PORTER, David Dixon, American naval officer : b. Chester, Pa., 8 June 1813; d. Wash ington, D. C., 13 Feb. 1891. He was son of David Porter (q.v.). In 1826 he entered the service of the Mexican navy as midshipman, and while serving on board a vessel employed in damaging Spanish commerce was captured and for a time held prisoner in the Spanish guardship at Havana. Not long after his re lease, he was made midshipman in the Unite4 States navy, and until 1835 was on duty on the European station. In the Mexican War he dis tinguished himself as a lieutenant, and later as commander of the Spitfire. After the war he commanded passenger steamers during an ex tended furlough. At the beginning of the Civil War he was made commander of the Powhatan for the relief of Fort Pickens. On 22 April 1861 he was made commander, soon afterward was placed in charge of the mortar fleet, in March 1862 joined Farragut, and on 18-24 April exploded 20,000 bombs in the Confederate forts Jackson and Saint Philip, below New Orleans. Farragut's fleet was thereby enabled to pass them and capture New Orleans; and the forts finally surrendered on 28 April At Vicksburg, also, Porter by his remarkably effective bom bardment of the forts enabled the fleet to pass safely. He was ordered in September 1862 to command the Mississippi squadron as acting rear-admiral. With an improvised navy-yard
at Mound City, he quickly increased his squad ron to 125 vessels, and in January 1863 aided Sherman in the capture of Arkansas Post. Not long afterward he ran the Vicksburg batteries, captured the enemy's fortifications at Grand Gulf, communicated with Grant, and then co operated with that general in the well-known siege of Vicksburg. On 4 July 1863 the city fell. Porter's commission as rear-admiral bore that date; he also received the thanks of Con _ gress. He then aided Banks (1864) in the Red River expedition, and only with difficulty res cued his vessels. He was placed in command of the North Atlantic blockading squadron in 1864; and with Gen. A. H. Terry co-operated in the capture of Fort Fisher 15 Jan. 1865. After the war he was superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in 1865-69, and did much to improve it. He was promoted vice-general in 1866 and admiral in 1870. He wrote a 'Life of Commodore David Porter' (1875) ; a romance 'Allan Dare and Robert le Diable' (1::5) •, 'Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War' (1885) ; 'Harry Marline' (1886) ; of the Navy in the War of the Rebellion' (1887), and other works. Con sult Chesney, 'Essays in Military Biography' (1874) ; Soley, 'Admiral Porter' (1903).