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'''James Ezekiel Porter''' (February 2, 1847-June 25, 1876) was one of ]'s officers killed at the ], also known as ], and Porter was among the first verified casualties of the historic battle alerting the world to the demise of Custer's group.<ref>Jerry L. Russell, ''1876 Facts About Custer & the Battle of the Little Big-Horn,'' (Da Capo Press, Oct 21, 1999) pg. 208</ref> '''James Ezekiel Porter''' (February 2, 1847-June 25, 1876) was one of ]'s officers killed at the ], also known as ], and Porter was among the first verified casualties of the historic battle alerting the world to the demise of Custer's group.<ref>Jerry L. Russell, ''1876 Facts About Custer & the Battle of the Little Big-Horn,'' (Da Capo Press, Oct 21, 1999) pg. 208</ref>

==Early life and education== ==Early life and education==
James E. Porter was born in ], in 1846 to Jeremy W. Porter, a wood manufacturer and state senator and trustee of the state reform school.<ref>''A Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Porter, who Settled at Weymouth, Mass., 1635, and Allied Families: Also, Some Account of the Descendants of John Porter, who Settled at Hingham, Mass., 1635, and Salem (Danvers) Mass., 1644'' (Google eBook), (Burr & Robinson, 1878) pg. 191</ref> James Porter attended ] (called the Maine State Seminary until 1863) from 1862–1863 and then ] from 1863-1864.<ref></ref> Porter was then was appointed to the ] at ] by U.S. Representative ]<ref>Edward Payson Weston, ''The Northern Monthly: A Magazine of Original Literature and ...'', Volume 1, September 1864, pg. 490</ref>, and Porter graduated in 1869, ranked 16th in a class of 39.<ref>Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212</ref> James E. Porter was born in ], in 1846 to Jeremy W. Porter, a prominent wood manufacturer and state senator and trustee of the state reform school, who was a descendant of Richard Porter, who immigrated from ] to ] in 1635.<ref>''A Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Porter, who Settled at Weymouth, Mass., 1635, and Allied Families: Also, Some Account of the Descendants of John Porter, who Settled at Hingham, Mass., 1635, and Salem (Danvers) Mass., 1644'' (Google eBook), (Burr & Robinson, 1878) pg. 191</ref> James Porter attended ] (called the Maine State Seminary until 1863) from 1862–1863 and then ] from 1863-1864.<ref></ref> Porter was then was appointed to the ] at ] by U.S. Representative ]<ref>Edward Payson Weston, ''The Northern Monthly: A Magazine of Original Literature and ...'', Volume 1, September 1864, pg. 490</ref>, and Porter graduated in 1869, ranked 16th in a class of 39.<ref>Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212</ref>


