During His Command in the Mediterranean'', as a defense to the actions he took while in command of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Political career

From July 1, 1813 until June 30, 1814, Morris was a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Westchester Co.), serving in the 37th New York State Legislature.

Personal life

On January 24, 1797, Morris was married to Anne Walton (1773–1858). Together, they were the parents of: * Lewis Morris (1797–1798), who died young. * Gerard Walton Morris (1799–1865), who married Martha Pine in 1827. * Richard Valentin Morris, Jr. (1803–1843), who died unmarried. * Henry Morris (1805–1854), who married Mary Natalie Spencer (1810–1886), daughter of John Canfield Spencer, in 1831. Morris died in May 1815 in

References

;Notes ;Sources * *
A Narrative of the Official Conduct of Valentine Morris, Esq.: Late Captain General, Governor in Chief of the Island of St. Vincent and its Dependencies
' by Richard Valentine Morris *

' by Richard Valentine Morris {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Richard Valentine 1768 births 1815 deaths Morris family (Morrisania and New Jersey) American politicians of Dutch descent United States Navy officers Continental Navy officers Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Federalists 19th-century American naval officers 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature