Constable Benjamin D. Morgan

Benjamin D. Morgan

Constable Benjamin Morgan was shot and killed while assisting a Chatham County deputy sheriff serve a warrant on a man who had escaped from the Milledgeville Asylum several weeks earlier.

The man had purchased a pistol and was holding his wife hostage in his home on Harris Street, between Montgomery Street and West Broad Street in Savannah, while having delusional thoughts. A warrant had been issued for his arrest and given to the deputy to serve. Upon initially approaching the home, the suspect's mother told the deputy the man would shoot him if he entered the room, so the deputy retreated.

The following day the deputy returned with Constable Morgan. As Constable Morgan entered the man's room the suspect opened fire, striking him in the neck and killing him almost instantly. A murder warrant was issued for the man, who was then arrested by a posse of citizens later in the day.