[2] However, based on his father's advice, he attended the College of New Jersey, which is now Princeton University, graduating in 1773, and began to study law.

[3] His studies were interrupted by military service during the American Revolutionary War, but he was admitted to the bar in 1783.

In 1775, he planned and executed the night attack on Stone Arabia, and was in command at the battle of Crown Point, where he was accompanied by New York Governor George Clinton.

[6] After the Revolution, Lewis completed his legal studies while he lived in Albany, New York, boarding at the riverside home of James Bloodgood.

In 1779, the tax list showed him living there with personal property valued at $2,000, one of the city's highest assessments.

Having given up the practice of law, Lewis established a cloth factory, and for several years devoted himself to manufacturing.

But for Lewis's overcaution, Scott might have been able to capture Major General John Vincent's entire division and greatly weaken the British defense of the Niagara Peninsula.

[15] Together, Morgan and Gertrude had: In 1792, Lewis, purchased an estate covering of about 334 acres (135 ha) in Staatsburg, New York, and commissioned the construction of a colonial-style house.

After the fire, Lewis and his wife immediately replaced the structure with a Greek Revival mansion with 25 rooms.

The house was inherited in 1844 after Morgan Lewis died, by his daughter Margaret and her husband, Maturin Livingston.