The Controversial Court Martial of Fitz John Porter

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
  • After the Battle of Second Manassas, Porter garnered much of the blame for the defeat. He was subsequently court martialed and cashiered for his conduct during the battle. He spent the next 25 years trying to exonerate his name.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 101

  • @unbreakable7633
    @unbreakable7633 Рік тому +7

    Porter was wronged, one of the Union's best generals. His performance at Gaines Mill against larger odds deserves respect.

    • @Baseballnfj
      @Baseballnfj 6 місяців тому

      I used to live next to his home of the 1870's where he passed in Morristown NJ.
      Which bizarrely.... was a naval town.

  • @ftffighter
    @ftffighter 7 років тому +24

    Matt with another amazing lecture! Never a bad talk, I want to come down and take a tour with you so bad.

    • @talk-supersix-seven6021
      @talk-supersix-seven6021 4 роки тому +2

      Same, let’s ask Atkinson to take us into a cornfield, I want it so bad too

  • @atldon
    @atldon 3 роки тому +10

    Porter messed up by expressing his political opinions casting doubts in the abilities of his superiors in writing. He pissed the wrong people off and paid for it dearly.

  • @paulstan9828
    @paulstan9828 7 років тому +11

    Nice job Mr Atkinson. I always enjoy your lectures. I got the David Letterman joke by the way! Ha!! Thanks again.

  • @robertbush8327
    @robertbush8327 Рік тому +1

    Matt is such a great orator. He brings History alive, makes you see the big picture. He has definitely found his calling.

  • @hugowiberg1843
    @hugowiberg1843 10 місяців тому +2

    Come and visit his statue in Portsmouth New Hampshire!
    The NH Civil War Roundtable had an event there last month with reenactors and lectures.

  • @MrAuk929
    @MrAuk929 2 роки тому +2

    Great lecture! Many thanks Matt.

  • @TRIChuckles
    @TRIChuckles 4 місяці тому

    Thank you for another good presentation!

  • @Baseballnfj
    @Baseballnfj 6 місяців тому

    Porter lived for the rest of his life in Morristown, NJ in a neighborhood full of navy veterans. Today the house still stands on 1 Farragut Place, Morristown, NJ. Across the street is the Kedge, and 1880 architectural gem owned by a Naval officer. The creator of the popular image of Santa and political cartoonist Thomas Nast Home is nearby... as is a family home of Admiral Perry.

  • @suzannetaylor366
    @suzannetaylor366 Рік тому +2

    Porter treated so unfairly..he was a good Corp commander and a fighter

  • @rvz77
    @rvz77 3 роки тому +1

    Incredibly fascinating 👏
    Thank you Matt

  • @jtofgc
    @jtofgc 3 роки тому +3

    Now that's a straight talker right there. He told us what we were gonna do and then we did it.

  • @marymoriarity2555
    @marymoriarity2555 5 років тому +7

    Of course Lincoln was a politician not a saint. There are scapegoats in every war

  • @DarthPlato
    @DarthPlato 5 років тому +8

    I like this lecture series. I wish something like it existed for the Napoleonic Wars.

    • @Baseballnfj
      @Baseballnfj 6 місяців тому

      Dude.... I'm sure it does

  • @davidrobinson9043
    @davidrobinson9043 7 років тому +8

    I fear that Whiskey than I do John Pope! BURN IT!"
    Can you imagine the look on those Rebs when they heard that order?

    • @Dragineez774
      @Dragineez774 5 років тому +1

      The same look on my face when I heard it.

  • @ajones1961
    @ajones1961 5 років тому +2

    A good lecture is one that conveys the sense of the time and clearly presents facts. You nailed it Mr. Atkinson.

  • @Baseballnfj
    @Baseballnfj 6 місяців тому

    It makes sense that he was from a naval family.. i used to live next to his 1870's home in Morristown, NJ... which was home to many retired naval officers prior to the 1900's. I always wondered why he chose to live here and it must be the naval connection. Also, he was close with McClellan and he adopted NJ as his home state. NJ was a very interesting place during the Civil war and was something of a refuge for anti-lincoln people. The town of Belvidere in Warren County passed an ordinance of succession and Jersey was the only place to vote against Lincoln in the 1864 election.

