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Admiral David Dixon Porter: The Civil War Years
Nearly forgotten because his career and accomplishments have often been misinterpreted, David Dixon Porter takes his rightful place among the foremost naval heroes of the Civil War in this richly detailed, entertaining history. Porter rose faster through the ranks, commanded more men and ships, won more victories, and was awarded more congressional votes of thanks than any other officer in the U.S. Navy. His own postwar writings, however, were so flawed by an unquenchable ego, a thin skin, and a burning desire to vindicate his father, David Porter, a controversial naval hero in the War of 1812, that historians have neglected him.
Drawing on the correspondence and journals of Porter's allies and enemies, both military and political, as well as official documents and the admiral's own volume of papers, the noted naval writer Chester Hearn sets the record straight. This account brings to life the firebrand hero of New Orleans, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, and Fort Fisher, whose unique tactics and techniques rank among the most imaginative and successful in naval history. On board Porter's flagship readers can witness daring, brilliant attacks against the punishing batteries at Vicksburg and Fort Fisher and the costly failures at Steele's Bayou and Red River. They can sit in on the critical strategy meetings with Sherman and Grant, and the thrilling chase up and down the coast of South America after Semmes on the CSS Sumter.
A talented fighter and colorful personality with a marvelous sense of humor, Porter earned respect and friendship from the likes of Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman, but drew the ire of political generals like Butler, Banks, and McClernand.
Drawing on the correspondence and journals of Porter's allies and enemies, both military and political, as well as official documents and the admiral's own volume of papers, the noted naval writer Chester Hearn sets the record straight. This account brings to life the firebrand hero of New Orleans, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, and Fort Fisher, whose unique tactics and techniques rank among the most imaginative and successful in naval history. On board Porter's flagship readers can witness daring, brilliant attacks against the punishing batteries at Vicksburg and Fort Fisher and the costly failures at Steele's Bayou and Red River. They can sit in on the critical strategy meetings with Sherman and Grant, and the thrilling chase up and down the coast of South America after Semmes on the CSS Sumter.
A talented fighter and colorful personality with a marvelous sense of humor, Porter earned respect and friendship from the likes of Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman, but drew the ire of political generals like Butler, Banks, and McClernand.
- GenresCivil War
376 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1996
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18 people want to read
About the author
Chester G. Hearn
40 books6 followersA 1954 graduate of Allegheny College, Chester Hearn served in the U.S. Army and worked in industrial management before becoming an author of books on the American Civil War in his retirement.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 21, 2013
Yesterday I finished the biography of David Dixon Porter (for the second time). I am not sure why I even picked this book up again. Porter to most people is an obscure Navy Admiral of the Civil War. Chester Hearn is an obscure biographer of Naval operations of the Civil War.
I am glad I did take the time to re-read this book.
There are so many details in this book that fascinate me. I have never been overly interested in Naval operations. But I love U.S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. To understand them, one must understand how their success came from learning to work with the Navy (and not against it). Porter was sometimes a thin-skinned man. He nearly always saw his failures as failures of the Army to support him. He was a risk taker and one of the most tenacious fighters of his time.
This book explores the family of Porter with an emphasis on how the disgrace of his father, David Porter, the premier Naval officer of the War of 1812, shaped David Dixon’s life. He held his father is such high esteem that he was hyper-sensitive to political moves that seemed to put him in a position to fail. Such situations happened over and again when Porter was commanded to battle along side “political generals” such as Benjamin Butler and Nathaniel P. Banks. Porter had no use for such unqualified and glory seeking men. And he was not one to keep his opinions to himself. One if his most embarrassing situations arose out of being assigned to conquer Fort Fischer near the very end of the Civil War. The Army General he was assigned to work with was Benjamin Butler (again). Their “mutual” effort was a complete failure. Since Butler was appointed to this command by Ulysses S. Grant, Porter penned a letter very critical of Grant that was filed among the correspondence of the war.
A few years later, when Grant was President of the United States, he appointed Porter to a high Naval office. This long-forgotten letter re-emerged, creating a stir and an opportunity for Grant’s critics to crow.
IF there is one compelling reason to read this book, it has to be the chapter called “Mr. Lincoln and Admiral Porter”. During the final few weeks of Lincoln’s life, he spent a great deal of time in the company of Porter. Both could spin yarns and tell humorous stories. It was heartwarming for me to read of the love and admiration that developed between these two men.
One negative comment about this book is the use of maps. As someone who is not familiar with most of the battle scenes discussed in this book, a good map is essential to my understanding the storyline. But the maps in this book are unreadable and unusable. I either referred to the Battle Cry of Freedom- Illustrated edition, or referred to good ole Wikipedia where I found wonderful maps.
