The British regulars routed the Americans, however, and Morris and his crew had to burn the ship and escape overland to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

However, during the passage down the Orinoco River, Perry was stricken with yellow fever and died on board USS John Adams.

After visiting Montevideo and Buenos Aires, both ships returned to the United States, arriving at Hampton Roads on 24 April 1820.

In 1835, his daughter Louise eloped and married William Wilson Corcoran, a banker and philanthropist living in Washington, D.C.[2] In his later career, Morris commanded the Mediterranean Squadron and served as the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance.

He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C., near the large family mausoleum built by his son-in-law, William Wilson Corcoran.