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.