Bridget Blessing Morrison Hiding Friends and Enemies

Dublin Core

Title

Bridget Blessing Morrison Hiding Friends and Enemies

Subject

Bridget Blessing Morrison; Zebulon Pike Morrison; Civil War; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL

Description

Bridget Blessing Morrison lived on the southeast corner of Wood Avenue and Mobile Street. She was born in Montreal, Canada. Her father brought his family to Florence during the early 1830s to work as an engineer on the first Muscle Shoals Canal. She married Zebulon Pike Morrison, an undertaker and contractor. During the Civil War, Zebulon Morrison built a secret compartment for hiding valuables and eventually food from plundering troops.
During the first Union occupation of Florence, Union troops were quartered with the Morrisons. When the Confederate forces moved back into the area, one of the officers who had been wounded in a nearby skirmish could not be evacuated with the retreating Union forces. Mrs. Morrison hid the wounded soldier in the secret compartment and nursed him back to health.
Later when the Union forces had again taken Florence, Mrs. Morrison’s nephew who was a Confederate courier was on the run from Union forces. She hid him in the same secret compartment. When the Union forces arrived she recognized their commander as the same man she had hid earlier. The commander made a show of searching the house and left the hiding place alone. Reportedly he departed saying half of a bible verse, “My lady, cast thy bread upon the waters.” The second half from Ecclesiastes finishes “… for thou shalt find it after many days.”

Creator

Michael Williams, University of North Alabama

Source

McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).

Publisher

Alabama Cultural Resource Survey

Date

1862-1865

Rights

Photo from following websites:
http://www.trva-tcwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Muscle-Shoals-Canal-Map2.jpg

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Map of Muscle Shoals Canal