Horace Porter
Horace Porter | |
---|---|
Robert S. McCormick | |
Personal details | |
Born | Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, US | April 15, 1837
Died | May 29, 1921 Manhattan, New York, US | (aged 84)
Resting place | West Long Branch, New Jersey, US |
Spouse |
Sophie King McHarg
(m. 1863; died 1903) |
Relations | |
Horace C. Porter
Early life
Porter was born in
His paternal grandfather was
Porter was educated at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey (class of 1856)[5] and Harvard University.[6] He graduated from West Point July 1, 1860.[3]
Career
Porter was commissioned a second lieutenant on April 22, 1861, and a first lieutenant on June 7, 1861.[3] During the American Civil War, Porter served in the Union Army, reaching the grade of lieutenant colonel by the end of the war.[3]
During the war, he served as chief of ordnance in the
From April 4, 1864, to July 25, 1866, Porter was aide-de-camp to
Grant administration
From 1869 to 1872, Porter served as President Grant's
Porter had refused to take a $500,000 vested interest
Later life
After resigning from the Army, Porter became vice president of the
Porter was president of the
He was elected an honorary member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati in 1902. He was also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, the Sons of the American Revolution and a Hereditary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars by right of his descent from Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Porter who served in the American Revolution.[2]
In 1891 he joined the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, where he served as President General from 1892 through 1896. He was assigned national membership number 4069 and state membership number 69.[13]
He died in Manhattan, New York and is interred at the Old First Methodist Church Cemetery in West Long Branch, New Jersey.[14]
Personal life
In 1863, Porter was married to Sophie King McHarg (1840–1903),[8] the daughter of John McHarg (1813–1884) and Martha Whipple Patch.[15] Together, they were the parents of:[8]
- Horace Porter Jr., who died at the age of 23 of typhoid fever.
- Clarence Porter, who died after the first World War.
- Elsie Porter, who married Edwin Mende of Berne, Switzerland.[16]
- William Porter, who died in infancy.
After a period of suffering,[16] Porter died at New York, New York, May 29, 1921.[3][2] He was buried in West Long Branch Cemetery, West Long Branch, New Jersey.[3][17] In his will, he left the Grant Association $10,000 and the flag that flew at General Grant's field headquarters during the Civil War.[18]
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and Organization:
- Captain, Ordnance Department, U.S. Army. Place and date: At Chickamauga, Ga., September 20, 1863. Entered service at: Harrisburgh, Pa. Born: April 15, 1837, Huntington, Pa. Date of issue: July 8, 1902.
Citation:
- While acting as a volunteer aide, at a critical moment when the lines were broken, rallied enough fugitives to hold the ground under heavy fire long enough to effect the escape of wagon trains and batteries.[19]
See also
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: M–P
- List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)
Notes
- ^ Dunkelman, Mark H. (June 12, 2006). "Lieutenant Colonel Horace C. Porter: Eyewitness to the Surrender at Appomattox". historynet.com. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "HORACE PORTER". The New York Times. 30 May 1921. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. pp. 435–436
- ISBN 9780809385607. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ Eicher, 2001, p. 435 identifies this as the Lawrence Scientific School.
- ^ "GEN. PORTER RECALLS SCHOOL DAYS OF '54; Lawrenceville Alumni Honor Him at Waldorf Banquet. BIG CHANGE IN FIFTY YEARS No Broken Heads Then in Football and Baseball Was "Towball" -- Woodrow Wilson on Athletics". The New York Times. 25 March 1906. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ The uncertainty as to the date is expressed in the source, Eicher, 2001, p. 435
- ^ a b c "McHarg Family Papers: Part 2". findingaids.library.georgetown.edu. Georgetown University Archival Resources | Georgetown University Manuscripts. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ Eicher, 2001, p. 736
- ^ Jean Edward Smith, Grant, pp. 481-490, Simon & Schuster, 2001.
- ^ McFeely 1981, p. 409
- ^ New York Times, Western Whisky Frauds: Gen. Horace Porter's Testimony, August 13, 1876
- ^ "Presidents General of the SAR and Annual Congress Sites". Sons of the American Revolution website. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
- ^ Long Branch in the Golden Age
- ^ "MRS, HORACE PORTER DEAD; Wife of American Ambassador to France Expires Suddenly. A Chill Develops Into Congestion of the Lungs--Gen. Porter Prostrated--American Colony in Paris Shocked". The New York Times. 7 April 1903. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ a b "GEN. HORACE PORTER NEAR DEATH AT HOME; Ex-Ambassador to France, 84 Years Old, Is Suffering From a General Breakdown". The New York Times. 27 May 1921. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "NOTED MEN AT BIER OF GENERAL PORTER; Hear 'Taps' Soundsd Over Veteran at Simple Services in 5thAv. Presbyterian Church.DEEDS PRAISED IN PRAYER Rev. Dr. John Kelman Gives Thanksfor "One of the Great Gentlemen of the Olden Days."". The New York Times. 3 June 1921. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "MANY PORTER HEIRS GET LARGE ESTATE; Battle Flag of Grant, Now in Tomb, Left to Upkeep Association With $10,000 Bequest". The New York Times. 10 June 1921. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "PORTER, HORACE, Civil War Medal of Honor recipient". American Civil War website. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
References
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- McFeely, William S. Grant: A Biography (1981).
- "Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (M-Z)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
Further reading
- Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z at Project Gutenberg, contains a number of speeches by Porter.
- Mende, Elsie Porter; Henry Greenleaf Pearson (1927). An American Soldier and Diplomat, Horace Porter. Frederick A. Stokes Company.
- Owens, Richard Henry (2002). Biography of General and Ambassador Horace Porter, 1837-1921: Vigilance and Virtue. ISBN 0-7734-7242-8.
- Porter, Horace. Campaigning With Grant. New York: The Century Co., 1897. Time-Life Books reprint 1981. ISBN 0-8094-4202-7. (deluxe)
External links
- Works by Horace Porter at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)