On a side note, as I would go through McPherson’s book, I would compare story lines. What an interesting exercise! Both in detail and even more in conclusions drawn, these two historians seemed to come to very different conclusions about some of the stories. That is a fun way to become a more informed student of history.
I recommend this book to those interested in learning more about the decisive river battles of the Civil War.
I am glad I did take the time to re-read this book.
There are so many details in this book that fascinate me. I have never been overly interested in Naval operations. But I love U.S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. To understand them, one must understand how their success came from learning to work with the Navy (and not against it). Porter was sometimes a thin-skinned man. He nearly always saw his failures as failures of the Army to support him. He was a risk taker and one of the most tenacious fighters of his time.
This book explores the family of Porter with an emphasis on how the disgrace of his father, David Porter, the premier Naval officer of the War of 1812, shaped David Dixon’s life. He held his father is such high esteem that he was hyper-sensitive to political moves that seemed to put him in a position to fail. Such situations happened over and again when Porter was commanded to battle along side “political generals” such as Benjamin Butler and Nathaniel P. Banks. Porter had no use for such unqualified and glory seeking men. And he was not one to keep his opinions to himself. One if his most embarrassing situations arose out of being assigned to conquer Fort Fischer near the very end of the Civil War. The Army General he was assigned to work with was Benjamin Butler (again). Their “mutual” effort was a complete failure. Since Butler was appointed to this command by Ulysses S. Grant, Porter penned a letter very critical of Grant that was filed among the correspondence of the war.
A few years later, when Grant was President of the United States, he appointed Porter to a high Naval office. This long-forgotten letter re-emerged, creating a stir and an opportunity for Grant’s critics to crow.
IF there is one compelling reason to read this book, it has to be the chapter called “Mr. Lincoln and Admiral Porter”. During the final few weeks of Lincoln’s life, he spent a great deal of time in the company of Porter. Both could spin yarns and tell humorous stories. It was heartwarming for me to read of the love and admiration that developed between these two men.
One negative comment about this book is the use of maps. As someone who is not familiar with most of the battle scenes discussed in this book, a good map is essential to my understanding the storyline. But the maps in this book are unreadable and unusable. I either referred to the Battle Cry of Freedom- Illustrated edition, or referred to good ole Wikipedia where I found wonderful maps.
On a side note, as I would go through McPherson’s book, I would compare story lines. What an interesting exercise! Both in detail and even more in conclusions drawn, these two historians seemed to come to very different conclusions about some of the stories. That is a fun way to become a more informed student of history.
I recommend this book to those interested in learning more about the decisive river battles of the Civil War.
March 30, 2024
This book is an excellent introduction to David Dixon Porter. He is overlooked as one of the hero's of the Civil war. His father also David Porter was a navy hero from the War of 1812 and while suppressing piracy in the 1820's he invaded Puerto Rico to fee one of his men jailed their. The JQA administration didn't support his act and he resigned to run the Mexican navy. President Jackson made him a minister to Turkey where he served until his death in 1843.
Born in 1813, David Dixon grew up in the Mexican navy with his father. His father's treatment would shape his early navy service. His cousin was killed while they were fighting the Spanish. Porter was 14 and was imprisoned in Havana. Mexico and the other Spanish colonies freed during the Napoleonic wars were fighting to defend their independence. What a fascinating early life!
The rest of his peacetime years were more boring. He served from 1830-1860 doing coast surveys and running mail. He married the love of his life Georgy who was the daughter of Commodore Patterson. He played a small part in taking Veracruz during the Mexican war. He also captured the town of Tabasco. He flirted with leaving the Navy for private work but destiny kept him in the service.
In the early days of the Civil war he was sent to relieve Fort Pickens in Florida. Lincoln and Seward planned this in secrecy with Porter and without Naval Secretary Welles. Historians agree that even if Porter were sent to Sumter instead, little would have changed. Welles was frustrated he had been left out, but it did secure Porter to the union.
He helped Admiral Farragut take New Orleans and Fort Jackson. He was made rear Admiral for the Vicksburg campaign. His actions on the Father of Waters show tremendous bravery and a penchant for action. He hated political generals like Banks, Butler and McClernand. His relationship and cooperation with Grant, Lincoln and Sherman is the best story of the war.
I was amazed by the story of the Red River expedition. Banks who had been speaker of the House tried to take Shreveport but left Porter upriver stranded above falls. They had to resort to engineering marvels building a damn to raise the river, run the falls and save the fleet. This was early 1864 so Lincoln decided to reunite Porter with Grant bring him east. He helped capture Fort Fisher, NC in early 1865 then spent the rest of the war near Grant at City Point. He ferried Lincoln around for the closing days of the war and became his close friend. The picture the peacemakers is one of my favorites that recaps these days. Porter was at Baltimore when Lincoln was killed.
