Porter Family

A Register of Its Papers in the Naval Historical Foundation Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Ruth S. Nicholson
Revised by Michael Spangler

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2005

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2007

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007026

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Names:

Subjects:

Occupations:

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Copyright Status:

Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

David Porter

David Dixon Porter

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The Porter Family Papers were deposited in the Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1949. The deposit was converted to a gift by the foundation in 1998.

The Porter Family Papers were arranged and described in 1974. The finding aid was revised in 2005.

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of the Porter family is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Porter Family Papers, Naval Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

The papers of the Porter family document the careers of naval officers David Porter (1780-1843) and his son, David Dixon Porter (1813-1891). The collection spans the years 1811-1881 and consists primarily of correspondence and letterbooks. The material is organized as the papers of each man and arranged alphabetically thereunder by type of material or name of person.

Letters from David Porter to his friend Samuel Hambleton in 1811-1812 describe his command of the frigate Essex charged with protecting Atlantic coast merchantmen. In a letter dated October 19, 1812, Porter related to Hambleton that “In two or three days I sail on a long, a very long cruize [sic], our destinations and intended movements I am not at liberty to divulge, perhaps a more important cruize was never undertaken by the vessels of any nation and I have the vanity to believe that my plans for the ‘first campaign’ produced it.” Soon thereafter in early 1813, Porter took the Essex around Cape Horn to safeguard American whalers and in so doing commanded the first United States naval vessel to sail into the Pacific Ocean. Letters to his wife Evelina Anderson Porter relate details of his service as commander in chief of the Mexican Navy in 1826-1829 and of domestic affairs while living in Port Mahón on the Mediterranean island of Minorca in1830. Other recipients of letters in the file include James P. McCorkle and George W. Walker. Also included is a draft of Porter’s resignation as commander in chief of the Mexican Navy and his will dictated in San Stefano, Turkey.

Official letterbooks of David Dixon Porter from the periods 1867-1869 and 1878-1881 comprise the bulk of the collection and contain copies of letters to three secretaries of the navy, Richard W. Thompson, Nathan Goff, and William H. Hunt. A letter from Porter while in New Orleans in 1862 to his wife George Ann Porter recounted the bitterness of their southern relatives under Union occupation of that city. Other items include printed naval general orders and circulars.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is organized as the papers of each man and arranged alphabetically thereunder by type of material or name of person.

Container List