After the surrender, Colonel Morgan, by express command of General Washington, marched southward to join him. The commanderin-chief was then operating on the Hudson and in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and was anxious to avail himself of the remarkable talents of Morgan, whose Rangers were now become the _elite_ rifle-corps of the army. To follow him in all of his engagements while under the immediate command of Washington would prolong this address beyond the limitations which patience and the conventions prescribe. No undertaking having for its object the success of the American cause was too hazardous, no service too difficult for him to perform. It was during this period that developed those intimate personal relations between Colonel Morgan and General Lafayette which continued through life and which is affectionately manifested in the correspondence of the polished Marquis with his unaccomplished friend. In a letter from Fishkill, November 28, 1778, Lafayette, in thanking Morgan for the friendship and good opinion he expressed for him on the eve of his departure for France, said: “Both are extremely dear to my heart; and I do assure you, my dear sir, that the true regard and esteem and the sincere affection you have inspired to me, will last forever. * * * * * “Farewell, my dear sir, don’t forget your friend on the other side of the great water, and believe me ever, “Your affectionate, “LAFAYETTE.” But while he was held in the highest esteem by his superior officers and had rendered extraordinary services to his country, Congress ignored him in dispensing its favors and continued to promote over his head men of smaller talents who had friends at court. Finally he determined to resign. Not even the influence of Washington, once his mind had been formed, was powerful enough to dissuade him from his purpose. Early in July, 1779, he presented a laudatory letter from Washington to Congress and offered his resignation. It was accepted, and the war-worn hero mounted his horse and rode homeward to the verdant valley of the Shenandoah. Greatly was his departure regretted in the army. In a letter to him dated “Haverstraw, Nov. 9, 1779,” General John Neville, then an officer in Woodford’s brigade, said: “Then, say they, for old Morgan a brigadier, and we would kick the world before us. I am not fond of flattery; but I assure you, on my word, that no man’s ever leaving the army was more regretted than yours, nor no man was ever wished for more to return.”