Timothy Dwight Morris, commonly known as simply Dwight Morris was an American colonel who commanded the

14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment The 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, also known as the Nutmeg Regiment, was an infantry regiment that participated in the American Civil War. It participated in the Battle of Gettysburg, helping to repulse the Confederate attack on the third day ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as well as commanding the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Corps during the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

Biography

Earlier years

Dwight was born on November 22, 1817, at South Farm, Connecticut as the son of

James Morris III James Morris III ( – ) was a Continental Army officer from Connecticut during the American Revolutionary War and founder of the Morris Academy, a pioneer in coeducation. Born in Litchfield County, Connecticut, James Morris spent his early l ...

who was a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Morris would graduate from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1832 and would be a Judge of Probate in his district in 1845 until 1851. He would later be a member of the Connecticut State Legislature and served three different terms. In 1850 and in 1860, Morris would travel to Europe and Asia as he traveled to places like

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

as well as travelling to Africa in the

Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

region.

American Civil War

By the time Morris returned, the War Department would accept an additional regiment for Connecticut on May 21, 1861, and Dwight Morris was chosen to assemble the regiment at

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. On May 25, 1862, Morris was appointed as the commander of the 2nd brigade of the 3rd Division of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

which he would go on to command them at the

. During the battle itself, his brigade would relieve Colonel

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...

's Brigade at

Sunken Road A sunken lane (also hollow way or holloway) is a road or track that is significantly lower than the land on either side, not formed by the (recent) engineering of a road cutting but possibly of much greater age. Various mechanisms have been pro ...

and took positions at the northern parts of Bloody Lane and the 14th Connecticut was sent to relieve

Israel B. Richardson Israel Bush Richardson (December 26, 1815 – November 3, 1862) was a United States Army officer during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army. Nicknamed "Fighting Dick" for his prowess on ...

’s Division. After Antietam, Morris would be involved in several skirmishes until he was honorably discharged on October 23, 1863, for disability.

Later years

After his discharge, Morris was appointed as a U.S. Consul of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

, France in 1864 and when he returned, Morris settled down in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

where he remained until his death on September 26, 1894.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Dwight 1817 births 1894 deaths Union Army colonels People from Litchfield County, Connecticut People of Connecticut in the American Civil War