David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G. Farragut, Porter helped improve the Navy as the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy after significant service in the American Civil War.
Porter began naval service as a midshipman at the age of 10 years under his father, Commodore David Porter, on the frigate . For the remainder of his life, he was associated with the sea. Porter served in the Mexican War in the attack on the fort at the City of Vera Cruz. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was part of a plan to hold Fort Pickens, near Pensacola, Florida, for the Union; its execution disrupted the effort to relieve the garrison at Fort Sumter, leading to Sumter's fall. Porter commanded an independent flotilla of mortar boats at the capture of New Orleans. Later, he was advanced to the rank of (acting) rear admiral in command of the Mississippi River Squadron, which cooperated with the army under Major General Ulysses S. Grant in the Vicksburg Campaign. After the fall of Vicksburg, he led the naval forces in the difficult Red River Campaign in Louisiana. Late in 1864, Porter was transferred from the interior to the Atlantic coast, where he led the U.S. Navy in the joint assaults on Fort Fisher, the final significant naval action of the war.
Porter worked to raise the standards of the U.S. Navy in the position of Superintendent of the Naval Academy when it was restored to Annapolis. He initiated reforms in the curriculum to increase professionalism. In the early days of President Grant's administration, Porter was de facto Secretary of the Navy. When his adoptive brother David G. Farragut was advanced from rank of vice-admiral to admiral, Porter took his previous position; likewise, when Farragut died, Porter became the second man to hold the newly created rank of admiral. He gathered a corps of like-minded officers devoted to naval reform.
Porter's administration of the Navy Department aroused powerful opposition by some in Congress, who forced the Secretary of the Navy Adolph E. Borie to resign. His replacement, George Robeson, curtailed Porter's power and eased him into semi-retirement in 1875.
Family David Dixon Porter was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1813, to David Porter and Evalina (Anderson) Porter. The family had strong naval traditions; the elder Porter's father, also named David, had been captain of a Massachusetts vessel in the American Revolutionary War, as had his uncle Samuel. In the next generation, David Porter and his brother John entered the fledgling United States Navy and served with distinction during the War of 1812. David Porter was named to the rank of commodore.Soley, Admiral Porter, p. 3.
The younger David was one of 10 children, including six boys. His youngest brother Thomas died of yellow fever at the age of ten, contracted when traveling with his father for the Mexican Navy. The surviving five sons all became officers, four in the U.S. Navy: William David Dixon, became the second man promoted to rank of admiral. Hambleton, died of yellow fever while a passed midshipman. Henry Ogden Theodoric, became an officer in the US Army; he was killed at Matamoros in the Mexican–American War.According to contemporary newspaper accounts, Theodoric Porter was the first army officer to be killed in the war.
His uncle John Porter and his wife did not have as many children, but their son Fitz John Porter was a major general in the US Army at the time of the Civil War. Another son, Bolton Porter, was lost with his ship in 1861.Soley, Admiral Porter, p. 78. Levant disappeared without a trace about the time of the start of the Civil War, but probably sank in a storm rather than because of enemy action. His aunt Anne married their cousin Alexander Porter. Their son David Henry Porter became a captain in the Mexican Navy during its struggle for independence (see below).West, Second Admiral,, p. 18. The naval tradition continued into later generations of the family's descendants.
In addition to rearing their own children, his parents David and Evalina Porter adopted James Glasgow Farragut. The boy's mother died in 1808 when he was seven, and his father George Farragut, a U.S. naval officer in the American Revolution and friend of David Porter Sr., was unable to care for all his children. Commodore David Porter offered to adopt James, to which the boy and George agreed. In 1811, James started serving a midshipman under Porter in the U.S. Navy, and changed his first name to David. He had a distinguished career as David G. Farragut, serving as the first man to attain the new rank of admiral, instituted by the U.S. Congress after the American Civil War.
Time of training
In the Mexican Navy After a reprimand for an 1824 incident, Commodore David Porter decided to resign from the navy rather than submit. He accepted an offer from the government of Mexico to become their General of Marine – in effect, the commander of their navy.West, Second Admiral, p. 17. He took with him a nephew, David Henry Porter, and his sons, David Dixon and Thomas. The two boys were made midshipmen. Thomas died of yellow fever soon after arriving in Mexico; he was 10. David Dixon, age 12, was not affected by the disease. He was able to serve on the frigate Libertad, where he saw little action, and on the captured merchantman Esmeralda for a raid on Spanish shipping in Cuban waters.Although Mexico had been nominally independent since 1821, Spain continued to try to reestablish its sovereignty. The result was a more or less continuous state of low-level war. West, Second Admiral, pp. 18–24.
