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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Captain · U.S. Army

Horace Porter

Captain Horace Porter, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on September 20, 1863 in Chickamauga, Georgia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War September 20, 1863

Captain Horace Porter, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on September 20, 1863 in Chickamauga, Georgia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Ordnance Department, U.S. Army. Porter was 26 years old.

4 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on July 8, 1902, 38 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Brevet Brigadier General.

Porter was born on April 15, 1837 in Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. His Medal of Honor is credited to Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Porter died on May 29, 1921 in New York, New York, at the age of 84. He is buried at West Branch Cemetery in West Branch, New Jersey. His medal is held by Special Collections, Georgetown University Libraries, Washington, DC.

Porter is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.

Official Medal of Honor citation

While acting as a volunteer aide, at a critical moment when the lines were broken, rallied enough fugitives to hold the ground under heavy fire long enough to effect the escape of wagon trains and batteries.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Life beyond the battlefield

Source: Wikidata.

Places

  • Born: Huntingdon — map
  • Died: New York City — map
  • Buried: Old First Methodist Church Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →

Timeline

  1. April 15, 1837
    Born in Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
  2. September 20, 1863
    Act of valor — Chickamauga, Georgia
    Age 26. Ordnance Department, U.S. Army
  3. July 8, 1902
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. May 29, 1921
    Died in New York, New York
    Age 84.
  5. Resting place
    West Branch Cemetery
    West Branch, New Jersey

Biography

Horace C. Porter (April 15, 1837 – May 29, 1921) was an American soldier and diplomat who served as a lieutenant colonel, ordnance officer and staff officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, personal secretary to General and President Ulysses S. Grant. He also was secretary to General William T. Sherman, vice president of the Pullman Palace Car Company and U.S. Ambassador to France from 1897 to 1905.

From the Wikipedia article “Horace Porter”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Further reading

Also honored for actions on September 20, 1863

Orville Tyron Chamberlain Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 CC Clinton Albert Cilley Captain · Army Civil War · 1863 Anthony Taylor First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 William G. Whitney Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863

Same unit

William Sully Beebe First lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864

More Civil War recipients from Pennsylvania

CB Charles E. Brown Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Peter McAdams Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 JW John Wainwright First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865 George W. Mears Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 FW Francis A. Wilson Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 William Robert douglas Blackwood Surgeon · Army Civil War · 1865
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.