Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

PORTER, DAVID (1780-1843)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 113 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

PORTER, See also:DAVID (1780-1843) , See also:American See also:naval officer, was See also:born in See also:Boston, See also:Massachusetts, on the 1st of See also:February 1780. His See also:father, David, and his See also:uncle, See also:Samuel, commanded American See also:ships in the See also:War of See also:Independence. In 1796 he accompanied his father to the See also:West Indies; on a second and on a third voyage he was impressed on See also:British vessels, from which, however, he escaped. He became a See also:midshipman in the See also:United States See also:Navy in See also:April 1798; served on the " See also:Constellation (See also:Captain See also:Thomas Truxton) and was midshipman of the foretop when the " Constellation " defeated the " Insurgente "; was promoted See also:lieutenant in See also:October 1799, and was in four successful actions with See also:French ships in this See also:year. In 1803, during the war with See also:Tripoli, he was first lieutenant of the " See also:Philadelphia " when that See also:vessel grounded, was taken prisoner, and was not released until See also:June 18o5. He was commissioned See also:master commandant in April 1806; in 1807–18ro served about New See also:Orleans 1, where he captured several French privateers, and in 1812 was promoted captain. He commanded the See also:frigate " See also:Essex " in her famous voyage in 1812–1814. In the See also:Atlantic he captured seven brigs, one See also:ship, on the 13th of See also:August 1812, the See also:sloop " Alert," the first British war vessel taken in the War of 1812. Without orders from his superiors he then (February 1813) rounded Cape See also:Horn, the harbours of the See also:east See also:coast of See also:South See also:America being closed to him. In the South Pacific he captured many British whalers (the British losses were estimated at £500,000), and. on his own authority took formal See also:possession (See also:November 1813) of Nukahivah, the largest of the See also:Marquesas Islands; the United States, however, never asserted any claim to the See also:island, which in 1842, with the other Marquesas, was annexed by See also:France. During most of February and See also:March 1814 he was blockaded by the British frigates " Cherub " and " See also:Phoebe " in the See also:harbour of See also:Valparaiso, and on the 28th of March was defeated by these vessels, which seem to have violated the See also:neutrality of the See also:port. He was released on See also:parole, and sailed for New See also:York on the " Essex, Jr.," a small vessel which he had captured from the British, and which accompanied the " Essex." At Sandy See also:Hook he was detained by the captain of the British ship-of-war " See also:Saturn " (who declared that Porter's parole was no longer effective), but escaped in a small See also:boat.

He was a member of the new See also:

board of naval commissioners from 1815 until 1823, when he commanded a See also:squadron sent to the West Indies to suppress piracy. One of his See also:officers, who landed at See also:Fajardo (or Foxardo), See also:Porto Rico, in pursuit of a pirate, was imprisoned by the See also:Spanish authorities on the See also:charge of piracy. Porter, without See also:reporting the incident or awaiting instructions, forced the authorities to apologize. He was recalled (See also:December 1824), was See also:court-martialled, and was suspended for six months. In August 1826 he resigned his See also:commission, and until 1829 was See also:commander-in-See also:chief of the Mexican navy, then fighting See also:Spain; in See also:payment for his services he received See also:government See also:land in See also:Tehuantepec, where he hoped to promote an inter-oceanic See also:canal. See also:President See also:Andrew See also:Jackson appointed him See also:consul-See also:general to See also:Algiers in 1830, and in 1831 created for him the See also:post of charge d'affaires at See also:Constantinople, where in 1841 he became See also:minister. He died in Pera on the 3rd of March 1843. He wrote a See also:Journal of a Cruise made to the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Frigate " Essex" in 1812–13–14 (2 vols., 1815; 2nd ed., 1822), and Constantinople and its Environs (2 vols., 1835), a valuable See also:guide-See also:book. See the Memoir of See also:Commodore David Porter (See also:Albany, New York, 1875), by his son, See also:Admiral David D. Porter.

End of Article: PORTER, DAVID (1780-1843)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
PORTER, BENJAMIN CURTIS (1843– ) 		[next]
PORTER, DAVID DIXON (1813-1891)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries