Fitz John Porter | |
|---|---|
 Porter Between 1860 and 1870 | |
| Born | (1822-08-31)August 31, 1822 Portsmouth,New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | May 21, 1901(1901-05-21) (aged 78) Morristown,New Jersey, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1845–1863; 1886[1] |
| Rank |  Major general |
| Commands | V Corps,Army of the Potomac |
| Battles / wars | |
| Other work | Public works commissioner, police commissioner, and fire commissioner (NYC) |
| Signature | .png) |
Fitz John Porter (August 31, 1822 – May 21, 1901) (sometimes writtenFitzJohn Porter orFitz-John Porter) was a careerUnited States Army officer and aUniongeneral during theAmerican Civil War. He is most known for his performance at theSecond Battle of Bull Run and his subsequentcourt martial.
Although Porter served well in the early battles of the Civil War, his military career was ruined by the controversial trial, which was called by his political rivals. After the war, he worked for almost 25 years to restore his tarnished reputation and was finally restored to the army's roll.
Porter was born on August 31, 1822, inPortsmouth, New Hampshire, the son of Captain John Porter and Eliza Chauncy Clark. He came from a family prominent in American naval service; his cousins wereWilliam D. Porter,David Dixon Porter, andDavid G. Farragut. Porter's father was an alcoholic who had been reassigned to land duty. Porter's childhood was chaotic because of his father's illness.[2]
The younger Porter pursued an army career. He graduated fromPhillips Exeter Academy,[3] then from theUnited States Military Academy (West Point) in 1845, standing eighth out of 41 cadets, and wasbrevetted asecond lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery.[4]
Porter was promoted to second lieutenant on June 18, 1846, andFirst Lieutenant on May 29, 1847. He served in theMexican–American War and was appointed a brevetcaptain on September 8, 1847, for bravery at theBattle of Molino del Rey. He was wounded atChapultepec on September 13, for which he also received a brevet promotion tomajor.[4] He was an original member of theAztec Club of 1847, a military society composed of officers who served during the Mexican War, and presided over it from 1892 to 1893.
After the war with Mexico ended, Porter returned to West Point and became a cavalry and artillery instructor from 1849 to 1853. He served as adjutant to the academy's superintendent until 1855. He next was posted toFort Leavenworth,Kansas, as assistantadjutant general in the Department of the West in 1856; he was brevetted to captain at Fort Leavenworth that June. Porter served under futureConfederateAlbert Sidney Johnston in theexpedition against the Mormons in 1857 and 1858. Afterward, Porter inspected and reorganized the defenses ofCharleston Harbor,South Carolina, until late 1860, when he aided the evacuation of military personnel fromTexas after that state seceded from the Union.[5]
After the start of the Civil War, Porter became chief of staff and assistant adjutant general for the Department ofPennsylvania, but he was soon promoted tocolonel of the 15th Infantry on May 14, 1861. GeneralJohn A. Logan, Porter's later political nemesis, would accuse Porter of helping persuade his commanderRobert Patterson to letJoseph E. Johnston's force escape out of theShenandoah Valley and reinforceP. G. T. Beauregard, thus turning the tide at theFirst Battle of Bull Run.[6] In August, Porter was promoted tobrigadier general ofvolunteers, backdated to May 17[4] so he would be senior enough to receive divisional command in theArmy of the Potomac, newly formed underMaj. Gen.George B. McClellan. Soon Porter became a trusted adviser and loyal friend to McClellan, but his association with the soon-to-be-controversial commanding general would prove to be disastrous for Porter's military career.
Porter led his division at the beginning of thePeninsula Campaign, seeing action at theSiege of Yorktown. McClellan created two provisional corps and Porter was assigned to command theV Corps. During theSeven Days Battles, and particularly at theBattle of Gaines' Mill, he displayed a talent for defensive fighting.[7] At theBattle of Malvern Hill, Porter also played a leading role.
