Rev. Thruston was a font of information about Daniel Morgan and he clearly knew more than I did about my own father. I asked him to tell me more.

After checking his watch, he continued, “Within a month of Braddock’s disastrous attempt to capture Fort Duquesne in July 1755, the savage tribes allied with France were raiding homesteads and murdering entire settlements throughout the Valley of Virginia. Washington, already lauded as ‘The Hero of Monongahela,’ was commissioned a full Colonel and made Commander of the Virginia Militia by Robert Dinwiddie, the Royal Lieutenant Governor. Washington’s first order was to raise three companies of Rangers to patrol and protect the frontier.

“As you probably know, Colonel Washington asked your father to take command of one of the three Ranger companies. But your mother, proving the value of marrying a wise woman, convinced Colonel Washington her husband first needed time to recover from his most recent wound. At the time, he couldn’t raise his right arm enough to hold a rifle.”

“No sir, I have never been told about any of that. My mother told us he was wounded and we could see the scar in his shoulder when he took off his shirt or when Mother helped him bathe, because he couldn’t reach the back of his neck, but neither of them spoke more of it and we learned not to ask . . . .”

Rev. Thruston nodded and said, “I do not have the gift of prophesy, but if things go as they seem to be heading, you will soon come to understand why real heroes like your father rarely speak of their own courage—but are quick to tell of how other heroes act in harm’s way.”

I knew of nothing to add, so he continued his story.

“Your father wanted to command one of the Ranger companies, but he benefitted from your mother’s intervention. He returned to Williamsburg and used the time recuperating to finish his courses at William & Mary and learned the skills necessary to become a very successful architect.

“John Ashby, the man who first befriended young Morgan and taught him how to drink rum, ride a fast horse, play cards, wrestle, fight with his fists, and most importantly, drive a wagon and care for good draft animals, was appointed to command the 2nd Ranger Company. One of the first men he recruited was Daniel Morgan.

“Morgan accepted Ashby’s invitation. As I have heard Daniel tell it, he knew the pay wouldn’t be as good as the money he could make as a ‘wagoneer.’ He claims he joined out of ‘loyalty to Ashby, adventure, camaraderie, and the chance to kill savages who would otherwise kill the most vulnerable of our countrymen.’ Those seem to be proper motives to me.