Artist Thomas Worthington Whittredge at Fort Morgan

In 1866, General John Pope, commander of the Military Division of the Missouri which then included the Colorado Territory, set off on a tour of the Plains, the Rocky Mountains and New Mexico. During his trip he would stay at Fort Wardwell on June 22nd through the 24th. The expedition was recorded by Colonel James Meline in his book Two Thousand Miles on Horseback. Meline wrote eloquently about the fort (see post "In View of the Mountains").

Also accompanying General Pope on this expedition was the landscape painter Thomas Worthington Whittredge. He was as enthralled as Meline with the plains and a number of his landscapes are set along the Platte River. 

Colonel Christopher A. Morgan

The fort was named to honor the late Colonel Christopher A. Morgan, an aide-de-camp for General Pope. (Note: A number of sources mistakenly attribute the fort’s name to Major Christopher A. Morgan of the 1st Illinois Cavalry and some state that Morgan was the first commander of the fort – this is incorrect.) Morgan had no direct connection with the fort , but as the fort – and later the town – was named for him, a slight digression is warranted. Frank Hall described the man and his demise:

A View of the Mountains

Diaries from travelers along the South Platte River Road in the 1860s almost invariably report a grand sight at or near the Junction [Fort Morgan] between Beaver and Bijou Creeks - the Rocky Mountains. After trekking mile upon mile through the same desert wondering if the journey would ever end, the weary traveler saw Long’s Peak and a glimmer of hope on the horizon – the beginning to the end of a journey.