The court-martial of Fitz John Porter (November 25, 1862January 22, 1863) was a major event of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Fitz John Porter
Fitz John Porter (August 31, 1822 – May 21, 1901) (sometimes written FitzJohn Porter or Fitz-John Porter) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Se ...
was found guilty of disobeying a lawful order, and misconduct in front of the enemy and removed from command based on internal political machinations of the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
. The
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
was later found to be unjust and overturned, and Porter was reinstated in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
.
Background
Porter was a career army officer from a family of famous naval officers, including his cousins
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. F ...
and
David Dixon Porter, the first
four-star admirals in the United States Navy. He graduated from
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
in 1845, eighth in his class, and served with great distinction as an artillery officer in the Mexican War. After the war, Porter served in various posts, including a stint as an instructor of artillery at West Point, where he became good friends with both
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
and
William B. Franklin and, eventually, post adjutant for
Robert E. Lee.
As tensions increased in 1860, Porter traveled to threatened locations in the South in order to prepare for the upcoming conflict, including Charleston, South Carolina, where he advised
Major Robert Anderson be placed in charge of the defenses and that they be consolidated at
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...
. When war broke out, he initially served on the staff of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Robert Patterson
Robert Patterson (January 12, 1792 – August 7, 1881) was an Irish-born United States major general during the American Civil War, chiefly remembered for inflicting an early defeat on Stonewall Jackson, but crucially failing to stop Confede ...
, but when his old friend McClellan was asked to take charge of the
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
he was transferred to command a division at the new commander's explicit request.
When McClellan took the Army of the Potomac south for the
Peninsula Campaign, he reorganized the
II,
III, and
IV Corps to create two new provisional units, the
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to:
France
* 5th Army Corps (France)
* V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...
under Porter, and the
VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to:
France
* VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...
under Franklin. McClellan trusted his old friends much more than the other corps commanders and wanted subordinates he considered loyal. He relied, in particular, on Porter, who often acted as his surrogate on the battlefield during McClellan's frequent absences. One such instance, the
Battle of Malvern Hill
The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. ...
, especially cemented Porter's reputation as a superb commander on the battlefield.
Porter's command at the Second Battle of Bull Run
After the failure of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, Porter's corps was one of the corps reassigned to the
Army of Virginia
The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of ''Northern'' Virginia ...
under Major General
John Pope. Porter shared his commander and friend's dislike for Pope both personally and professionally. As he moved his corps into position at Aquia Creek near
Fredericksburg, Porter sent a number of telegrams to Major General
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...
complaining about Pope's poor leadership and handling of the army. Burnside, who, along with many others, shared Porter's low opinion of Pope's abilities, forwarded these communications to McClellan,
General-in-Chief
General in Chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world.
France
In France, general-in-chief (french: général en chef) was first an informal title for the lieutenant-general commanding over others lieutenant- ...
Henry Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...
,
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Edwin Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...
, and
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. Halleck, Stanton, and Lincoln were not pleased, since Pope had been their choice to lead in an attempt to sideline the uncooperative McClellan. The President was especially displeased, since Pope was a personal friend.
On August 27, the left wing of the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
under
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson seized Pope's supply depot at
Manassas Junction
Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...
. Pope believed the main Confederate army to be somewhere south of his force and so became panicked and sent a flurry of orders. In a repetitive and unorganized telegram sent to Porter, Pope ordered him to join him at
Bristoe Station by morning with his corps, or as much of his corps as he could gather by 1:00 in the morning. He was also to send word to another Union corps commander, Major General
Nathaniel P. Banks
Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...
, to secure
Warrenton Junction.
Porter consulted with his divisional commanders, Major General
George W. Morell and
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
George Sykes
George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, ...