In 1828, David Dixon accompanied his cousin, David Henry Porter, captain of the brig Guerrero, in another raid. Guerrero, mounting 22 guns, was one of the finest vessels in the small Mexican Navy. Off the coast of Cuba on February 10, 1828, she encountered a flotilla of about fifty schooners, convoyed by Spanish brigs Marte and Amalia. Captain Porter elected to attack, and soon forced the flotilla to seek refuge in the harbor at Mariel, west of Havana. The Spanish 64-gun frigate Lealtad put to sea. Guerrero was able to break off the action and escape, but overnight Captain Porter decided to circle back and attack the vessels at Mariel. Intercepted by Lealtad, he could not escape. In the battle, Captain Porter was killed, together with many of his crew; the young midshipman Porter was slightly wounded. He was among the survivors who surrendered and were imprisoned in Havana until they could be exchanged. Commodore Porter chose not to risk his son again, and sent him back to the United States by way of New Orleans.West, Second Admiral, pp. 24–27.
Peacetime navy David Dixon Porter obtained an official appointment as midshipman in the U.S. Navy through his grandfather, US Congressman William Anderson. The appointment was dated February 2, 1829, when he was sixteen years of age; this was somewhat older than many midshipmen, some of whom had been taken in as boys. Due to his relative maturity and experience, greater than that of most naval lieutenants, Porter tended to be cocky and challenge some of his superiors, leading to conflict. Except for intervention by Commodore James Biddle, who acted favorably because Porter's father was a hero, his warrant as a midshipman would not have been renewed.Hearn, Admiral Porter, pp. 12–13. The incident is remarkable because Commodore Porter considered Biddle to be one of his personal enemies.
Porter's last duty as a midshipman was on the frigate , flagship of Commodore Daniel Patterson, from June 1832 until October 1834. Patterson's family accompanied him, including his daughter, George Ann ("Georgy"). The two young people renewed their acquaintance and became engaged.West, Second Admiral, pp. 29–33. After Porter returned home, he completed the examination for passed midshipman, and soon after was assigned to duty in the Coast Survey. There, his pay was such that he could save enough to marry.
Marriage and family Porter and Georgy Patterson were married on March 10, 1839.West, Second Admiral, pp. 34–35. Of their four sons, three had military careers, and their two surviving daughters married men who had military service or were active officers.West, Second Admiral, pp. 310–311 Major David Essex Porter served in the army during the Civil War, but resigned after two years in the peacetime army. Captain Theodoric Porter made his career in the navy. Lieutenant Colonel Carlile Patterson Porter was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps; his son, David Dixon Porter II, also served in the Marines, rising to the rank of major general and earning the Medal of Honor. One of their two surviving daughters, Elizabeth, married Leavitt Curtis Logan, who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral.West, Second Admiral, pp. 310–311. For Logan, see U.S. Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Government Printing Office (1911), p. 136. Their other surviving daughter, Elena, married Charles H. Campbell, a former army officer who had left the service before their marriage. Richard Bache Porter was the only child to have no relation to the military services.
Advance to officer In March 1841, Porter was promoted in rank to lieutenant, and in April of the next year he was detached from the Coast Survey. He had a brief tour of duty in the Mediterranean, and then he was assigned to the U.S. Navy's Hydrographic Office.West, Second Admiral, pp. 37, 38, 40.
Mission to Santo Domingo In 1846, the era of peace was coming to a close. The United States had annexed the Republic of Texas, and the islands of the Caribbean seemed to be likely targets for further expansion. The Republic of Santo Domingo (the present-day Dominican Republic) had broken off from the Republic of Haiti in 1844, and the United States State Department needed to determine the new nation's social, political, and economic stability. The suitability of the Bay of Samana for U.S. Navy operations was also of interest. To find out, Secretary of State James Buchanan asked Porter to undertake a private investigation. He accepted the assignment, and on March 15, 1846, he left home. He arrived in Santo Domingo after some unexpected delays and spent two weeks mapping the coastline. On May 19, he began a trek through the interior that left him without communication for a month. On June 19, he emerged from the jungle, bitten by insects, but with the information that the State Department wanted. He then discovered that while he was away the United States had gone to war with Mexico.Hearn, Admiral Porter, pp. 21–23.
In command of ships
Mexican War