==Military Career== ==Military Career==
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==Death and Unidentified Body== ==Death and Unidentified Body==
On June 25, 1876, James Porter was killed in the ] under the command of Custer and Company I's ].<ref>Thom Hatch, ''Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn'' (McFarland & Co., 1997), pg. 95</ref><ref>James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard, ''Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield'' (University of Oklahoma, 2007), pg. 103</ref> Porter's Company I was stationed on the east side of Custer ridge in the battle, where they were either in reserve, providing aid or cover, or "attempting a breakout during the last segment of the battle."<ref>Douglas D. Scott, Richard A. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon, Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2000), pg. 125</ref> On June 27, 1876 troops searching for Custer found some of the first evidence of Custer's demise in an abandoned Indian village when they "found the buckskin jacket of Lt. James Porter (Co. I) with a bloody hole on the side which covers the heart."<ref>Jerry L. Russell, ''1876 Facts About Custer & the Battle of the Little Big-Horn,'' (Da Capo Press, Oct 21, 1999) pg. 208</ref> Some parties speculated that Porter's head was also purportedly found in the village,<ref>Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, Melissa A. Connor, ''They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn,'' (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2002) Table 11 pg. 109-110</ref> but other sources claim this may have been another officer's (Sturgis) head, and that Porter's head was never recovered, but perhaps his torso was recovered.<ref>''Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now'' By James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard (University of Oklahoma Press, Mar 30, 2007), pg. 103</ref> Among modern researchers and archaeologists, the consensus is that Porter's body was one of three officers' bodies (James Porter, James G. Sturgis, and ])<ref>Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, Melissa A. Connor, ''They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn,'' (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2002), pg. 170</ref><ref>Jerome A. Greene, ''Stricken Field: The Little Bighorn Since 1876'' (University of Oklahoma Press, Apr 30, 2008), pg. 20, 23, 40</ref> never identified, even though his death was verified by his bloody jacket, which was identified.<ref>Douglas D. Scott, Richard A. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon, Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2000) 49-50, 245-46</ref><ref>Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212</ref><ref>''Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now'' By James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard (University of Oklahoma Press, Mar 30, 2007), pg. 103</ref><ref>"From Custer's Last Stand: Archaeologists Seek Bodies From Little Bighorn," Observer-Reporter - Apr 16, 1984, Washington, PA, pg. A8 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FaldAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U10NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3886%2C2205360</ref><ref>Paul L. Hedren, After Custer: Loss and Transformation in Sioux Country, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2012) pg. 181</ref> The three missing officers were the only West Point graduates on the field besides Custer and Lt. Hodgson.<ref>James S. Robbins, Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point (Encounter Books, 2006), pg. 382 </ref> According to Nunnally's history, "n 1910 Superintendent Wright set a stone marker for Lt. Porter whose body was never found. Wright had no evidence on the location of Porter’s death and simply chose a random spot for its location."<ref>Early History of the Custer Battlefield and Park Superintendents, 1893 – 1958 by Michael L. Nunnally </ref> On June 25, 1876, James Porter was killed in the ] under the command of Custer and Company I's ].<ref>Thom Hatch, ''Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn'' (McFarland & Co., 1997), pg. 95</ref><ref>James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard, ''Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield'' (University of Oklahoma, 2007), pg. 103</ref> Porter's Company I was stationed on the east side of Custer ridge in the battle, where they were either in reserve, providing aid or cover, or "attempting a breakout during the last segment of the battle."<ref>Douglas D. Scott, Richard A. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon, Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2000), pg. 125</ref> Reports from Indian Agent ], who spoke to ], and Captain ], who interviewed several Indian survivors, both describe a single unidentified officer from this east area who rode quickly through the Indian encirclement and nearly escaped, but looked back and saw a warrior pursuing him and committed suicide.<ref>James Donovan, ''A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn - the Last Great Battle of the American West'' (Hachette Digital, Inc., 2008) referencing a letter (McGillycuddy to E. A. Brininstool, June 1, 1931, Brininstool Collection)</ref><ref>Captain Charles King, "CUSTER'S LAST BATTLE," ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' 81, (Aug. 1890), pg. 386 http://www.erbzine.com/craft/king1.html</ref> On June 27, 1876 troops searching for Custer found some of the first evidence of Custer's demise in an abandoned Indian village when they "found the buckskin jacket of Lt. James Porter (Co. I) with a bloody hole on the side which covers the heart."<ref>Jerry L. Russell, ''1876 Facts About Custer & the Battle of the Little Big-Horn,'' (Da Capo Press, Oct 21, 1999) pg. 208</ref> Some parties speculated that Porter's head was also purportedly found in the village,<ref>Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, Melissa A. Connor, ''They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn,'' (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2002) Table 11 pg. 109-110</ref> but other sources claim this may have been another officer's (Sturgis) head, and that Porter's head was never recovered, but perhaps his torso was recovered.<ref>''Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now'' By James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard (University of Oklahoma Press, Mar 30, 2007), pg. 103</ref> Among modern researchers and archaeologists, the consensus is that Porter's body was one of three officers' bodies (James Porter, James G. Sturgis, and ])<ref>Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, Melissa A. Connor, ''They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn,'' (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2002), pg. 170</ref><ref>Jerome A. Greene, ''Stricken Field: The Little Bighorn Since 1876'' (University of Oklahoma Press, Apr 30, 2008), pg. 20, 23, 40</ref> never identified, even though his death was verified by his bloody jacket, which was identified.<ref>Douglas D. Scott, Richard A. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon, Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2000) 49-50, 245-46</ref><ref>Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212</ref><ref>''Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now'' By James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard (University of Oklahoma Press, Mar 30, 2007), pg. 103</ref><ref>"From Custer's Last Stand: Archaeologists Seek Bodies From Little Bighorn," Observer-Reporter - Apr 16, 1984, Washington, PA, pg. A8 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FaldAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U10NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3886%2C2205360</ref><ref>Paul L. Hedren, After Custer: Loss and Transformation in Sioux Country, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2012) pg. 181</ref> The three missing officers were the only West Point graduates on the field besides Custer and Lt. Hodgson.<ref>James S. Robbins, Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point (Encounter Books, 2006), pg. 382 </ref> According to Nunnally's history, "n 1910 Superintendent Wright set a stone marker for Lt. Porter whose body was never found. Wright had no evidence on the location of Porter’s death and simply chose a random spot for its location."<ref>Early History of the Custer Battlefield and Park Superintendents, 1893 – 1958 by Michael L. Nunnally </ref>


