A man by the name of George Morris was included on a roster of Captain Richard Brown's Company of Colonel Samuel Miles' Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment of the Continental Line in 1776. Captain Brown's Company was raised in Bedford County, so the George Morris who was listed in that company was undoubtedly residing in Bedford County in 1776. A roster from October 1776 included the notation beside George Morris' name that he 'Des'd [deserted] Oct'r 23rd'. Captain Brown's Company was enlisted for the duration of the war. George Morris having deserted in 1776, shortly after being enlisted, might imply that he changed his mind about serving at that time. Four years later, he possibly felt that serving in the militia would not be as demanding ~ or perhaps as life-threatening ~ as serving in the Continental Line. The only men by the surname Morris who resided in or near Bedford County prior to 1780 were William Morris who was recorded in the Dublin Township tax assessment return for the year 1779 and George Morris, a resident of Spring Hill Township in 1773. Although the George Morris who resided in Spring Hill Township could have been the G. Morris who died on 16 July 1780, it must be pointed out that Spring Hill was a township created in Westmoreland County in the region west of the Laurel Mountain range. George could conceivably have moved eastward into the valleys to the east of the Allegheny Front in the seven years between 1773 and 1780; there is simply no evidence of such a move. There is the simple possibility that the 'G' Morris who was included in Captain Phillips' company might have been residing with relatives in Bedford County and just not listed as a taxpayer himself. 
