Porter, David Dixon

Life Span
to
    Full name
    David Dixon Porter
    Place of Birth
    Birth Date Certainty
    Exact
    Death Date Certainty
    Exact
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    White
    Sectional choice
    North
    Origins
    Free State
    No. of Children
    10
    Family
    David Porter (father), Evelina Anderson (mother), George Ann Patterson (wife)
    Education
    Columbia (King’s College)
    Occupation
    Military
    Military
    US military (Pre-Civil War)
    Union Navy
    Foreign military

    David Dixon Porter (American National Bibliography)

    Scholarship
    Dissatisfied with the slow progress of his career, by 1860 Porter was once again giving consideration to leaving the service for more promising civilian pursuits. Abraham Lincoln's election and the ensuing crisis altered the situation dramatically, however. In the spring of 1861, as the Union disintegrated, Porter, brash and ambitious, concocted a plan for reinforcing Fort Pickens at Pensacola and presented it to Secretary of State William Seward. Seward persuaded Lincoln to endorse the plan, and Porter was given command of the steamer Powhatan with orders to sail to the relief of Fort Pickens. When Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles learned that his department had been completely bypassed in this venture, he took immediate steps to stop the expedition. Porter boldly pushed ahead, defied his recall orders, sailed to Pickens, and provided reinforcement. Not surprisingly, from this point on Welles was always suspicious and distrustful of Porter. Thanks to his abilities and aggressiveness, Porter nonetheless soon became one of the darlings of the naval service and was promoted to commander.
    William M. Fowler, "Porter, David Dixon," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00629.html.
    Chicago Style Entry Link
    Symonds, Craig L. Lincoln and his Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. view record
    How to Cite This Page: "Porter, David Dixon," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/12608.