Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78036590
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Fitz-John Porter, army officer and public official in New York, N.Y., and New Jersey, were deposited in the Library of Congress between 1911 and 1951 by Holbrook Fitz-John Porter and other members of the Porter family. The deposit was converted to a gift in 1952.
The papers of Fitz-John Porter were processed in 1963 and prepared for microfilming in 1988. The finding aid was revised and part of the collection rehoused in 2003 and 2004.
A brief description of the Porter Papers appears in
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Fitz-John Porter is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Fitz-John Porter are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on thirty-one reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Fitz-John Porter Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Fitz-John Porter (1822-1901) span the years from 1830 to 1949, with the bulk of the material dated between 1861 and 1898. The collection includes correspondence; telegrams; reports; memoranda; articles prepared by Porter and others; autobiographical, biographical, and genealogical material; maps; a few photographs; financial and legal papers; annotated printed matter; and scrapbooks.
Much of the collection relates to Porter's court-martial and cashiering out of military service in 1863 following criticism of his conduct on August 29, 1862, during the battle of 2nd Manassas, or 2nd Bull Run, and his attempt to obtain reinstatement and honorable retirement. In 1879 Porter secured a review of his case by a board of general officers which reported in his favor. There is also considerable material relating to congressional action and a presidential pardon in Porter's case. There are many personal letters from fellow officers supporting Porter's allegations against Generals John Pope and Irvin McDowell, whom Porter charged with incompetence and slander. There is also considerable material concerning the conduct of the 5th Army Corps under Porter's leadership in the Peninsular Campaign and the Battles of Malvern Hill, 2nd Manassas, and Antietam.
Material concerning Porter's early military career, particularly in the war with Mexico and the Utah Expedition (1857-1860), is largely in the form of autobiographical and biographical studies. There is more material concerning Porter's Texas Expedition (1861), the Harrisburg Campaign (1861), and the first Shenandoah Valley Campaign under General Robert Patterson.
Included with the Porter Papers are drafts of two unpublished biographical works and correspondence of their authors. The first, by Theodore Akerly Lord, covers Porter's military career from the Mexican War to the Shenandoah Campaign. The second, "Animus," by Carswell McClellan, is concerned primarily with Porter's court-martial. There are also extracts and transcripts by Sara M. Day in English of the German publication
Prominent correspondents include John C. Bullitt, Ulysses S. Grant, George Frisbie Hoar, Reverdy Johnson, George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885), George D. Ruggles, William Joyce Sewell, and Stephen Minot Weld. Span dates of correspondence noted in the original container list for the General Correspondence and Other Papers series have been altered in this revised finding aid to include enclosures and related material added at a later date. The altered dates are indicated in brackets.
The collection is arranged in nine series:
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 19,858
Correspondence and related material in bound volumes.
Arranged chronologically. Span dates of the correspondence have been revised to include enclosures and related material added at a later date. The altered dates are indicated in brackets following the dates noted in the original finding aid.
Bound volumes of copies of outgoing letters and loose sheets in folders.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters, memoranda, transcripts, printed matter, clippings, and other items.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Handwritten and typed copies.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Autobiographical writings, biographical sketches, genealogical charts, lists, and related items.
Arranged by type of material.
Printed copies of Porter's letters, writings by others, maps, photographs, financial and legal papers, and other miscellaneous items.
Arranged by type of material.
Pamphlets, broadsides, government and published documents, congressional reports, speeches, maps, newspaper clippings, and other material.
Arranged by type or topic and therein chronologically. Containers 57-65 have not been microfilmed.
Writings, notes, collected material, correspondence, and related documents of Theodore Akerly Lord, Eva Porter Doggett, and Carswell McClellan concerning Porter's military career and court-martial.
Arranged by name of biographer and thereunder by type of material.
Newspaper clippings.
Arranged chronologically by volume.
Maps arranged and described according to the series, folder, and containers from which they were removed. Only OV 9 is contained on Reel 27.