Henry Lee Morey
Encyclopedia
Henry Lee Morey was an officer in the United States Army
during the American Civil War
and a politician and U. S. Congressman after the war.
near Collinsville
, Butler County, Ohio
. He was a son of William and Derexa (Whitcomb) Morey, and the great-grandson of Revolutionary War
officer Silas Morey and grandson of Revolutionary soldier Anthony Whitcomb. William Morey in his early life was a hatter
and to buy furs he occasionally visited New Orleans
, where he witnessed the workings of slavery. He abhorred what he saw and became a radical abolitionist
. Returning to Ohio
he opened his home as part of the underground railroad
, and was well known as a friend of the black man.
Henry received his education in the local public schools and the Morning Sun Academy at the village of Rising Sun. He then entered Miami University
at Oxford, Ohio
.
, Morey left the university and enlisted as a member of the University Rifles, a military organization attached to the 20th Ohio Infantry
, serving an enlistment of three months in West Virginia under General Robert C. Schenck
.
Morey then enlisted in the 75th Ohio Volunteer Infantry for a term of three years, and served under Generals Franz Sigel
in the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia
, John Pope
and Edward Hatch
in Florida
and Quincy A. Gillmore at the siege of Charleston
. He was successively promoted corporal, sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain. Three of his brothers, Oliver P. , Joseph W. , and James E. Morey, also served in the Union Army
.
He took part in the engagement at Monterey
. He commanded his company in engagements at Franklin
, Battle of McDowell
and Shaw's Ridge, Strasburg
, Battle of Cross Keys
, Battle of Cedar Mountain
, Battle of Rappahannock Station I
(Freeman's Ford, Sulphur Springs, and Waterloo Bridge), Second Battle of Bull Run
, Battle of Aldie
and Battle of Chancellorsville
in Virginia. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Chancellorsville and confined in the notorious Libby Prison
until exchanged. He again commanded his company in the battles of Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island
, Fort Gregg and in the siege of Fort Sumter in South Carolina and engagements at Camp Baldwin and Battle of Gainesville
in Florida. He was mustered out in 1865. On April 25, 1865, he married to Mary M. Campbell, the daughter of an Ohio state senator.
, in partnership with one of his six brothers. His wife Mary died July 1, 1867, in Hamilton. On February 26, 1873, he was married to Ella R. Campbell, sister of his first wife.
Morey was elected as a Republican
to two terms as city solicitor
of Hamilton (1871–1875). He was also elected prosecuting attorney of Butler County, Ohio
, in 1873, serving concurrently. In 1875, he ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Senate
. H. L. Morey was a delegate to the Republican National Convention
in 1876.
In 1880, he was elected as a Republican
from Ohio’s third district to the Forty-seventh Congress. In 1882, following the reapportionment as a result of the 1880 census, he ran in Ohio’s seventh district and presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-eighth Congress, serving until June 20, 1884. James E. Campbell
successfully contested the election and was seated June 21, 1884. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884. In 1888, Morey was again elected from Ohio’s seventh district to the Fifty-first Congress. However, back in the Third district the following term, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890.
After his last term in Congress, Morey resumed the practice of law in Hamilton. He was a Mason
, having advanced to the Knight Templar degree. He also was an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias
and a member of the Royal Arcanum. He died in 1902 and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery.
Henry L. Morey was a cousin of James Whitcomb
, governor of Indiana (1843–1848) and United States Senator from Indiana (1849–1852).
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and a politician and U. S. Congressman after the war.
Early life and career
Henry L. Morey was born in Milford TownshipMilford Township, Butler County, Ohio
Milford Township, one of thirteen townships in the county, is located in north-central Butler County, Ohio, United States, between Oxford and Middletown. The township, which contains the village of Somerville, had a population of 3,254 in 2000, up from 2,651 in 1990. Excluding Somerville, 2,960...
near Collinsville
Collinsville
There are a number of cities or towns named Collinsville:Australia*Collinsville, QueenslandUnited States*Collinsville, Alabama*Collinsville, California*Collinsville, Connecticut*Collinsville, Illinois*Collinsville, Mississippi*Collinsville, Oklahoma...
, Butler County, Ohio
Butler County, Ohio
Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...
. He was a son of William and Derexa (Whitcomb) Morey, and the great-grandson of Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
officer Silas Morey and grandson of Revolutionary soldier Anthony Whitcomb. William Morey in his early life was a hatter
Hatter
A hatter is a person engaged in hatmaking.Hatter also may refer to:*The Hatter, a fictional character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* Luton Town F.C., team a.k.a. "The Hatters"* Stockport County F.C., team a.k.a. "The Hatters"...
and to buy furs he occasionally visited New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, where he witnessed the workings of slavery. He abhorred what he saw and became a radical abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. Returning to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
he opened his home as part of the underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, and was well known as a friend of the black man.
Henry received his education in the local public schools and the Morning Sun Academy at the village of Rising Sun. He then entered Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
at Oxford, Ohio
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...
.
Civil War
On the day after the fall of Fort SumterFort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
, Morey left the university and enlisted as a member of the University Rifles, a military organization attached to the 20th Ohio Infantry
20th Ohio Infantry
The 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Three-months regiment:...
, serving an enlistment of three months in West Virginia under General Robert C. Schenck
Robert C. Schenck
Robert Cumming Schenck was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, and the Battle of Cross Keys...
.
Morey then enlisted in the 75th Ohio Volunteer Infantry for a term of three years, and served under Generals Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel was a German military officer, revolutionist and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, John Pope
John Pope (military officer)
John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...
and Edward Hatch
Edward Hatch
Edward Hatch was a career American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Quincy A. Gillmore at the siege of Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. He was successively promoted corporal, sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain. Three of his brothers, Oliver P. , Joseph W. , and James E. Morey, also served in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
.
He took part in the engagement at Monterey
Monterey, Virginia
Monterey is a town in Highland County, Virginia, United States. The population was 158 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Highland County.-Geography:Monterey is located at ....
. He commanded his company in engagements at Franklin
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
, Battle of McDowell
Battle of McDowell
The Battle of McDowell, also known as Sitlington's Hill, was fought May 8, 1862, in Highland County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...
and Shaw's Ridge, Strasburg
Battle of New Market
The Battle of New Market was a battle fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute fought alongside the Confederate Army and forced Union General Franz Sigel and his army out of the Shenandoah...
, Battle of Cross Keys
Battle of Cross Keys
The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...
, Battle of Cedar Mountain
Battle of Cedar Mountain
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...
, Battle of Rappahannock Station I
Battle of Rappahannock Station I
-External links:**...
(Freeman's Ford, Sulphur Springs, and Waterloo Bridge), Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, Battle of Aldie
Battle of Aldie
The Battle of Aldie took place on June 17, 1863, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screened Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate infantry as it marched north in the Shenandoah Valley behind the sheltering Blue...
and Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
in Virginia. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Chancellorsville and confined in the notorious Libby Prison
Libby Prison
Libby Prison was a Confederate Prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It gained an infamous reputation for the harsh conditions under which prisoners from the Union Army were kept.- Overview :...
until exchanged. He again commanded his company in the battles of Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island
Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island
The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, also known as the Second Assault on Morris Island or the Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was fought on July 18, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union Army troops commanded by Brig. Gen...
, Fort Gregg and in the siege of Fort Sumter in South Carolina and engagements at Camp Baldwin and Battle of Gainesville
Battle of Gainesville
The Battle of Gainesville was fought on August 17, 1864, when a Confederate force defeated Union detachments on a raid from the Union garrison in the Jacksonville, Florida, area...
in Florida. He was mustered out in 1865. On April 25, 1865, he married to Mary M. Campbell, the daughter of an Ohio state senator.
Postbellum career
Morey then undertook the study of law and was graduated from the Indianapolis Law School in 1867 and was admitted to the Ohio bar, commencing practice in Hamilton, OhioHamilton, Ohio
Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....
, in partnership with one of his six brothers. His wife Mary died July 1, 1867, in Hamilton. On February 26, 1873, he was married to Ella R. Campbell, sister of his first wife.
Morey was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to two terms as city solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
of Hamilton (1871–1875). He was also elected prosecuting attorney of Butler County, Ohio
Butler County, Ohio
Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...
, in 1873, serving concurrently. In 1875, he ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...
. H. L. Morey was a delegate to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in 1876.
In 1880, he was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from Ohio’s third district to the Forty-seventh Congress. In 1882, following the reapportionment as a result of the 1880 census, he ran in Ohio’s seventh district and presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-eighth Congress, serving until June 20, 1884. James E. Campbell
James E. Campbell
James Edwin Campbell was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 38th Governor of Ohio.Campbell was born in Middletown, Ohio where he attended the public schools and then Miami University. He served in the Union Army as a member of the Mississippi River Squadron during the Civil War...
successfully contested the election and was seated June 21, 1884. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884. In 1888, Morey was again elected from Ohio’s seventh district to the Fifty-first Congress. However, back in the Third district the following term, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890.
After his last term in Congress, Morey resumed the practice of law in Hamilton. He was a Mason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, having advanced to the Knight Templar degree. He also was an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias
Knights of Pythias
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been...
and a member of the Royal Arcanum. He died in 1902 and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery.
Henry L. Morey was a cousin of James Whitcomb
James Whitcomb
James Whitcomb was a Democratic United States Senator and the eighth Governor of Indiana. As governor during the Mexican-American War, he oversaw the formation and deployment of the state's levies...
, governor of Indiana (1843–1848) and United States Senator from Indiana (1849–1852).