PORTER, RITZ JOHN ( 1822-1901) . A dis tinguished American soldier. He was born at Portsmouth, N. 11., graduated at West Point in 1845, and was assigned to the artillery, in which lie became second lieutenant the following year. He served in the war with Mexico from the begin ning; was wounded in the attack on the City of Mexico, September 13, 1847 and was brevetted captain and major for gallantry in the battle of Molino del Rey and the storming of Chapultepec, respectively. After the war he was sent to West Point, where he served as adjutant of the post, and as instructor of artillery and cavalry. In 1856 he was transferred to the Adjutant-General's department, and was assistant adjutant-general of the Utah expedition under Albert Sidney Johnston in 1857. On May 3.4, 1861, he received the appointment of colonel of the 15th Infantry: was made brigadier-general of volunteers in the same month, and served as chief of staff with General Banks and General Patterson until Au gust, when he was put in command of a division in the Army of the Potomac. He had charge of the siege operations against Yorktown during the Peninsular campaign, acted as military governm of the place for a time after its evacuation, and was then given the command of the 5th Army Corps, which fought the battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines's Mill. and bore the brunt of the fight at Malvern Hill. He was appointed brevet briga dier-general in the Regular Army for gallantry at the battles of the Chiekabominy, and on July 4. 1862, was commissioned major-general of volun teers. At the second battle of Bull Run his fail ure to move forward on the first day of the en gagemcnt led to his trial by court-martial on the charge of disobeying the orders of General Pope. He was found guilty and was cashiered and disqualified from holding any position of trust or profit under the United States Govern ment. The justice of the punishment was a sub ject of much controversy, and numerous attempts were made to secure a reversal of the verdict.
In June, 1878, a board of officers convened at West Point, by order of the President, to ex amine the evidence and to consider the findings of the court-martial, and to report to the Secretary of War what action, in their judgment, justice required should be taken by the President. This
board, after a full examination of the case, includ ing evidence before inaccessible, and other evi dence before misunderstood, reported that, in the opinion of those forming it, justice required at the hands of the President of the United States "such action as may be necessary to annul and set aside the findings and sentence of the court martial in the case of Major-General Fitz John Porter, and to restore him to the position of which that sentence deprived him—such restora tion to take effect from the date of his dismissal from office." This report was signed by the entire hoard, including Major-General J. M. Schofield, Brigadier-General Alfred II. Terry, and Brevet Major-General George W. Getty. The report was laid before the House Committee on Military Af fairs, and a majority of the committee, in Janu ary, ISS1, reported a bill restoring him to his Tank of major-general in the United States army, and requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to him the sum of 875.000. The bill for his relief failed to pass, but President Arthur in 1882 remitted the disqualifying clause in his sentence. In 1886 a bill for his restoration to the army with the rank of colonel, but without hack pay, was passed and approved by the Presi dent, and soon afterwards General Porter was re tired.
After his return from the army General Porter engaged in business in New York City, where he afterwards held several municipal offices. among them that of Police Commissioner and Commis sioner of the Fire Department. Until his death he considered that he had been deeply wronged. The controversy regarding his treatment pro voked a mass of partisan articles and of reviews of the evidence of the case, but no adequate biog raphy has yet appeared. For perhaps the strong est statement of the ease against Porter, consult Cox, The Second Battle of Bull Run Os Connected with the Fitz,' John. Porter Case (Cincinnati, 1882) ; for a brief statement of the ease in his favor, consult an article by General U. S. Grant in vol. cxxxv. of the North American Reriew.