Captain David Porter, 1795-1830

Father of Admiral David Dixon Porter, raised David Glasgow Farragut after Farragut’s mother died, entered Farragut into the U.S. Navy at age 10, and took him to sea with him in ESSEX during War of 1812.  On 3 August 1812, he captured first British Navy vessel (Alert) taken by the U.S. Navy in the War of 1812.  While British Navy controlled the Atlantic, Porter, on his own initiative, took control of the Pacific Ocean.  With no direction and no logistics support, Porter sailed around the Cape and conducted an ocean campaign that completely eliminated the British lucrative shipping and whaling industries, capturing 12 ships.  Founded the first American overseas naval base in the Marquesas.  He was defeated at Valpariso Chile in March 1814 by a superior British squadron, suffering 89 dead and 66 wounded to the British 5 killed.  Enroute to prison in Halifax, Porter and Farragut escaped to New York by commandeering a small boat.  Remaining service was as a Commissioner of the Navy Board until he commanded West India Squadron in 1823 when he cracked down on pirates in Foxardo, Puerto Rico with world’s first steamship to go on war duty, Sea Gull.  Subsequent diplomatic furor caused him to resign from the Navy.

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