, about the feasibility of marching that evening. Both generals were against the movement, they would later testify, but Porter wanted to go forward. Morrell and Sykes were finally able to convince Porter that the way was too dark and they were too unsure of the location of the Confederate forces in order to move in the dark and the order to move at 1:00 am was disregarded and instead the V Corps moved to Bristoe Station the morning of August 28. By 5:30 that eveningwhen Jackson's men first engaged a division from the corps of Major General
Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, he was given command ...
Porter had moved his men to
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
, making him the most westerly located corps commander in the Army of Virginia.
During the next morning, August 29, Pope's attention was occupied along the unfinished railroad grade that Jackson was using as defense while the Union army assaulted in wave after wave. Meanwhile, Porter, now joined with parts of McDowell's
III Corps and the general himself, repulsed an exploratory attack by the Confederate cavalry division under Major General
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...
. Porter and McDowell had no sooner halted their advance when they received an order from Pope, now known as the "Joint Order." Historian John J. Hennessy described the order as a "masterpiece of contradiction and obfuscation that would become the focal point of decades of wrangling." It described the attacks on Jackson's left, which were already underway, but was unclear about what Porter and McDowell were supposed to do. Rather than moving "to" Gainesville and striking Jackson's supposedly unprotected right flank, it described a move "toward" Gainesville and "as soon as communication is established
ith the other divisionsthe whole command shall halt. It may be necessary to fall back behind Bull Run to Centreville tonight." Nowhere in the order did Pope explicitly direct Porter and McDowell to attack and he concluded the order with "If any considerable advantages are to be gained from departing from this order it will not be strictly carried out," rendering the document virtually useless as a military order.
Pope launched another assault on Jackson, believing that Porter and McDowell would be attacking Jackson's right-flank at any moment. But Brigadier General
John Buford
John Buford, Jr. (March 4, 1826 – December 16, 1863) was a United States Army cavalry officer. He fought for the Union as a brigadier general during the American Civil War. Buford is best known for having played a major role in the first day ...
had arrived from
Thoroughfare Gap to report that Major General
James Longstreet's wing of the Army of Northern Virginia had broken out of the
Shenandoah Valley and was on its way to the battlefield. In fact, by noon, the first units of Longstreet's corps were already taking up positions guarding Jackson's right. McDowell, the senior commander, decided to not move the two corps to Gainesville and attack, but, for unknown reasons, did not forward Buford's report to Pope.
At 4:30 pm, Pope, frustrated that no attack was occurring on Jackson's right flank and still unaware of Longstreet's presence, despite numerous reports of a large Confederate force forming west of his position, sent an explicit order to attack by way of his nephew. But his nephew became lost and was unable to deliver the message until 6:30 pm. Even had the message been on time, it was impossible for Porter to both move forward and attack Jackson's right flank and maintain contact with Brigadier General
John F. Reynolds's division of McDowell's corps. To attack would place the V Corps on one side of Longstreet's Corps and Reynolds on the other. Porter again ignored Pope's orders and Pope again assumed Porter was attacking and launched a costly attack on Jackson's left flank. During the attack, McDowell finally delivered Buford's report to Pope, who then had to acknowledge that Longstreet was on the battlefield. When the attack failed, Pope sent explicit orders to Porter to march his corps to the main battlefield and meet with him personally. Porter did so, but sent one of his brigades to
Centreville.
That night Pope convened his generals and they argued about the Confederates' intentions. Pope insisted that Longstreet had arrived only to help cover Jackson's retreat. Porter maintained that Jackson was still well-entrenched and determined to fight, but McDowell claimed to be unable to find evidence that Jackson's corps was holding position. Pope ordered another large-scale assault on Jackson the next day, with Porter's corps leading the attack.