In addition, Porter had a memorable experience when he decided to make aerial observations in ahydrogen balloon without the assigned expert to handle the craft, ProfessorThaddeus Lowe. When he ascended with only one securing line, the balloon subsequently broke loose and General Porter found himself drifting west over enemy lines in danger of being captured or killed. Fortunately, the combination of a favorable wind change and himself adjusting the gas valves allowed Porter to return to the Union lines and land safely.[8] Although it was an embarrassing accident, General Porter was able to perform his observations of enemy defences as intended and recorded his findings, although the balloon program was disbanded a year later.[9]
For his successful performance on the peninsula, he was promoted tomajor general of volunteers on July 4, 1862.[4]
Porter's corps was sent to reinforce Maj. Gen.John Pope in theNorthern Virginia Campaign, a reassignment that he openly challenged and complained about, criticizing Pope personally. During theSecond Battle of Bull Run, on August 29, 1862, he was ordered to attack the flank and rear of Maj. Gen.Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's wing of theArmy of Northern Virginia. Porter had stopped at Dawkin's Branch, where he had encountered Maj. Gen.J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screen. On August 29 he received a message from Pope directing him to attack theConfederate right (which Pope assumed to be Jackson on Stony Ridge), but at the same time to maintain contact with the neighboring division under Maj. Gen.John F. Reynolds, a conflict in orders that could not be resolved. Pope was apparently unaware that Confederate Maj. Gen.James Longstreet's wing of the opposing army had arrived on the battlefield; the proposed envelopment of Jackson's position would have collided suicidally with Longstreet's large force. Porter chose not to make the attack because of the intelligence he had received that Longstreet was to his immediate front.
Frustrated, Pope moved Porter from his current position around to the main line after darkness fell and prepared for an all-out assault at dawn. As the V Corps turned to head towards Jackson's right and attacked, it presented its own (and consequently the entire army's) flank to Longstreet's waiting men. Porter's corps was on the exposed flank under the general direction of McDowell. On his own initiative he had taken the precaution of stationing two New York regiments on his left as a shield against disaster, and these New Yorkers caught the brunt of Longstreet's assault, led by Hood. About 30,000 Confederates assailed Porter's 5,000 or so men, doing exactly what Porter most feared. Nevertheless the respite bought with the blood of the New York regiments had given Pope time to bring up reinforcements from the right and they offered what resistance they could to the long gray line surging eastward along both sides of the pike. In the end, Pope was infuriated by the defeat, accused Porter of insubordination, and relieved him of his command on September 5.[10] .... also Shelby Foote "The Civil War," Vol. 1, pp. 635, 639.
Porter was soon restored to command of the corps by McClellan and led it through theMaryland Campaign, where the corps served in a reserve position during theBattle of Antietam. He is said to have told McClellan, "Remember, General, I command the last reserve of the last Army of the Republic."[11] McClellan took his implied advice and failed to commit his reserves into a battle that might have been won if he had used his forces aggressively.
On November 25, 1862, Porter was arrested andcourt-martialed for his actions at Second Bull Run. By this time, McClellan had been relieved byPresidentAbraham Lincoln and could not provide political cover for his protégé. Porter's association with the disgraced McClellan and his open criticism of Pope were significant reasons for his conviction at court-martial. Porter was found guilty on January 10, 1863, of disobedience and misconduct, and he was dismissed from the Army on January 21, 1863.[12]
In describing the Battle of Second Manassas,Edward Porter Alexander wrote that Confederates who knew Porter respected him greatly and considered his dismissal "one of the best fruits of their victory".[13]
After the war ended, Porter was offered a command in theEgyptian Army but declined it.[10] He spent most of the remainder of his public life fighting against the perceived injustice of his court-martial.
In 1878, a special commission under GeneralJohn Schofield exonerated Porter by finding that his reluctance to attack Longstreet probably saved Pope'sArmy of Virginia from an even greater defeat. Eight years later, PresidentGrover Clevelandcommuted Porter's sentence and a special act of theU.S. Congress restored Porter's commission as an infantry colonel in the U.S. Army, backdated to May 14, 1861, but without any back pay due. Two days later, August 7, 1886, Porter, seeing vindication, voluntarily retired from the Army.
Porter was involved in mining, construction, and commerce. He was appointed as theNew York City Commissioner of Public Works, the New York City Police Commissioner, and the New York City Fire Commissioner.
On December 27, 1894, Porter, along with 18 others, founded the Military and Naval Order of the United States, which was soon renamed theMilitary Order of Foreign Wars. Porter's name was at the top of the list of signers of the original institution and received the first insignia issued by the Order.
Porter died inMorristown, New Jersey, and is buried inGreen-Wood Cemetery,Brooklyn, New York.[4] His grave can be found in Section 54, Lot 5685/89.
| Preceded by | Commander of theFifth Army Corps May 18, 1862 - November 10, 1862 | Succeeded by |
