David Porter (1 February 1780 – 3 March 1843) was a US Navy Commodore during the Quasi War, First Barbary War, and the War of 1812 and commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy from 1826 to 1829.
Biography[]
David Porter was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1780, and he joined the US Navy in 1798, serving as a midshipman on USS Constellation during the Quasi War with France. During the First Barbary War, he served as a lieutenant, and he was a prisoner of the Barbary States from 1803 to 1805. He later purchased a home in Chester, Pennsylvania and started a family, fathering David Dixon Porter and William D. Porter and adopting David G. Farragut. On 2 July 1812, he was promoted to Captain, flying the banner "Free trade and sailors' rights" on hs mast and capturing the first British warship of the war, HMS Alert, on 13 August 1812. In February 1813, he sailed around the Cape Horn and warred on British whalers in the Pacific Ocean, capturing the Peruvian whaleship Nereyda and freeing the captured Americans on board; he captured a total of 12 whaleships and 360 prisoners. He often flew the British flag and parleyed with their captains before taking them prisoner, contributing to his success. In October 1813, he captured the Marquesas Islands for the US and renamed them in honor of James Madison. On 28 March 1814, he was forced to surrender to the British Royal Navy at the Battle of Valparaiso after his ship was disabled. From 1815 to 1822, he served on the Board of Navy Commissioners, and, from 1823 to 1825, he suppressed pirates in the Caribbean. After he invaded the Spanish town of Fajardo, Puerto Rico in retribution for their taking of one of his men prisoner, he was court-martialed, so he went on to serve as commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy from 1826 to 1829. In 1829, he was appointed Minister to the Barbary States by the US government, and he died in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire on 3 March 1843 at the age of 63.