On the morning of August 30, Porter organized his corps for the assault, but it took them two hours to organize and begin advancing. Some of Porter's men had to cross 600 yards of open pasture land, the final 150 yards of which were steeply uphill, to attack a strong position behind the unfinished railroad; others had only 300 yards to traverse, but were required to perform a complex right wheel maneuver under fire to hit the Confederate position squarely in its front. They experienced devastating fire from Confederate batteries and then withering volleys from the infantrymen in the line. Nevertheless, they were able to break the Confederate line, but Confederate reinforcements drove them back. In what was arguably the most famous incident of the battle, some Confederate brigades fired so much that they ran out of ammunition and resorted to throwing large rocks. To support Jackson's exhausted defense, Longstreet's artillery added to the barrage against Union reinforcements attempting to move in, cutting them to pieces.
As the V Corps fell back, Longstreet launched a counterattack, sweeping Pope's whole army back and threatening to rout it. A difficult defense of Henry Hill by some of Sykes' division was all that enabled the Union to stabilize the situation and retreat from Manassas in an orderly fashion.
Court-martial
After the battle, Pope was relieved of command and his corps were merged into McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Pope was sent to
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
to command U.S. forces in the
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
, but kept up a correspondence with his allies in Washington. McClellan, meanwhile, led his army to a victory over the Army of Northern Virginia at the
Battle of Antietam, but failed to rout them, in part because he was too nervous to commit Porter's V Corps to battle after the general is said to have warned him, "Remember, General, I command the last reserve of the last Army of the Republic." In the weeks following the battle, McClellan failed to take any decisive action and Lee's army slipped back into Virginia to regroup and fight again. On November 5, McClellan was ordered to hand over his command to Burnside. Two and a half weeks later, on November 25, without the protection of his friend as commander of the army, Porter was arrested and relieved of command.
Charges
Porter was charged with two violations of the
Articles of War
The Articles of War are a set of regulations drawn up to govern the conduct of a country's military and naval forces. The first known usage of the phrase is in Robert Monro's 1637 work ''His expedition with the worthy Scot's regiment called Mac- ...
for his actions during the Second Battle of Bull Run, Article IX, disobeying a lawful order, and Article LII, misbehavior in front of the enemy. Both charges contained specifications, examples when Porter allegedly committed the offense. The two charges were serious and a conviction could result in anything from expulsion from the army to execution. Due to the rules of courts-martial, charges were filed not by Pope himself, but by Brigadier General
B.S. Roberts, the
Inspector-General
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...
of the Army of Virginia.
First Charge: Disobeying a Lawful Order
* Specification 1: disobeying Pope's order on the night of August 27 to move to Bristoe Station at 1:00 am
* Specification 2: disobeying Pope's order on the morning of August 29 to move the V Corps towards Gainesville
* Specification 3: disobeying Pope's order on the afternoon of August 29 to attack Jackson's right flank
* Specification 4: disobeying Pope's further order on the evening of August 29 to commence an attack on Jackson's right flank immediately
* Specification 5: sending one brigade to Centreville on the night of August 29, in disobedience of Pope's orders to bring his entire corps to the battlefield
Second Charge: Misbehavior in Front of the Enemy
* Specification 1: not engaging, nor making any effort to engage, Jackson's right flank as ordered on the afternoon of August 29, but instead falling back
* Specification 2: falling back on August 29, while in earshot of the battle and knowing his corps was needed, without even attempting to ascertain the strength of the enemy
* Specification 3: falling back on August 29, while aware that Pope's attacks were failing, and thereby aiding in the defeat of a Union army and placing in jeopardy the capital city
* Specification 4: moving slowly to attack on August 30, and, when the attack had commenced, not making a full effort and not attempting to rally his troops or otherwise inspire them to break through the enemy line
In the first charge, Pope – through his inspector general – was trying to prove that Porter's failure to follow his orders resulted in the situation which gave the Confederates the upper hand on the battlefield. Of particular importance to Pope was the assertion that if Porter had moved at 1:00 am as ordered, Longstreet would have been unable to take up the close position on Jackson's right flank and then the Confederates behind the unfinished railroad grade might have been dislodged. This also helped draw attention away from Pope's failure to acknowledge the reality of Longstreet's corps arrival to the battlefield, though the general would continue to deny that the second Confederate corps had arrived until the evening of August 29.
