Lieutenant, Company I, 7th US Cavalry. Killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, his body was never recovered or identified, and he is presumed dead.
Graduated from the US Military Academy, class of 1869, ranked 16 of 39 graduates. Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Cavalry, 15 June 1869. Married Eliza Frances Westcott (born in Natick, RI), in Portland, Maine, on 27 July 1869. Joined the regiment at Fort Leavenworth, KS, in October 1869. On frontier duty in Kansas in 1870. His son, David, was born 13 Oct 1871 at Chicopee, Mass. Appointed First Lieutenant, Company I, on 1 March 1872. Second son, James Frances, was born 25 March 1876 at Fort Lincoln, ND, and died 9 Dec 1876 at Strong, Maine. His widow, Eliza, resided in San Jose, Calif, until her death on 14 Dec 1915. During the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he was with Custer's column, and attacked the Indian village from the north. Of the men killed, the bodies of three officers, Lieutenants Harrington, Sturgis and Porter, could not be found and identified.
There is an 1877 report by Sioux given to Captain Charles King, 5th US Cavalry, that an officer of the two eastern units (Companies I and L) broke through the encirclement and rode east for help, pursued by 5 warriors. Four of the Indians gave up, and the last was about to give up also when the cavalryman glanced over his shoulder, and seeing the Indian so close, drew his revolver and fired it into his head. This body was never found, and could be the fate of Lieutenant Porter.
There is a cenotaph for James Ezekiel Porter with his parents in the Village Cemetery, Strong, Maine. It's Memorial No. 40378139 on Findagrave.
Graduated from the US Military Academy, class of 1869, ranked 16 of 39 graduates. Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Cavalry, 15 June 1869. Married Eliza Frances Westcott (born in Natick, RI), in Portland, Maine, on 27 July 1869. Joined the regiment at Fort Leavenworth, KS, in October 1869. On frontier duty in Kansas in 1870. His son, David, was born 13 Oct 1871 at Chicopee, Mass. Appointed First Lieutenant, Company I, on 1 March 1872. Second son, James Frances, was born 25 March 1876 at Fort Lincoln, ND, and died 9 Dec 1876 at Strong, Maine. His widow, Eliza, resided in San Jose, Calif, until her death on 14 Dec 1915. During the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he was with Custer's column, and attacked the Indian village from the north. Of the men killed, the bodies of three officers, Lieutenants Harrington, Sturgis and Porter, could not be found and identified.
There is an 1877 report by Sioux given to Captain Charles King, 5th US Cavalry, that an officer of the two eastern units (Companies I and L) broke through the encirclement and rode east for help, pursued by 5 warriors. Four of the Indians gave up, and the last was about to give up also when the cavalryman glanced over his shoulder, and seeing the Indian so close, drew his revolver and fired it into his head. This body was never found, and could be the fate of Lieutenant Porter.
There is a cenotaph for James Ezekiel Porter with his parents in the Village Cemetery, Strong, Maine. It's Memorial No. 40378139 on Findagrave.
Lieutenant, Company I, 7th US Cavalry. Killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, his body was never recovered or identified, and he is presumed dead.
Graduated from the US Military Academy, class of 1869, ranked 16 of 39 graduates. Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Cavalry, 15 June 1869. Married Eliza Frances Westcott (born in Natick, RI), in Portland, Maine, on 27 July 1869. Joined the regiment at Fort Leavenworth, KS, in October 1869. On frontier duty in Kansas in 1870. His son, David, was born 13 Oct 1871 at Chicopee, Mass. Appointed First Lieutenant, Company I, on 1 March 1872. Second son, James Frances, was born 25 March 1876 at Fort Lincoln, ND, and died 9 Dec 1876 at Strong, Maine. His widow, Eliza, resided in San Jose, Calif, until her death on 14 Dec 1915. During the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he was with Custer's column, and attacked the Indian village from the north. Of the men killed, the bodies of three officers, Lieutenants Harrington, Sturgis and Porter, could not be found and identified.
There is an 1877 report by Sioux given to Captain Charles King, 5th US Cavalry, that an officer of the two eastern units (Companies I and L) broke through the encirclement and rode east for help, pursued by 5 warriors. Four of the Indians gave up, and the last was about to give up also when the cavalryman glanced over his shoulder, and seeing the Indian so close, drew his revolver and fired it into his head. This body was never found, and could be the fate of Lieutenant Porter.
There is a cenotaph for James Ezekiel Porter with his parents in the Village Cemetery, Strong, Maine. It's Memorial No. 40378139 on Findagrave.
Graduated from the US Military Academy, class of 1869, ranked 16 of 39 graduates. Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Cavalry, 15 June 1869. Married Eliza Frances Westcott (born in Natick, RI), in Portland, Maine, on 27 July 1869. Joined the regiment at Fort Leavenworth, KS, in October 1869. On frontier duty in Kansas in 1870. His son, David, was born 13 Oct 1871 at Chicopee, Mass. Appointed First Lieutenant, Company I, on 1 March 1872. Second son, James Frances, was born 25 March 1876 at Fort Lincoln, ND, and died 9 Dec 1876 at Strong, Maine. His widow, Eliza, resided in San Jose, Calif, until her death on 14 Dec 1915. During the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he was with Custer's column, and attacked the Indian village from the north. Of the men killed, the bodies of three officers, Lieutenants Harrington, Sturgis and Porter, could not be found and identified.
There is an 1877 report by Sioux given to Captain Charles King, 5th US Cavalry, that an officer of the two eastern units (Companies I and L) broke through the encirclement and rode east for help, pursued by 5 warriors. Four of the Indians gave up, and the last was about to give up also when the cavalryman glanced over his shoulder, and seeing the Indian so close, drew his revolver and fired it into his head. This body was never found, and could be the fate of Lieutenant Porter.
There is a cenotaph for James Ezekiel Porter with his parents in the Village Cemetery, Strong, Maine. It's Memorial No. 40378139 on Findagrave.
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