Morris was born in 1801 at Ballston Springs, New York. Morris was the second son of Sarah Morris and Lt. William Walton Morris Sr., who served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Anthony Wayne. Among his siblings was Lewis Morris, Gouverneur Morris, James Morris, Frances Morris, Anne Morris, and Arthur Breese Morris. His paternal grandparents were Lewis Morris, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and Mary Morris, herself a granddaughter of prominent merchant William Walton. Among his large extended family was paternal uncle Richard Valentine Morris, aunt Helena Magdalena Morris.
On April 25, 1861, Morris was transferred to Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. On May 14, 1861, Morris was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 4th Artillery Regiment in the Regular United States Army, followed by a promotion to colonel of the 2nd U.S. Artillery Regiment on November 1, 1861. On April 30, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Morris for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general, Regular United States Army, for "meritorious services", to rank from June 9, 1862 and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on June 9, 1862. Morris served as a brigade commander primarily in charge of the defense of Baltimore Harbor from July 22, 1862, and served both in the Middle Department and its military organization, the VIII Corps, under Maj. Gen. Robert C. Schenck, Brig. Gen. Henry H. Lockwood, and Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace. Morris temporarily commanded the VIII Corps and, for the most part simultaneously, the Middle Department : March 12, 1863 to March 22, 1863 ; August 7, 1863 to August 31, 1863 ; September 22, 1863 to September 28, 1863; and, February 1, 1865 to April 19, 1865.
Personal life
In January 1833, Morris was married to Mary Alexander Ritchie, the daughter of Hugh Williamson Ritchie and Esther Ritchie. Her maternal grandfather was Major Archibald Alexander, who was a prisoner on the prison ship HMS Jersey during the Revolutionary War. Together, they were the parents of:
William Gouverneur Morris, who studied at the Harvard Law School and later became a Union Officer. In 1880, Morris was appointed a special agent for the U.S. Treasury Department in Alaska, soon after he was appointed Collector of Customs in Sitka, Alaska.
Estelle Morris, who married Dr. John Murray Carnochan.
Anne Ritchie Morris, who married Col. Joseph Gales Ramsay, a son of Gen. George D. Ramsay.
Morris died on December 11, 1865 at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland at age 64. He was buried at St. Ann's Episcopal Church graveyard in the Bronx.
Posthumous awards
On April 16, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Morris for posthumous appointment as a brevet major general, for "Faithful and meritorious Services during the Rebellion", in the Regular United States Army to rank from December 10, 1865 and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on May 4, 1866.
