born June 8, 1813, Chester, Pa., U.S.
died Feb. 13, 1891, Washington, D.C.
U.S. naval officer.
He served under his father, David Porter , in the West Indies and in the Mexican navy before joining the U.S. Navy in 1829. Promoted to commander in the American Civil War , he served under his foster brother, David Farragut , to help win the Battle of New Orleans . In 1863 he succeeded in running his fleet past the Confederate fort at Vicksburg to meet Ulysses S. Grant 's troops and complete the effort to open the Mississippi River to Union forces. After the war he served as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy (186569) and was promoted to admiral (1870).
David Dixon Porter, photograph; in the Mathew Brady collection
By courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.