That triumph stemmed not only from valorous combat and masterful strategy but also from leadership distant from the front lines—leaders who secured weapons, supplies and pay to enable victory. A pivotal figure in this realm was Robert Morris.

Born in Liverpool, England, Morris immigrated to the colonies as a child. He amassed wealth through success in ship­ping and the tobacco trade—though some of his profits derived from the abhorrent slave trade. By the Revolution’s outset, he ranked among the colonies’ richest men. He backed the patriot cause partly because he was outraged over Britain’s unjust taxes, including the notorious Stamp Act. But Morris didn’t take up battlefield command; instead he excelled in audacious financial stewardship that bolstered the American war machine.

Beyond the wartime demands of the 1781 Yorktown campaign and the Revolution writ large lay a critical, com­plex financial dimension. The nascent country lacked a robust economy and grappled to finance the war. Even the most devoted soldiers endured the privations of unpaid wages, fostering despair. Indeed, mere months before Yorktown—even as victory’s tide turned favorably for the American side—nearly 2,500 Pennsylvanian troops stationed in New Jersey mutinied, marching perilously close to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pa., to demand back pay. A resolution averted catastrophe before the furious ranks reached the defenseless assembly. No war effort, past or present, endures without sound financial pillars. This account illuminates the “financier of the Revolution,” Robert Morris—a Founding Father embodying Marine Corps leadership traits like judgment, initiative, unselfishness and courage, while aiding the Corps’ formation.