confidence, teamwork, and leadership, and
earned regular citations for quality and
good example. In his fifth year, he became
adjutant of the corps of cadets, second only
to cadet regimental commander.
In January 1860, Second Lieutenant
Horace Porter was asked to remain at West
Point after graduation to serve as an
artillery instructor. The army recognized his
qualities of leadership, communication,
and administration in an era when most
junior officers were assigned tasks escorting
wagon trains and manning forts in the
West. Porter welcomed the assignment and
recognition of his abilities; he was enthusi-
astic about his prospects.
By March 1860, Porter and his class-
mates were, he wrote, “making necessary
preparations for one of the greatest events
in our lives,” not knowing that in a year
they would be at war. Of course, there had
been signs at West Point of growing sec-
tional division in America over slavery; the
1856 presidential campaign was especially
bitter and caused divisions among cadets.
Porter disapproved of slavery on grounds
that it was inhumane, contrary to Ameri-
can traditions of liberty, and an irrational
political and economic system.
After a semester of instructional duty at
West Point, Porter was assigned in the
winter of 1860-1861 to the army arsenal
at Watervliet, NY, supervising production
and shipment of munitions and guns. The
assignment pleased Porter for its location
near Albany, home of his fiancée, Sophie
McHarg, whom he had met at West Point
in 1859. At first, the challenges at Water-
vliet interested and occupied Porter. He
wrote to his father that General Winfield
Scott seemed determined to have sufficient
troops and ammunition in Washington to
quell possible trouble at Lincoln’s inau-
guration. Porter noted that “tons of
ammunition had been dispatched to the
capital.” More significantly, he hoped
“these preparations may not be necessary
and the states may yet come to some ami-
cable settlement.”
The principal issue for Porter was the
Union. “The state of affairs is truly alarm-
ing,” he wrote his father in what wouldbecome a stream of letters during his war
years to him, his mother, and his fiancée,
“and I fear we may soon see the worst. In
my mind, nothing can justify the acts of
states that in the most precipitate manner
pass an act of secession, seize government
property, and fire on government vessels,
before the Republican administration ever
went into power.” Porter expressed some
sympathy for classmates who left the army
to fight for their states. But he added that
there was a greater sense of loyalty to coun-
try than to states among the officers.
In April 1861, Porter and his colleagues
at Watervliet worked feverishly to meet
demands for munitions. On April 11, Porter
noted “enormous orders for supplies came
from General Scott.” In 36 hours, Porter
and his men filled orders that normally took
two weeks. Proud of his accomplishments
at the arsenal, he appeared uncertain
whether he would see action because “as
long as there are so few of us here, I cannot
get away from the Arsenal.” Porter was
released briefly from his duties that spring
for a secret assignment carrying to Wash-
ington dispatches related to production,
inventory, and transportation at the arse-
nal. He wore “citizen’s clothes for disguise.”
The information was too important to be
sent via telegraph or post. Porter’s first expe-
rience as a courier excited him.In recognition of his work at the arsenal,
he was promoted to first lieutenant of ord-
nance on June 7, 1861. In September
1861, he was given active interim com-
mand of the arsenal while its commandant
was on leave. But his anxiety over a field
appointment grew, undoubtedly whetted
by his clandestine mission to Washington.
“I am moving heaven and earth to get
with General McClellan before he starts
south,” he wrote. Porter was determined
“not to stay here while the war contin-
ues.” Nevertheless, he spent most of Octo-
ber 1861 waiting, as did McClellan’s
Army most of the time.
Finally, late in that month, Porter
received orders. He saw his first action in
November at Port Royal, SC, near Savan-
nah, Ga. His initial battle observations
were typically naive and optimistic.
Describing the barrage against Confeder-
ate forts at Hilton Head, he wrote of “a
beautiful sight as we watched it through
our glasses.” Later battles convinced him
that war was hardly glorious. At Port
Royal, he also discovered that maneuvering
artillery in wet coastal areas produced
much discomfort. “I had been working all
night with my boots full of water and was
pretty well worn out,” he confided. Later,
Porter “found an old candle, went up to an
empty room, lay down on the floor in my
wet clothes, and got a few hours sleep.”
His superiors duly noted Porter’s efforts.
In December 1861, he was named chief of
ordnance for the assault against Fort
Pulaski. He discerned that Fort Pulaski,
and eventually Savannah, could be taken
through patience and intelligence, not
bloody assault. “We can get to Savannah
the back way and save lives and time; the
Fort will then fall of itself. It has but two
months’ provisions,” he wrote. But Porter
was not making the decisions. His superi-
ors decided to reduce Fort Pulaski, not
attempt the end run that Porter advocated.
They did follow his advice, however, on
battery dispositions and other ordnance
operations for which he had been trained
and demonstrated considerable talent. He
displayed ingenuity by persuading Con-
necticut volunteers to improvise whittledNational ArchivesQ-Spr16 Horace Porter_Layout 1 1/14/16 12:25 PM Page 58