 Born in Litchfield County , Connecticut , James Morris spent his early life hoping and training to be a minister . However , after graduating from Yale College , Morris accepted a commission of First Lieutenant from the Continental Army and joined the fight for American Independence . Morris was captured during the Battle of Germantown and spent most of the remaining war in captivity . Upon his release , Morris was promoted to the rank of Captain and supported Alexander Hamilton in the Siege of Yorktown . When he returned from the war , Morris began and ran an academy that trained both boys and girls together , a rarity at the time . 
