Daniel Morgan.."the old wagoner", served as a teamster on the Braddock expedition during the French & Indian war. He and the young colonel, George Washington, survived the ambush near fort Duquesne (now Pittsburg), which Gen Braddock and much of his force did not survive.
About 20 years later, the Revolutionary war broke out, and Daniel Morgan, being an expert shot, formed a body of the same types, called "Morgan's Riflemen".... gathering top shots from throughout the continental army.
One of these riflemen was a young man named Timothy Murphy. Timothy Murphy along with Gen Benedict Arnold, was instrumental in turning the second battle at Saratoga (Bemis heights).
Gen Arnold led the charge, despite his superior officer's (Gen Gates) hesitancy to do battle. It was here that Gen Arnold was wounded for the second time, in his left lag, when a Hessian infantryman fired at him, as his forces cleared out a Hessian redoubt. To add insult to injury..Arnolds horse went down too, rolling on the already wounded leg.
Arnold's left leg was first wounded at the battle of Quebec 1.5 years earlier.
During the battle, Timothy Murphy had already killed a top officer of the British forces, when Morgan told him to get the guy "on the gray horse".. which Murphy did..Killing British General Fraser.
It was said that Murphy could "hit a 7 inch circle at 250 yards". Not bad...for homemade rifles..with crude iron sights ! Wikipedia is just one source..certainly not the only source.
Timothy Murphy (sniper)
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Timothy Murphy
Murphymonument.jpg
The Timothy Murphy Memorial Monument in Middleburgh, New York
Born 1751
Pennsylvania, British America
Died 1818
Fultonham, New York, U.S.
Occupation Marksman
Spouse(s) Margaret Feeck
Mary Robertson
Children Five sons and four daughters with Margaret Feeck
Four sons with Mary Robertson
Timothy Murphy (1751–1818) was a rifleman in the American Revolutionary War. At the Battle of Bemis Heights (Second Battle of Saratoga) on October 7, 1777, Murphy is reputed to have shot and killed Sir Francis Clerke, 7th Baronet and General Simon Fraser. Murphy's life is the subject of John Brick's 1953 novel, The Rifleman.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Revolutionary War
3 Family
4 Interment
5 Legacy
6 References
Early life
Relatively few details of Murphy's early life are known. He was born in the year 1751 near the Delaware Water Gap. His parents were Irish Catholics who most likely converted upon arriving in America from County Donegal, Ireland who moved to Shamokin Flats (now Sunbury, Pennsylvania) in 1759, when Murphy was eight years old. A few years later, Murphy became an apprentice to a Mr Van Campen and moved with the van Campen family to the Wyoming Valley, which was then the frontier.[1]
Revolutionary War
On June 29, 1775, shortly after the start of the American Revolutionary War, Timothy Murphy and his brother John enlisted in the Northumberland County Riflemen, specifically Captain John Lowdon's Company. Their unit saw action in the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Long Island, and "skirmishing in Westchester".[1] After this, Murphy was promoted to the rank of sergeant in the Continental Army's 12th Pennsylvania Regiment and fought at the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Murphy was an "expert marksman", defined as being "able to hit a seven-inch target at 250 yards".[1] In July 1777, this skill led to Murphy joining Daniel Morgan's newly formed Morgan's Riflemen.
Later that year, he was selected as one of 500 handpicked riflemen to go with General Daniel Morgan to Upstate New York to help stop General John Burgoyne and the British Army. As the battles around Saratoga raged, the British, having been pushed back, were being rallied by Brigadier General Simon Fraser. Benedict Arnold rode up to General Morgan, pointed at Fraser and told Morgan the man was worth a regiment. Morgan called on Murphy and said, "That gallant officer is General Fraser. I admire him, but it is necessary that he should die, do your duty." Murphy scaled a nearby tree, took careful aim at the extreme distance of 300 yards, and fired four times. The first shot was a close miss, the second grazed the general's horse, and with the third, Fraser tumbled from his horse, shot through the stomach. General Fraser died that night. British senior officer Sir Francis Clerke, General Burgoyne's chief aide-de-camp, galloped onto the field with a message. Murphy's fourth shot killed him instantly. Murphy also fought at the battle of the Middle Fort in 1780.[1][2][3][4]
Family
Murphy's first wife, Peggy (née Margaret Feeck), was the daughter of Johannes Feeck, a prosperous Dutch farmer in the valley. Timothy and Margaret Murphy had five sons and four daughters. Several years after the 1807 death of his first wife, Murphy married Mary Robertson, and with her relocated to Charlotteville, New York, and thereby she had four more sons.[1]
Interment
The bronze bas-relief plaque on Murphy's grave at Upper Middleburgh Cemetery, Middleburgh, New York was designed by sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874–1954).[5]
Legacy
Murphy is considered a hero in Schoharie County, New York[citation needed] where he resided. There is an annual 10K run there in his name.
