James Morris III
| James Morris, III | |
|---|---|
Signature
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| Born |
January 19, 1752 South Farms, Connecticut |
| Died | April 20, 1820 Goshen, Connecticut |
| Allegiance | Patriot (American Revolution) |
| Service/branch | Connecticut militia, Continental Army |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Germantown, Siege of Yorktown |
| Other work | Founded the Morris Academy |
James Morris III (January 19, 1752 – April 20, 1820) 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 life hoping and training to be a minister. However, after graduating from Yale College, Morris accepted a commission of First Lieutenant from the Continental Army and joined the fight for American Independence. Morris was captured during the Battle of Germantown and spent most of the remaining war in captivity. Upon his release, Morris was promoted to the rank of Captain and supported Alexander Hamilton in the Siege of Yorktown. When he returned from the war, Morris began and ran an academy that trained both boys and girls together, a rarity at the time.
James Morris died in 1820. In 1859, Morris's hometown of South Farms, Connecticut was renamed Morris in his honor.
James Morris was born to Deacon James Morris Jr. and Phebe Barns Morris in South Farms, Connecticut on January 19, 1752.
Even as a young man, Morris displayed a disposition for education, borrowing often from the library in nearby Bethlehem, where his father was a member. Through these studies, Morris hoped to eventually become a minister. When Morris was eighteen, his father sent him to live full-time in Bethlehem and study under Dr. Joseph Bellamy. Morris continued with Bellamy until the spring of 1770, when he spent the season studying under the South Farms minister Dr. Salmon Hurlburt. That fall Morris found yet another instructor in Mr. Nathan Hale, saying of him, "Mr. Hale was an accurate scholar and an able instructor."
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