Robert Murray Morris was born in the
District of Columbia on May 12, 1824, to
Commodore Charles Morris and Harriet Bowen Morris. He entered the military academy of
West Point, in July 1841 but resigned in January 1842. He was commissioned as
second lieutenant in the Regiment of Mounted Rifles May 27, 1846 serving in the Mexican–American War, where he was cited for "Gallant and Meritorious conduct" in the battles of
Contreras and
Chapultepec. Following the end of the war and evacuation of Mexico following the signing of the peace treaty, he took part in the 2,500-mile march of the Mounted Rifles to Oregon Territory from Missouri in 1849, where he served at
Fort Vancouver from 1850–1851. In 1853–54 he served in an escort party for the
Gunnison–Beckwith Expedition, in
Utah. He was subsequently stationed in
New Mexico Territory and was stationed at
Fort Craig when the
American Civil War came to the territory in 1861. Morris commanded Companies C, G, and K, Regiment of Mounted Riflemen in an engagement against a Confederate cavalry force led by Captain
Bethel Coopwood, called the
Skirmish near Fort Thorn, on September 26, 1861. Coopwood was camped along the west bank of the
Rio Grande, 15 miles above Fort Thorn, as they were retreating southward from their victory at the
Battle of Canada Alamosa. Morris had been ordered to the aid of the Union force at Canada Alamosa, but finding that force defeated he pursued and fell on Coopwood's camp in the morning following a night march from Canada Alamosa. He engaged the Confederates for several hours before withdrawing due to lack of ammunition. He later led his company in the
Battle of Valverde where he was cited for "Gallant and Meritorious conduct." The Mounted Rifles were later sent east and reorganized as the 3rd Cavalry, and he was promoted to
major and assigned to the 6th Cavalry in 1863. He was again cited for "Gallant and Meritorious conduct" for his actions in the March 31, 1865
Battle of Dinwiddie Court House in
Virginia. Following the end of the Civil War, he was sent with his regiment to enforce
Reconstruction and fight Indians on the frontiers of
Texas, and later he served on the frontiers of
Kansas. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1873 as a
Brevet Lt. Colonel. == Later life ==