myopia among Regular Army officers in
the field and War Department
Joining McClellan’s staff after the Seven
Days Battles of June 25-July 1, 1862,
Porter spent August reorganizing the ord-
nance department which, like much of the
battered army, was in disarray. Porter noted
his growing frustration at the lack of
action, movement, and anticipation of
Confederate moves. “The oldest and gen-
erally most inefficient officers fall in at the
top of the list and become chief,” he com-
plained while Robert E. Lee was advancing
north to Antietam without resistance.
Moreover, Porter learned to respect Lee
and other Southern field commanders, a
respect that grew with his later experience
in the West and in Virginia.
Porter rendered fine service in organizing
the artillery transfer from McClellan’s base
on the James River in Virginia to Antietam.
But he was dejected both by being left
behind at the time of the battle and the rou-tine promotion of officers based on senior-
ity rather than ability—another man was
placed above him as chief of ordnance. “I
am sending 440 wagons of ammunition to
the Army at Frederick [Maryland], enough
to last it all year if not wasted,” he wrote
at the time. “If he [Shunk, who superseded
Porter] is up to his old Port Royal tricks,
the Army will never get a round of it.”
Porter opined: “McClellan is so terribly
afraid of hurting anyone’s feelings that he
lets affairs go on in this way for fear of
offending some old fogy by promoting a
younger man over him.” Confusion was
rampant and leadership weak, he declared.
“At present, Marcy gives one order,
McClellan another, Halleck another, and
Stanton another. The feeling here is one of
deep depression.” Yet, Porter cautioned in
this letter to his mother, “Do not mention
this state of affairs. Let all people have per-
fect faith in the Army.”
Porter realized early that McClellan wasnot the right man to lead the Union to vic-
tory. He was critical of McClellan well
before negative comments about him
became common. “It is a shameful thing,”
Porter wrote, “that we are exactly where
we were a year ago and worse in some
respects.” Fortunately, General Ripley of
McClellan’s staff liked Porter and asked
him to become chief of ordnance of the
Army of the Ohio under Maj. Gen. Wright,
with whom Porter had served in the Car-
olinas. Wright had established headquar-
ters at Cincinnati, needed a good chief of
ordnance, and asked for Porter, who was
glad to accept.
In October 1862, Porter wrote to his
mother that he thought the Union Army
too amateurish and intent on “toy-soldier-
ing.” He was particularly upset by news
that McClellan had decided against a fall
campaign. At first, things moved slowly in
the West, too. Then, in late January 1863,
Porter was promoted to chief of ordnanceRIGHT: At the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863,
Porter rallied a few men to make a stand that led
to his award of the Medal of Honor.
BELOW: General George Thomas, who rallied the
Union forces at Chickamauga.National Archives U. S. ArmyQ-Spr16 Horace Porter_Layout 1 1/14/16 12:25 PM Page 60