Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2013, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Memorial and Family History of Erie County, New York Vol. I, Biographical and Genealogical The Genealogical Publishing Co., Buffalo; 1906-8 [37-40] GEN. PETER BUELL PORTER, son of COL. JOSHUA PORTER, was one of the greatest military leaders of the War of 1812. He was as eminent in civil affairs as in soldiership and in the perspective of history, stands forth as the central figure of the memorable military and civic dramas enacted on the Niagara Frontier during the first three decades of the last century. Among the dauntless, indefatigable toilers of that formative epoch none left a deeper impress on this section of the State than PETER BUELL PORTER, soldier and statesman. GEN. PORTER was born in Salisbury, Conn., August 14th, 1773. He was educated at Yale, College, graduating in 1791, and studied law with JUDGE REEVES in Litchfield, Conn. In 1795 he removed to Canandaigua, N. Y., and the same year was admitted to the bar. In 1797, he was elected Clerk of Ontario County, and in 1802, was chosen a member of the State Legislature. When later elected to Congress he was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, and in this capacity he advo- cated with great force and eloquence the necessity of war with Great Britain, also presenting a report in favor of a declaration of war. In 1810 he removed to Black Rock, and the same year he was a member of the committee to investigate the route of the proposed Euie Canal, of which project he was always an able and earnest supporter. Upon war being declared, Mr. PORTER left Congress and recruited a brigade of New York and Pennsylvania troops. In 1812 he was appointed Quartermaster-General of the New York State Militia, and upon the election of GOVERNOR TOMPKINS he was commissioned by the latter Major- General of New York State troops. GENERAL PORTER'S part in the campaign of 1813 began with the occupation of Fort George, when he acted as volunteer Aide-de-Camp to the American commander, GEN. LEWIS, later being placed in command of the troops and Seneca warriors gathered at Buffalo. Afterward in several engagements he led the Indians to victory. He was known among the red men as "CONASHUSTAH," and they had a current saying, "Where CONASHTUSTAH leads we follow." GEN. PORTER was one of the principal officers of the American army which, after the burning of Buffalo by the British and Indians in 1813, reoccupied the place and in 1814 prepared for the invasion of Canada. When the march on Canada began, GEN. PORTER was in command of a volunteer brigade, reconnoitered Fort Erie and assisted in concerting the plan which resulted in its surrender. The battle of Chippewa was the first, during the War of 1812, in which a large force of British regulars was defeated in the open field, and was one of the most decisive engagements of the war. The next act of the great drama of the Niagara Frontier was the siege of Fort Erie, and to GENERAL PORTER was committed the formidable task of relieving the fortress. He accomplished it, and the achievement was the crowning one of his mili- tary career, there being no other case in history where a besieging army had been routed by one sortie. The raising of the siege of Fort Erie practically closed the war on the Niagara Frontier. To GEN. PORTER'S skill and valor high honors were accorded. In 1814 Congress voted him a gold medal, and the State of New York presented him a sword. The Governor of New York brevetted him Major-General, and in 1813, PRESIDENT MADISON commissioned him Major-General of the United States Army, also appointing him Commander-in-Chief, but the latter position he declined. In 1815 GEN. PORTER was made Secretary of State, but declined the place, desiring to serve out the rest of his term in Congress. In 1816 he was appointed one of the Commissioners, under the treaty of Ghent, to determine the boundary line between the United States and Canada. In 1824 he was chosen one of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. In 1828 he became Secretary of War in PRESIDENT JOHN QUINCY ADAMS' Cabinet, his administration of the affairs of the War Department being marked by the strong practical efficiency charac- teristic of the man. Besides his military and public life, GEN. PORTER has an important share in the business development of Western New York. He was senior member of the firm of PORTER, BARTON & Company, of Black Rock. In 1818 GEN. PORTER married LAETITIA PRESTON BRECKENRIDGE, who was of Scotch and English ancestry, being a daughter of JOHN BRECKENRIDGE, a descendant of ALEXANDER BRECKENRIDGE, who was among the early set- tlers of the Blue Ridge Region of Virginia. The children of GEN. PORTER were ELIZABETH L., who was born April 19, 1823, and died January 28, 1876, and PETER A. PORTER. GEN. PORTER removed to Niagara Falls in 1839, and lived there during the rest of his life, his death occurring March 10, 1844. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access the more of our information about Erie County, N.Y., by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ny/erie/ ===========================================================================