In the second, Pope accused Porter of cowardice at best, open treason at worst. Porter pleaded "not guilty" to all charges.
Court
![The court martial of Major General Fitz-John Porter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/The_court_martial_of_Major_General_Fitz-John_Porter.jpg)
The trial was prosecuted by the
United States Army Judge Advocate General Colonel
Joseph Holt
Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of the Buchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the secession of the South. He returned to Ke ...
.
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Edwin Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...
– a McClellan opponent – is said to have picked the make-up of the court personally.
* Major General
David Hunter
David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...
, President of the court, and a veteran of the First Battle of Bull Run and close political ally of Lincoln
* Major General
E.A. Hitchcock, the former chairman of the War Board, which advised Lincoln and Stanton on war matters during the time between McClellan and Halleck's stints as General-in-Chief
* Brigadier General
Rufus King, divisional commander in McDowell's corps who was absent from the battle due to a bout of epilepsy and Lincoln's former emissary to Rome
* Brigadier General
Benjamin Prentiss, a renowned general who had served with
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, but had just been released from Confederate hands in a prisoner exchange
* Brigadier General
James Ricketts, another of McDowell's divisional commanders, who had attempted to hold Longstreet's corps at Thoroughfare Gap
* Brigadier General
Silas Casey
Silas Casey (July 12, 1807 – January 22, 1882) was a career United States Army officer who rose to the rank of major general during the American Civil War.
Early life and military career
Casey was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He gradua ...
, a career general and author of a several-volume, influential manual on infantry tactics that had just been published
* Brigadier General
James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
, a hero of the
Battle of Shiloh who had returned east due to poor health, and just been elected to the House of Representatives from Ohio
* Brigadier General
Napoleon Bonaparte Buford
Napoleon Bonaparte Buford (January 13, 1807 – March 28, 1883) was an American soldier, Union general in the American Civil War, and railroad executive. He was the half-brother of the famous Gettysburg hero, John Buford, but never attained hi ...
, the half-brother of John Buford, the cavalry officer whose report on Longstreet's movement McDowell did not forward to Pope
* Brigadier General
John P. Slough, the military governor of the City of Alexandria
For his defense, Porter chose
Reverdy Johnson
Reverdy Johnson (May 21, 1796February 10, 1876) was a statesman and jurist from Maryland. He gained fame as a defense attorney, defending notables such as Sandford of the Dred Scott case, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter at his court-martial, and Mary ...
, former
Attorney General for
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
. Johnson was a contentious figure in the north. He was a staunchly conservative Democrat who had supported
Stephen Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
against Lincoln and who had argued on behalf of the slave-owning defendant in the infamous
''Dred Scott'' case. But Johnson was known to be personally opposed to slavery and had been instrumental in ensuring
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
remained in the Union.
Trial
Hunter determined that the trial should be open to the public and the newspapers and daily magazines all rushed to get reporters and artists to Washington. In the wake of the tumultuous
election loss for Republicans, most of the country viewed the trial through partisan, political eyes. Newspapers, including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', dutifully recorded and printed the testimony, often accentuating the most outrageous aspects of it. It was not a difficult task. The prosecution found ready testimony from other officers of Pope's army that sought to clear their own names after the disaster of Manassas. McDowell, in the midst of answering to his own court of inquiry regarding actions during the battle that had led to his virtual banishment from the army, was an eager cooperator in pinning much of the blame for the loss on Porter. Even more damaging than the testimony of prominent Republican generals was that the only maps used during the trial were supplied by Pope and substantiated his version of the time-line for the positioning of Longstreet's corps.
The defense argued that Pope was incompetent, and that Porter's actions had saved the army from an even greater defeat. Sykes and Morell testified on behalf of their former commander that movement on the night of August 27 was not only impractical, but reckless. Even Burnside took a leave from his command to testify on behalf of Porter in reference to the telegrams criticizing Pope he had received, though the newest commander of the Army of the Potomac had a specific interest in drawing attention away from his own recent loss at the
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...
