At the age of fourteen James Morris Morgan entered the United States Naval Academy. A year later, the American Civil War broke out and Morgan joined the Confederate navy as a midshipman on the CSS McRae. For the next four years "Little Morgan" would continue to fight alongside his Southern brothers as they attempted to break the Union blockade and defend the Confederacy. The McRae was outgunned by ironclads in early 1862 and young Morgan witnessed the ship and crew that he grown to love being destroyed by the Union navy. After befriending the Treasurer of the Confederacy, George Trenholm, he was given the commission to join the cruiser Georgia until 1864. Throughout this period he travelled across the world's seas, attempting to break the stranglehold that the Union had over the Southern states. Morgan's fascinating account of the war fought on a variety of ships provides insight into life in the Confederate navy for a young midshipman. Written much later in his life, Morgan's Recollections continues past the defeat of the South, documenting his interesting life joining the Egyptian Army, visiting France during the Franco-Prussian War, as an engineer in Mexico and consul-general in Australia. Morgan published this book in 1917 and he died in 1928.