Wills House Virtual Identity: Colonel Henry Morrow

Colonel Henry Morrow, 24th Michigan Infantry

Library of Congress

You have selected to discover the story of Colonel Henry Morrow.

To Begin. . .
Read the “Before the War” section below and then proceed to the next room in the Wills House and return to page when prompted.

 

Before The War

Henry Andrew Morrow was born on July 10, 1829, in Warrenton, Virginia. He attended school at the Rittenhouse Academy in Washington, D.C. and while there, received an appointment as a page in the United States Senate. At the onset of the Mexican-American War, Morrow enlisted in a regiment comprised of Maryland and D.C. volunteers and saw some action at the Battle of Monterrey; he was 17 years old. Following the war, Morrow returned to Washington and upon the advice of Senator Lewis Cass from Michigan, traveled to Detroit where he studied law and became a lawyer, just like David Wills. But it was not their shared profession that brought the two together in this house.

From Here:
You can return to Morrow’s story after visiting the first floor of the house.

 

During The War

In the summer of 1862, Morrow helped to raise and organize a regiment of volunteer infantry -- the 24th Michigan Infantry. The 24th was assigned to the First Brigade, First Division, of the First Army Corps—a famed, hard-fighting unit known as the “Iron Brigade,” which was composed entirely of regiments from mid-western states. Morrow and the 24th was first engaged at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and then Chancellorsville, but it was at Gettysburg where the regiment was engaged in its most severe and deadliest fight. Commanded by Morrow, the 24th went into battle with 496 soldiers on July 1, 1863. In the morning but especially during the afternoon, they were engaged in savage combat in Herbst Woods (now known as Reynolds Woods), fending off determined Confederate attacks until ultimately driven back in retreat from McPherson’s Ridge to Seminary Ridge and finally through Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill. During the struggle, the 24th Michigan lost 363 men killed, wounded, or captured -- a 73% loss. Among the casualties were no fewer than 14 men who went down carrying the regimental flag. At one point during the engagement, Colonel Morrow himself lifted the flag and rallied men around it and was struck in the head and wounded. Making his way into town, Morrow was captured by Confederate soldiers but was not taken with the Confederate army upon their retreat. Instead, he remained in town, receiving treatment for his injury. It is believed that he would be among the few officers treated for their wounds here at the Wills House.

From Here:
Find out what happened to Colonel Morrow after you tour the second floor of the house.

 

After the War

After convalescing from his Gettysburg wound, Morrow returned to lead the famed 24th Michigan Infantry throughout the remainder of the war. He was once again wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864 and for a third time at Petersburg in February 1865. Brevetted a brigadier general for “distinguished and conspicuous gallantry,” Morrow was discharged from the army on July 19, 1865. He accepted a commission as a lieutenant colonel in the 36th U.S. Infantry and was stationed at various posts in the South during the Era of Reconstruction. In 1879, Morrow was promoted to the rank of full colonel and given command of the 21st U.S. Infantry and was still holding that command upon his death after a lengthy illness at Hot Springs, Arkansas, on January 31, 1891, at the age of 61. He left behind a widow, Isabella, and four children. His remains were buried at the Silverbrook Cemetery, in Niles, Michigan.