. Other prominent friends of Porter, including McClellan, who was now openly decrying Lincoln and making plans to enter into Democratic Party politics, testified that the vast majority of the army agreed with Porter's assessments of Pope's poor leadership expressed in the telegrams.
Ultimately, both sides turned the case into one of character. For the prosecution, Porter was an arrogant disciple of an arrogant commander (McClellan), who was more interested in his own career than in the good of his country. Much was made of his previous relationship with Lee at West Point and of his role as McClellan's protégé, just as McClellan had been the protégé of then-Secretary of War
Jefferson Davis. Porter had had more affection for these connections and so let his contempt for Pope override obedience to his superior and handed victory to the Confederates.
To the defense, Porter was an American hero that had been wronged by a petty, incompetent former commander who happened to be friends with the President. His record of service before the war, and especially his successes during the Peninsula Campaign, were cited as evidence for his loyalty.
The Court held their vote in secret, but word of it leaked out to the press. Porter first heard the results when a ''New York Times'' correspondent asked him for a comment. He was found guilty of both charges, though not guilty of the fourth and fifth specifications of the first charge, and the implication that he had retreated in the first specification of the second charge was stricken. On January 21, the court ordered Fitz John Porter cashiered, or dismissed from the army for disciplinary reasons, and "forever disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit under the Government of the United States."
Porter attempts to clear his name
The conviction, rather than ending the controversy, served only to extend it. Coupled with the disastrous loss at Fredericksburg, the near mutiny of Burnside's officers after the
Mud March, and the resurgence of the Democratic Party, which was increasingly calling for negotiated settlement, the trial severely unsettled the public perception of competence in the army and administration. ''The New York Times'' even went so far as to question the loyalty-inspiring capabilities of West Point as an institute, though it took the conviction as proof that the vast majority of West Pointers were loyal, unlike Porter.
Porter immediately set about attempting to overturn the conviction. He began by extensively surveying and mapping the battleground to develop a comprehensive map of every tree, bush, and hill in the vicinity of his corps. Then he meticulously transcribed testimony of anyone he could get to cooperate in order to record exact positions during the battle. With the help of his friends, especially the increasingly powerful McClellan, he began petitioning famous figures to write letters on his behalf. They also used their influence to try to get state and local lawmakers to pass resolutions condemning the U.S. government for dismissing Porter.
He also tried to draw attention to the make-up of the court and argued that a Republican administration had fixed a court to rule against him in order to protect its own interests. Not long after he had testified as an administration witness against Porter, McDowell's court of inquiry exonerated him of wrongdoing at the Second Battle of Bull Run and recommended he be returned to command. Several of the other officers on the court received promotions shortly after the trial.
But Porter's actions were met with furious counter-actions. Stanton repeatedly blocked any attempt by the government to re-investigate the matter and saw to it that officers who spoke out in support of Porter were punished. In the Republican press especially, Porter was savaged as a traitor who had escaped the punishment he had deserved. ''The New York Times'' opined that not only was Porter's crusade to overturn his conviction immoral in that it encouraged dissent in the ranks, but that the general himself ought to have been executed.
When the war ended, Porter wrote to both Lee and Longstreet asking for their assistance in the matter and also petitioned to be allowed access to captured papers of the Confederacy. Both Lee and Longstreet replied, Longstreet in great detail, and Porter used the evidence to garner supporters to send petitions to President
Andrew Johnson asking for a new trial. Resolutions demanding his case be reopened and equally fierce denunciations of those resolution had swirled on the local and national level, barely slowed since January 1863, but Porter supporters – now including such famous generals as
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
,
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
, and
George H. Thomas
George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater.
Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...
, which contributed greatly to their rapid decline in popularity with their own party – were finally gaining enough headway to reexamine the issue.
However, the President had no power to hold a new trial and, despite his support for Porter, during Grant's term he was unwilling to revisit the decision in any fashion, perhaps to appease Republican supporters. Finally, in 1878, President
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
commissioned a board under Major General
John Schofield
John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served ...
, who had briefly replaced Stanton as Secretary of War after Johnson
forced him out, to investigate.
Schofield Commission
Schofield was joined by Brigadier General
Alfred Terry
Alfred Howe Terry (November 10, 1827 – December 16, 1890) was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869, and again from 1872 to 1886. In 1865, Terry led Union troops to v ...
, in between stints commanding U.S. forces in the
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...
, and
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
(since wartime
brevets had reverted to regular army ranks)
George W. Getty
George Washington Getty (October 2, 1819 – October 1, 1901) was a career military officer in the United States Army, most noted for his role as a division (military), division commander in the Army of the Potomac during the final full year of t ...
, who had been part of Burnside's corps that had not made it in time to the battlefield near Manassas in August 1862. They reviewed the extensive evidence compiled by Porter during the intervening years and conducted interviews of their own with principals from both sides of the fighting on the day of the battle.
On March 19, 1879, the commission issued a report to President Hayes recommending that "justice requires at
he President'shands such action as may be necessary to annul and set aside the findings and sentence of the court-martial in the case of Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, and to restore him to the positions of which that sentence deprived him – such restoration to take effect from the date of his dismissal from the service." The report found Porter guilty of no wrongdoing during the course of action on August 29, 1862, and, in fact, credited him with saving the Union Army from an even greater defeat, declaring:
What General Porter actually did do, although his situation was by no means free from embarrassment and anxiety at the time, now seems to have been only the simple, necessary action which an intelligent soldier had no choice but to take. It is not possible that any court-martial could have condemned such conduct if it had been correctly understood. On the contrary, that conduct was obedient, subordinate, faithful, and judicious. It saved the Union army from disaster on the 29th of August.
Though the report – a detailed narrative of the entire events of the battle from a third-person perspective of Porter – focused on absolving Porter of guilt for disobedience to orders or misbehavior in the face of the enemy, it also attributed much of the confusion of the situation and overall loss of the battle to Pope and McDowell. Pope is repeatedly described as out of touch with the situation and unaware of troop positions as he issued orders. Accordingly, Porter had to decide mid-battle whether to be "true" to a very confused commander. Two credible witnesses testified that, during the time of his original court martial, Porter said privately that he had not been "true to Pope." The commission rested its decision on other evidence. Focusing specifically on the 4:30 order to attack Jackson's right flank, the commission determined that not only had Pope's nephew arrived much later than he had claimed in the court-martial, rendering the order obsolete, but that if he had arrived promptly Porter would still not have been able to carry out an attack as "such an attack, under such circumstances, would have been not only a great blunder, but, on the part of an intelligent officer, it would have been a great crime."
The harshest criticism was saved for McDowell, who was repeatedly described as indecisive, uncommunicative, and inept. Under the Articles of War, McDowell should have taken command of both his and Porter's corps, as the senior officer, either on his own initiative when determining Longstreet's arrival or upon the arrival of the "Joint Order." Instead, he hesitated, deferred, and then ultimately split the command, leaving Porter with 9,000 men to face Longstreet's corps of at least 20,000. The report stated that McDowell at best drastically misunderstood the situation and his own responsibilities when testifying, at worst perjured himself. After the issuance of the report, McDowell's reputation suffered greatly.
While lauding his actions, Schofield and his fellow justices found fault with Porter's behavior before the battle. They attributed some of the negative feelings he had expressed to the confusion of command from Washington, since it was unclear if Pope's army was intended to unite to McClellan's, McClellan's to Pope's, or both together, with Halleck himself arriving to take command. The report declared that the telegrams to Burnside and other negative statements by Porter were beyond the scope of the investigation and only tangential to the events of the battle, but "that the indiscreet and unkind terms in which General Porter expressed his distrust of the capacity of his superior commander cannot be defended. And to that indiscretion was due, in very great measure, the misinterpretation of both his motives and his conduct and his consequent condemnation."
