Daniel Morgan: Revolutionary Rifleman

Over the vast distances and rough terrain of the Revolutionary War, the tactics that Daniel Morgan had learned in Indian fighting—the thin skirmish line, the stress upon individual marksmanship, the hit-and-run mobility—were an important element of his success as a commander. He combined this success on the battlefield with a deep devotion to the soldiers serving under him. In a conflict that abounded in vital personalities, Morgan's was one of the most colorful. Illiterate, uncultivated, and contentious, he nevertheless combined the resourcefulness of a frontiersman with a native gift as a tactician and leader. His rise from humble origins gives forceful testimony to the democratic spirit of the new America.