Morgan–Storrs duel

Reports about the duel conflicted on a number of details, but most agreed that the duel was fought near Pensacola, at night, with Sharps rifles, and that Storrs wounded Morgan in the groin area, the shot passing through the body and out again.[1][2] What may be the earliest account of the duel came from a correspondent in nearby Warrington, Florida: "At an early hour yesterday morning the noise of rifles being fired off near Fort McRae [sic] caused the guard on duty, who hurried to the place where the report came from, and they soon discovered that there was a rencontre between two young men who were not attached to any of the companies here. It originated in a misunderstanding, and shots were exchanged, one coming off unhurt, the other being severely wounded in the thigh—it is hoped, however, not dangerously. The wounded man was conveyed to the Naval Hospital, where he is at present under the care of Dr. Hunter."[3] The Tobacco Plant newspaper of Virginia claimed that Morgan fired into the air, but "his antagonist, taking deliberate aim with his Sharp's rifle, wounded him in the groin."[4]

According to a widely republished newspaper report, the precipitating issue was a dispute over whether or not a number of Confederate-aligned men in a small boat should land below the walls of Fort Pickens, which was still under the control of the U.S. Army.[1] The disagreement (Storrs thought it was a bad plan that would get them captured) supposedly led to charges of cowardice and thus the duel.[1] An item in the Brooklyn Evening Star reported that a "Charleston letter" informed their editors that the story about reconnoitering of Fort Pickens was "only a pretended one. The real cause of it was as to the possession of a bright mulatto girl. This I know from the best authority. To avoid disgrace, however, this cause was alleged."[5] The "bright mulatto girl" explanation was reprinted in Frederick Douglass' magazine the following month.[6]

Storrs was variously described as an Alabamian, who had until recently been a "midshipman in the U.S. Navy,"[7] "an officer of Capt. O'Hara's company,"[8] and a visitor at Fort McRee not associated at that time with any military unit.[9] The Storrs who duelled St. Clair Morgan was identified by the Wetumpka Spectator in June 1861 as George S. Storrs.[10]

Morgan was a first cousin of Confederate cavalry officer John Hunt Morgan.[11] Morgan was appointed to the United States Military Academy from Tennessee in the same class as Jerome Bonaparte, Alexander McCook, and Philip Sheridan.[12] However, in the class registers for 1849, 1850, and 1851, Morgan typically had the lowest grades and the highest number of demerits.[13][14][15] Morgan submitted his resignation to the academy in 1851, per a letter held in a collection of his father's papers at the Tennessee State Library.[16] According to the USMA Archives and Special Collections Division, Morgan resigned June 20, 1851, "deficient in Natural and Experimental Philosophy."[17]

Some early reports of the duel claimed "Morgan is the man who fired the first shot at the Star of the West"[7] from Morris Island in Charleston Harbor.[18] Current thinking generally attributes the first shot at the Star of the West to Citadel Cadet George E. Haynesworth.[19] In April 1861 the Chicago Tribune commented on the claim: "[Morgan] left Charleston in January in consequence of a fight with a New Yorker, Capt. Amos Colt, agent for the sale of Col. Colt's arms; the quarrel being forced on Colt by the Tennessean, who accused Colt of being the New York Tribune's correspondent, and struck him with a glove, when Colt incontinently gave him a most deserved thrashing in the hall fronting the counter of the Charleston Hotel, some fifty persons witnessing the scene. Something like a challenge passed subsequently, but nothing came of it, and Morgan found so cold South Carolinian shoulders turned upon him in consequence, that he presently departed for Florida. With respect to his being the man who fired upon the Star of the West, the statement may be true, or a bit of lying braggadocia. There were many claimants to the honor in Charleston, which was not generally assigned to St Clair."[20] The Tribune concluded this paragraph with the assertion that Morgan's mother, Matilda Grant Rose McIntosh Morgan, had once been tried in a court of law for whipping an enslaved girl to death.[20]

Morgan's 1861 gunshot injury caused him ongoing health problems but he recovered well enough to serve in the Confederate States Army.[21] Morgan was killed during a Confederate charge at the Battle of Chickamauga.[11][22][23]

George S. Storrs graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1858.[24] He served as a Confederate artillery officer during the war.[24] His brother was also a junior officer in the Confederate States Army and was accidentally killed early in the war.[10][25] George Storrs moved to Texas in 1873, where he married, became a teacher, and resided for the rest of life.[24] Storrs died in Dallas in 1930, at the age of 91.[24]

• List of Confederate duels
• List of Confederate States Army officers educated at the United States Military Academy

• Sutherland, Tom (Summer 1993). "Major George S. Storrs, CSA". Richmond County (Ga.) History. 24: 2–29.