Joseph, Annie and Patrick Morgan

(Currituck County)

Featured Characters – Divided Allegiances


Letter from Joseph B. Morgan to his Son VMI Cadet Patrick H. Morgan, February 13, 1863

Courtesy of the Virginia Military Institute Archives


Joseph B. and Annie Lamb Morgan and their son Patrick Henry lived in Currituck County during the Civil War. Patrick Henry was born in 1844 and was a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 1862-1864. During the war, Joseph and Annie Morgan wrote to their son at VMI regarding life at home in Currituck during the war, such as news of enemy raids, the horse whose sale made it possible to send $2.00 to Patrick, and enemy treatment of civilians. While still a cadet, he took part in the Battle of New Market on May 15, 1864. Patrick returned home after the battle and although he studied law and passed the bar, he never practiced.  In 1891, Morgan served as the Democratic state senator for Currituck County in the General Assembly.  After the war, Patrick was engaged in business and became a North Carolina senator. Later, he became a district supervisor for the United States Life Saving Service (now the U. S. Coast Guard).  After retiring in 1915, he lived in Shawboro, North Carolina before he died on August 27, 1917.