He spent his post war years rebuilding the Naval academy as superintendent, then acted as shadow Navy secretary for Grant, but didn't last long as bureaucrat. He spent his last days fading, but still writing. He died in 1891 and is a great American. His story is amazing and Hearn does a great job telling it!
Born in 1813, David Dixon grew up in the Mexican navy with his father. His father's treatment would shape his early navy service. His cousin was killed while they were fighting the Spanish. Porter was 14 and was imprisoned in Havana. Mexico and the other Spanish colonies freed during the Napoleonic wars were fighting to defend their independence. What a fascinating early life!
The rest of his peacetime years were more boring. He served from 1830-1860 doing coast surveys and running mail. He married the love of his life Georgy who was the daughter of Commodore Patterson. He played a small part in taking Veracruz during the Mexican war. He also captured the town of Tabasco. He flirted with leaving the Navy for private work but destiny kept him in the service.
In the early days of the Civil war he was sent to relieve Fort Pickens in Florida. Lincoln and Seward planned this in secrecy with Porter and without Naval Secretary Welles. Historians agree that even if Porter were sent to Sumter instead, little would have changed. Welles was frustrated he had been left out, but it did secure Porter to the union.
He helped Admiral Farragut take New Orleans and Fort Jackson. He was made rear Admiral for the Vicksburg campaign. His actions on the Father of Waters show tremendous bravery and a penchant for action. He hated political generals like Banks, Butler and McClernand. His relationship and cooperation with Grant, Lincoln and Sherman is the best story of the war.
I was amazed by the story of the Red River expedition. Banks who had been speaker of the House tried to take Shreveport but left Porter upriver stranded above falls. They had to resort to engineering marvels building a damn to raise the river, run the falls and save the fleet. This was early 1864 so Lincoln decided to reunite Porter with Grant bring him east. He helped capture Fort Fisher, NC in early 1865 then spent the rest of the war near Grant at City Point. He ferried Lincoln around for the closing days of the war and became his close friend. The picture the peacemakers is one of my favorites that recaps these days. Porter was at Baltimore when Lincoln was killed.
He spent his post war years rebuilding the Naval academy as superintendent, then acted as shadow Navy secretary for Grant, but didn't last long as bureaucrat. He spent his last days fading, but still writing. He died in 1891 and is a great American. His story is amazing and Hearn does a great job telling it!
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August 2, 2011A good biography of Admiral David Dixon Porter, son of Captain David Porter (War of 1812 hero). Porter commanded the mortar boats that bombarded Forts Jackson and St. Phillip when Farragut bypassed the forts and captured New Orleans. He later took over command of the naval ships on the Mississippi River during the campaigns against Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Sherman's troops had to wade through swamps to rescue Porter's gunboats that were trapped on Steele's Bayou.
Porter commanded the naval support for Banks' Red River Campaign. Again his ships almost got trapped when the river level fell. Union forces had to dam the river to raise the water level and then burst the dam so Porter's ships could escape downriver.
Possibly the highlight of Porter's career was commanding the fleet during the second joint army/navy attack on Fort Fisher, which guarded the approaches to Wilmington.
Porter got along well with Grant, Sherman and Lincoln. But he also indulged in self-serving letters & official reports.
This book is worth reading.
Porter commanded the naval support for Banks' Red River Campaign. Again his ships almost got trapped when the river level fell. Union forces had to dam the river to raise the water level and then burst the dam so Porter's ships could escape downriver.
Possibly the highlight of Porter's career was commanding the fleet during the second joint army/navy attack on Fort Fisher, which guarded the approaches to Wilmington.
Porter got along well with Grant, Sherman and Lincoln. But he also indulged in self-serving letters & official reports.
This book is worth reading.
December 13, 2022
This book was a very dry read about the Civil War Navy. This book details the ironclads used on the Mississippi River particularly in the battles of New Orleans and Vicksburg where these were most crucial to Union victories. This also talks about Admiral Farragut who was adopted by David Dixon Porter's father. So there was some competition between two brothers both rose to high rank in the Navy at the same time.
I found this book to be quite dry even though it was interesting. I've read another book by this author that I thoroughly enjoyed. So, I am interested in reading Hearn's biography about Farragut.
I found this book to be quite dry even though it was interesting. I've read another book by this author that I thoroughly enjoyed. So, I am interested in reading Hearn's biography about Farragut.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews