Henry Rinaldo Porter (February 13, 1848 – March 3, 1903) was a Surgeon in the

7th U.S. Cavalry The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

at the

Battle of the Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nort ...

Early life

Porter was born in

Lee Center, New York Lee Center is a hamlet located in the Town of Lee in Oneida County, New York. It is located northwest of Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was ...

. He graduated

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

School of Medicine in 1872 and interned for three months at

Columbia Hospital for Women The Columbia Hospital for Women was a hospital located in Washington, D.C. Originally opening in 1866 as a health-care facility for wives and widows of Civil War soldiers, it moved in 1870 from Thomas Circle to its later location at 2425 L Street, ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Military career

He signed on in 1872 as an army contract surgeon for duty in the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

under

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...

where he was cited for bravery. In 1873, he was assigned as a contract Surgeon with the army at Camp Hancock in Bismarck,

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 No ...

. In 1876 he joined

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

who assigned Dr. Porter to

Frederick Benteen Frederick William Benteen (August 24, 1834 – June 22, 1898) was a military officer who first fought during the American Civil War. He was appointed to commanding ranks during the Indian Campaigns and Great Sioux War against the Lakota and N ...

's battalion during the march to the Little Bighorn River from May to June 1876 and to Major Reno's at the

Battle of Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lako ...

. Porter was the only one of the 7th Cavalry's three surgeons available to the survivors on

Reno Hill The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

for the two days they were besieged. (Dr.

George Edwin Lord George Edwin Lord (February 17, 1846 – June 25, 1876) was a U.S. Army Assistant Surgeon in the 7th Cavalry who was killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana Territory during the Black Hills War. Lord was born in Brunswick, Maine ...

had been killed with Custer's Battalion (Yates' Troops E and F) and Dr.

James Madison DeWolf Dr. James Madison DeWolf (January 14, 1843 – June 25, 1876) was an acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who was killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Born in Mehoopany in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, DeWolf was a ...

was killed during the climb up Reno Hill.) Porter attended the wounded on the deck of the ''Far West'', which brought them back to

Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...

after the battle. Dr. Porter left his contract service in December 1876. He testified at the Reno Court of Inquiry in 1879.

Death

Porter died in 1903 in

Agra, India Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

, where he had gone on a trip around the world. His wife, Charlotte Viets of

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

, died August 6, 1888, and is buried in Oberlin. A memorial for Porter is located next to Viets grave, but Porter is buried at the Cantonment Cemetery in

. There is currently a street in New York Mills, NY, where he lived as a youth, named in his honor and a street in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

, also named for him.

References

1848 births 1903 deaths Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni People from Agra People of the Great Sioux War of 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn {{US-mil-bio-stub