Horace Porter - Mrs. Osborn Collection
Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS348
The Horace Porter - Mrs. Osborn Collection consists of correspondence written by Horace Porter to a Mrs. Osborn between the years 1906 and 1917. In addition to the ten letters, the collection contains the New York Times obituary of Horace Porter.
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Horace Porter was born on April 15, 1837 in Huntingdon, PA to David Rittenhouse Porter and Josephine McDermett. After a year at Harvard University, he entered the United States Military Academy in 1855 and graduated in 1860. He served as an officer of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, for which he was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In December 1863 Porter married Sophie McHarg. A year later, he was appointed aide-de-camp to General Ulysses S. Grant and held the position for the rest of the war. When Grant was elected president, Porter was made one of his military secretaries but resigned on December 1, 1872. He then became a local representative and vice-president of the Pullman Company in New York. In 1897, Porter was appointed US ambassador to France and was instrumental in dispelling hostility toward the US. He resigned in 1905, and after completing his search for the body of John Paul Jones later that year, he returned to the US. He was a delegate to the Hague Conference in 1907 and became the president of the Navy League in 1909. Porter died at his home in New York on May 29, 1921.
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
English
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository