Author: Morris, Thomas
Biography:
MORRIS, Thomas (1732-1818?: ODNB)
Morris belonged to a family of soldiers who were also song-writers--a fact that is the source of some bibliographical confusion. The eldest son of Thomas Morris (d 1752) and his wife Mary Morris, he was baptised in Carlisle and attended Winchester School. In 1748 he joined the regiment of his father and grandfather, the 17th Foot. On a year's leave of absence in Paris in 1753, he improved his French and wrote dramatic criticism; he later translated (but did not publish) Racine's Phèdre. From 1757 to 1767 he served with his regiment in America, where he was captured and almost killed by Indians: parts of his journal from that period are included in his Miscellanies. On 8 Dec. 1769, after his return to England, he married Sarah Chubb, a minor, by licence at her parish church of St. Mary, Bridgwater; they had six children. When he retired from the army he turned to literature. He was a member of the Royal Literary Fund and wrote a life of the founder, David Williams. He died in London, probably about 1818. His younger brother Charles, a member of the Beefsteak Club and author of racy drinking songs, was also a captain with the 17th Regiment. The Collection of Songs by "Captain Morris" (1786) reprinted under other titles such as The Festival of Anacreon (1790) are sometimes attributed to Thomas but are more plausibly assigned to Charles. (ODNB under "Morris, Charles" 15 Apr. 2020)