PORTER, DAVID 1>I.\..\. 



745 



driven fnuii their puns, tin- batteries were, capt- 

 ured, ami Tiispan lav ul tho mercy of tin; lloiil- 

 ,eut. Porter, now executive of the "Spit- 

 fire," directed the lire of the heav pivot nun, 

 uml to that gun's accuracy ami rapidity <! 



ie much of tin- quick succe.ss of tho light. 

 In May l'a|.t. Tat nail was relieved of the com- 

 m.ill-1 of tin- "Spitfire" li\ I 'apt. S. S. LIT, and 

 tiir llag-ollicer. in early June, began preparations 

 lor an attack on Tolmsco, up tlio river Tobasco. 

 < \pedition was composed of the light- 

 draught vessels of the squadron, two bomb \e- 

 ul several armed boats' crews, -the whole 

 being under the personal supervision of the coin- 

 in. .dorr. On June Hi the " Spit lire " forced tin: 

 obstructions in the river, passed up and attacked 

 Fort Iturltide, with a full force of men and seven 

 ln-avy guns. Lieut. Porter, with 08 men, landed. 

 Charged, and captured the fort. Meanwhile the 

 commodore had landed 10 miles below and 

 wu- marching overland upon Tobasco, and five 

 hour.- alter the capture of Fort Iturbido reached 

 that point, his men very much overcome by the 

 heal. But for the action of the " Sjiit fire," Com- 

 modore Perry's march might have had a more 

 disastrous termination, tor this gallant affair 

 Commander S. S. Lee was promoted to the com- 

 mand of the frigate Mississippi." and Lieut. 

 Porter was given command of the "Spitfire." 

 Porter was in every action on the Atlantic coast 

 of Mexico during the war, and was also in sev- 

 eral engagements on shore. His vessels never 

 had an accident. In 1848 and 184$) Lieut. Por- 

 ter was on coast-survey duty. On the discovery 

 of gold in California he received leave of ab- 

 sence and obtained command of a Pacific mail 

 steamer, the. "Georgia." During 1854 he com- 

 manded a merchant vessel, the ''Golden Age," 

 and in 1S.V>. his furlough having expired, he was 

 ordered to the command of the store-ship "Sup- 

 ply." He was attached to the navy yard at 

 Portsmouth, N. H., from 1858 to 1860. 



On the breaking out of hostilities in 1861 

 Porter volunteered to save Fort Pickens, then 

 invested by Gen. Bragg, if provided with sulli- 

 cient force. President Lincoln, who had great 

 confidence in Porter's dash and ability, consid- 

 ered and approved the scheme, and gave him 

 command of an expedition consisting of the 

 side-wheel steamship " Powhatan " and the 

 troop-ship "Arctic," carrying 600 troops with 

 their arms and munitions of war. The " Arctic " 

 arrived off Pickens on April 16, 1861. and tho 

 " Powhatan " a day later. The first hostile gun 

 fired by the navy during the civil war was fired 

 by Porter at a flotilla of small boats proceeding 

 to the attack of Fort Pickens. The enemy re- 

 treated in disorder, and in a few hours the fort 

 was rendered secure against assault, and garri- 

 soned by Gen. Meigs's men from the "Arctic." 



In June Porter was on blockading duty: 

 his ship, the "Powhatan," was stationed at 

 the mouth of the Southwest Pass of the Mis- 

 sissippi, while the "Brooklyn" was guarding 

 Pass & 1'Outre. Notwithstanding the precau- 

 tions taken and the vigilance maintained, the 

 Confederate steamer " Sumter " got through 

 Pass a routre and put to sea. In a short time 

 she committed great damage to our commerce 

 and captured several prix.es, one of which, the 

 "Bradford," was taken by the " Powhatan V 



boaU while attempting to Meal into Barratanu 

 Bay. Learning iim-. of tin- - Mimt. 

 Porter made alter her, but although he ki-i.i up 

 the cho-M- through M.'lh. Trini- 



dad, Maranham, and Paranmril*', and although 

 at one time within iiO mile* of her, 1 1.,- 

 pmateer limilly esca|M-d, and the " P.-whntMii " 

 returned for repairs to the I'niled State... where 

 Porter was detached and promoted to the rank 

 of commander. 



On his relief from the command of the " Pow- 

 hatan " he was called into coiiMi;latioli with tho 

 President, the Secretary of the Navy, and the 

 Assistant Secretary, Mr." Fox. ii, 

 posed demons) rat ion against New Orleans, which 

 Commander Porter StTOOgl J n < mnicmlt d. He 

 was also delegated to ascertain w 'nther the <. m- 

 mand Of the proposed expedition would 1* 

 able to ('apt. David (J. Farragiit. That 

 gladly sei/ed his opportunity. ai:d Porter was 

 made second in command, in charge of a mortar 

 flotilla, at his own suggestion, an auxiliary f.ive, 

 the character of which lie was allow ed personally 

 to determine. It has been said on excellent au- 

 thority that the command of the Mississippi 

 fleet was first offered to Porter, who declined mi 

 the ground that he did not hold sufficient rank 

 for a command x>f such magnitude, and that his 

 services up to that period had not been of such 

 importance as to justify his selection. That he 

 then proposed 1-arragut's mime is l.evoiid all 

 doubt. On the fleet's arrival at Belize many of 

 the ships were found to be so deep that it was 

 necessary to lighten them before they coulii 

 the bar. Of this work Porter took personal su- 

 pervision, and piloted the ships up the river pre- 

 paratory to the passage of the forts, selecting a 

 berth for each vessel. By Porter's order the 

 mortar boats were covered with bushes, so that 

 it was difficult for the enemy to distinguish them 

 from the surrounding banks, and by this strata- 

 gem the effect of the Confederate fire was ma- 

 terially diminished. The result of the attack on 

 Forts "Jackson and St. Philip is well known. 

 Throughout the engagement Porter was Farra- 

 gut's right hand and counselor. For six days and 

 six nights the mortar fleet unremittingly bpm- 

 bardcd the forts, the men being divided into 

 three watches, and this destructive fire 

 prominent factor in the successful result of the 

 engagement. Flag-officer Farragut pushed past 

 them to NewOrleans, leaving their final reduction 

 to Porter, to whom they surrendered on April 2S. 

 1862. After the passage of the forts by Farra- 

 gut 's fleet, and after the terms of their capitula- 

 tion had been agreed upon, the em my set tire to 

 the "Louisiana," a formidable ironclad, and 

 started her down the river. When she hove in 

 sight of the mortar flotilla thev, being defen-e- 

 ;i the s.-ene of action, while Porter with 

 all his fight ii.g ships held their position, not one 

 of them lifting heranehor. When nearly abreast 

 of these \essei- the " Louisiana " blew up. 



For his services in this affair Porter received the 

 congratulations and thanks of the Department. 

 Mention was made of the brilliance <>f ti 

 tory, tho hundred and forty-four In Ul 

 tive bombardment by the mortar flotill.- 

 the fact that success was largely due t" P 

 aide assistance and untirim: energy. 



Having reduced the forts. Porter proceeded 