==Legacy and Family== ==Legacy and Family==
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James Ezekiel Porter
File:James Ezekiel Porter of Little Bighorn.jpgJames Porter
Born(1847-02-02)February 2, 1847
Strong, Maine
DiedJune 25, 1876(1876-06-25) (aged 29)
Montana
Place of BurialStrong Village Cemetery
Strong, Maine
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1869–76
RankFirst Lieutenant
Unit7th U.S. Cavalry
Battles / warsAmerican Indian Wars

James Ezekiel Porter (February 2, 1847-June 25, 1876) was one of General Custer's officers killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, and Porter was among the first verified casualties of the historic battle alerting the world to the demise of Custer's group.

Early life and education

James E. Porter was born in Strong, Maine, in 1846 to Jeremy W. Porter, a prominent wood manufacturer and state senator and trustee of the state reform school, who was a descendant of Richard Porter, who immigrated from Weymouth, England to Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1635. James Porter attended Bates College (called the Maine State Seminary until 1863) from 1862–1863 and then Norwich University from 1863-1864. Porter was then was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point by U.S. Representative Sidney Perham, and Porter graduated in 1869, ranked 16th in a class of 39.

Military Career

He received a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment upon graduation and was first sent to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, then Fort Wallace and Fort Harker, also in Kansas. He participated in "The Plains" Indian warfare from 1869 to 1876 and also served in the South during the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in various cities between 1871 and 1873, including Chester, South Carolina, Rutherfordton, North Carolina, Lincolnton, North Carolina and then Shelbyville, Lebanon and Louisville, Kentucky. In 1872, Porter became a 1st lieutenant and was assigned to Troop I. He was eventually sent back to Fort Abraham Lincoln and Fort Totten in Dakota. He served in the Northern Boundary Survey in 1873 and 1874. Prior to the Battle at Little Bighorn in June of 1876, Porter "had requested a transfer to the general staff for a more settled life" because "his wife had just given birth to their second child in March" and "the couple had moved fourteen times."

Death and Unidentified Body

On June 25, 1876, James Porter was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn under the command of Custer and Company I's Myles Keogh. Porter's Company I was stationed on the east side of Custer ridge in the battle, where they were either in reserve, providing aid or cover, or "attempting a breakout during the last segment of the battle." Reports from Indian Agent Valentine McGillycuddy, who spoke to Crazy Horse, and Captain Charles King, who interviewed several Indian survivors, both describe a single unidentified officer from this east area who rode quickly through the Indian encirclement and nearly escaped, but looked back and saw a warrior pursuing him and committed suicide. On June 27, 1876 troops searching for Custer found some of the first evidence of Custer's demise in an abandoned Indian village when they "found the buckskin jacket of Lt. James Porter (Co. I) with a bloody hole on the side which covers the heart." Some parties speculated that Porter's head was also purportedly found in the village, but other sources claim this may have been another officer's (Sturgis) head, and that Porter's head was never recovered, but perhaps his torso was recovered. Among modern researchers and archaeologists, the consensus is that Porter's body was one of three officers' bodies (James Porter, James G. Sturgis, and Henry M. Harrington) never identified, even though his death was verified by his bloody jacket, which was identified. The three missing officers were the only West Point graduates on the field besides Custer and Lt. Hodgson. According to Nunnally's history, "n 1910 Superintendent Wright set a stone marker for Lt. Porter whose body was never found. Wright had no evidence on the location of Porter’s death and simply chose a random spot for its location."

Legacy and Family

Porter left a wife, Eliza Frances Westcott, originally from Lewiston, Maine, whom he had married in Portland, Maine, and he also left two children. Prior to the battle Capt. Myles W. Keogh, Co. I, sensing the danger of the expedition, "left a satchel of personal papers with Mrs. Eliza Porter, the wife of Company I's Lieutenant James Porter, and instructed her to burn them should he be killed." Eliza Porter was living in San Jose, California at the time of her death in 1915. Besides the marker at the Little Bighorn Battlefield, a family cenotaph memorial for Porter exists at the cemetery in his hometown of Strong, Maine which indicates his death at Custer's Last Stand, perhaps Maine's only monument to the battle. One of Porter's personal Smith and Wesson revolvers that he carried while on duty is in the collections at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. James E. Porter was featured as a character in Donald F. Myers' novel entitled Custer's Gatling Guns: What If He Had Taken His Machine Guns to the Little Bighorn?

