Morgan County was designated in 1807, an original land lot county. It is named for General Daniel Morgan who had served with Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec in 1775, commanded riflemen at Saratoga in 1777, and defeated the British at Cowpens in 1781. Madison, the county seat, is named for James Madison, fourth presi­dent. Congressman Joshua Hill of Madison had been one of the few Southerners to decline voting for secession in 186I. Unpopular as his decision was, it resulted in General Sherman's sparing the town during his destructive March to the Sea.