Despite the commission's findings, political opposition still prevented Porter from obtaining reinstatement. Hayes, a Republican, did not have the political support to overcome his own party's opposition to a pardon. Porter was still seen by the
Radical Republicans
The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Recons ...
as a traitor and his success in obtaining national figures to speak on his behalf was seen as connected to a dangerous resurgence of the Democrats in national politics. And when Hayes left office, he was succeeded by James A. Garfield, who had voted to convict Porter as part of the court. When, on May 6, 1882, President
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...
– who succeeded Garfield after his assassination – commuted Porter's sentence by restoring his rights to hold public office, it was seen by ''The New York Times'' as a collapse to pressure from powerful interests, and special note was made that the President had not agreed or disagreed with the Schofield Commission in his order.
Much partisan wrangling erupted in both houses of Congress. The Radical Republicans were organized primarily by Senator
John A. Logan
John Alexander Logan (February 9, 1826 – December 26, 1886) was an American soldier and politician. He served in the Mexican–American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a st ...
, one of Grant's top generals during the
Vicksburg campaign
The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Ri ...
, and focused on the illegality of the Schofield Commission and the perceived traitorous nature of Porter. Despite their vocal and fierce counterattack and after a veto of a bill to restore Porter to the army by President Arthur in 1884, a bill passed the Congress and was signed by President Cleveland in 1886 to restore Porter to his regular army rank of colonel, but with no compensation for back pay missed. Two days later, vindicated, Porter retired from the army.
Statue
![Statue of General Fitzjohn Porter, Portsmouth, N](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Statue_of_General_Fitzjohn_Porter%2C_Portsmouth%2C_N.H.jpg)
Once on his death bed, General Porter began working with sculptor James E. Kelly to create a monument that reflected how he viewed his legacy. The statue stands today, at Haven Park in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is graced by metal tablets at the base, which attempt to convey the error of Porter's court-martial.
Today
Though the obsessive, partisan animosity that gripped much of the country during the trial and subsequent attempts to overturn the verdict have been almost entirely forgotten, the effect of the meticulous casework undertaken by Porter and his allies can be seen at
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park is a unit of the National Park Service located in Prince William County, Virginia, north of Manassas that preserves the site of two major American Civil War battles: the First Battle of Bull Run, also called th ...
, the site of the Second Battle of Bull Run. When construction of the
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...
, an annex to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
National Air and Space Museum, disturbed wetlands on the site, the Smithsonian and its funders paid to restore portions of the Battlefield Park that had been disrupted by construction during the 1980s by
John T. "Til" Hazel to their 1862 conditions. Using Porter's extremely detailed maps, they were able to restore the grounds to within one inch of their previous form and replant to create the most historically accurate battlefield in the park system.
Porter's papers are available through the Library of Congress.
Fitz John Porter Papers
. Library of Congress.
Bibliography
* Anders, Curt, ''Injustice on Trial: Second Bull Run, General Fitz John Porter's Court Martial, and the Schofield Board Investigation that Restored His Good Name''. Guild Press Emis Publishing, LP, 2003, .
* Donovan, Kevin, "The Court-Martial of Fitz-John Porter," Columbiad 2 (Winter 1999): 73–97.
* Esposito, Vincent J.
''West Point Atlas of American Wars''
Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. Reprinted by Henry Holt & Co., 1995, .
* Soini, Wayne, ''Porter's Secret''. Jetty House, 2011, .
* United States War Department
Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
Further reading
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Notes
{{American Civil War
Military history of the American Civil War
1862 in the United States
1863 in the United States
1862 in American law
1863 in American law
November 1862 events
December 1862 events
January 1863 events
Porter, Fitz John