References

  1. Jerry L. Russell, 1876 Facts About Custer & the Battle of the Little Big-Horn, (Da Capo Press, Oct 21, 1999) pg. 208
  2. A Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Porter, who Settled at Weymouth, Mass., 1635, and Allied Families: Also, Some Account of the Descendants of John Porter, who Settled at Hingham, Mass., 1635, and Salem (Danvers) Mass., 1644 (Google eBook), (Burr & Robinson, 1878) pg. 191
  3. Ellis, William Arba, Norwich University 1819-1911: Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor, Capital City Press, Montpelier, VT: 1911
  4. Edward Payson Weston, The Northern Monthly: A Magazine of Original Literature and ..., Volume 1, September 1864, pg. 490
  5. Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212
  6. Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S ..., Volume 3 By George Washington Cullum, United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates , pg. 133
  7. Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S ..., Volume 3 By George Washington Cullum, United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates , pg. 133
  8. Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S ..., Volume 3 By George Washington Cullum, United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates , pg. 133
  9. Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S ..., Volume 3 By George Washington Cullum, United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates , pg. 133
  10. Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212
  11. A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn - the Last Great Battle of ... By Jim Donovan (Hachette Digital, Inc., 2008)
  12. Thom Hatch, Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (McFarland & Co., 1997), pg. 95
  13. James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard, Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield (University of Oklahoma, 2007), pg. 103
  14. Douglas D. Scott, Richard A. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon, Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2000), pg. 125
  15. James Donovan, A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn - the Last Great Battle of the American West (Hachette Digital, Inc., 2008) referencing a letter (McGillycuddy to E. A. Brininstool, June 1, 1931, Brininstool Collection)
  16. Captain Charles King, "CUSTER'S LAST BATTLE," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 81, (Aug. 1890), pg. 386 http://www.erbzine.com/craft/king1.html
  17. Jerry L. Russell, 1876 Facts About Custer & the Battle of the Little Big-Horn, (Da Capo Press, Oct 21, 1999) pg. 208
  18. Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, Melissa A. Connor, They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2002) Table 11 pg. 109-110
  19. Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now By James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard (University of Oklahoma Press, Mar 30, 2007), pg. 103
  20. Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, Melissa A. Connor, They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2002), pg. 170
  21. Jerome A. Greene, Stricken Field: The Little Bighorn Since 1876 (University of Oklahoma Press, Apr 30, 2008), pg. 20, 23, 40
  22. Douglas D. Scott, Richard A. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon, Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (University of Oklahoma Press, Sep 1, 2000) 49-50, 245-46
  23. Thom Hatch, The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars, (Stackpole Books, 2002) pg. 212
  24. Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now By James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, Sandy Barnard (University of Oklahoma Press, Mar 30, 2007), pg. 103
  25. "From Custer's Last Stand: Archaeologists Seek Bodies From Little Bighorn," Observer-Reporter - Apr 16, 1984, Washington, PA, pg. A8 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FaldAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U10NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3886%2C2205360
  26. Paul L. Hedren, After Custer: Loss and Transformation in Sioux Country, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2012) pg. 181
  27. James S. Robbins, Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point (Encounter Books, 2006), pg. 382
  28. Early History of the Custer Battlefield and Park Superintendents, 1893 – 1958 by Michael L. Nunnally
  29. Brian C. Pohanka, 'Born a Soldier': Myles Walter Keogh, Part 3 of 3: Riding With Custer Into Eternity http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/plains3.html
  30. James Ezekiel Porter at Find a Grave
  31. Big Horn Yellowstone journal - Volumes 1-3 (Powder River Press, 1992)
  32. Douglas C. McChristian, John P. Langellier, The U.s. Army in the West, 1870-1880: Uniforms, Weapons, And Equipment (University of Oklahoma Press, 2006) pg. 284
  33. Donald F. Myers, Custer's Gatling Guns: What If He Had Taken His Machine Guns to the Little Bighorn? (CCB Publishing, 2008), pp. 27, 87-89

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