  • @alanaadams7440
    @alanaadams7440 Рік тому +1

    You would think that the confederate capital would have been moved further south for safety from the Union army

  • @shiningstaer
    @shiningstaer 3 роки тому +4

    I LOVE HIM AS A SPEAKER, does he have any books out??

    • @carywest9256
      @carywest9256 7 місяців тому

      He is supposed to be writing about The Seize of Vicksburg.
      He has a NPS video ,don't know how far along he gotten with his writing.

  • @Heystraw
    @Heystraw 7 років тому +4

    There... I learned something new again.

  • @burrellbikes4969
    @burrellbikes4969 22 дні тому

    Had Porter stayed in active command - I wonder when he would have been senior and potentially taken command of the AOTP? Was he more senior than Burnside? Hooker? Mead?

  • @carywest9256
    @carywest9256 7 місяців тому

    I paused at the 16:24 minute mark because the state map of Virginia is in error.
    The western counties had'nt broken away from the rest of the parent State of Virginia yet
    It will be a full year before those (secede) which technicaly should be illegal. If the 11 States that broke away to form the C.S.A. was illegal.Then how can a number of counties break away to form a different State?

  • @hardy3089
    @hardy3089 3 роки тому +1

    Matt without his hat just feels weird lol great lecture as always

  • @moss8448
    @moss8448 6 років тому +1

    All wars have scapegoats; its the ones that get away with things that are the ones that need to be high-lighted and exposed.

    • @acdragonrider
      @acdragonrider 4 роки тому

      Sheridan for unfairly relieving Warren of command.

  • @indy_go_blue6048
    @indy_go_blue6048 4 роки тому +2

    I'm currently reading about the Second Manassas campaign in Lee's Lieutenants, Campaigns of the Civil War vol.4, "Pope's Army" and Battles & Leaders. I'm thinking that Porter had faults at 2M, but not egregious enough to be cashiered, as the later hearing found also. Much of his problem was a failure to communicate to Pope what was holding him back from attacking, namely Longstreet's whole damn corp on his left flank!

  • @Baskerville22
    @Baskerville22 4 роки тому +1

    Notice in the photo of Lincoln & McClellan at 41.30 - shorty McClellan is seated in a chair that's much higher than Lincoln's

  • @gkelly941
    @gkelly941 6 років тому +5

    Not a bad paper, but reading a paper does not transform it into a lecture. By the way, the word "pique", meaning "in a snit," is pronounced "peek." More seriously, by committing his injudicious negative opinions of his superiors to paper, Porter exposed himself to criticsm and dismissal. Witness Gen. McCrystal. Note that Grant was celebrated for transmitting his orders in clear and unambiguous language. And if Porter believed that Pope did not have a clear understanding of the situation, shouldn't he have sent Pope information to clarify the situation?

  • @aaronrider4051
    @aaronrider4051 Рік тому

    Halleck was blackmailed by Porter into both firing McClellan and court-martialing Porter. Read Heysinger's 1912 classic on the Maryland Campaign. He explains it. The Lincoln administration was full of master political operators. They, in my opinion, needlessly extended the war through their love of political intrigue. But, by God, they were good at intrigue.

  • @truettjohnson7230
    @truettjohnson7230 Рік тому

    As a man talking about the war of Northern Aggression,and he did tell the Truth,Just so yall no,I'm from the county that the man that stabbed Seward was no count and to bad it didn't take him out because of bandages because he was to stupid to ride a carrage

  • @Farlomous
    @Farlomous 2 роки тому

    hmmm.....perhaps he shouldn't have been convicted of the charges he was convicted of. but I would argue, his letters and his demeanor throughout his tenure could lead to multiple conduct unbecoming charges and I sure he probably did disobey some direct orders. I would have loved to have seen a command where Porter and Hooker are both Corps Commanders and they have to cooperate with each other perhaps with Howard as the overall commander ROFL

  • @beybslifeintheus494
    @beybslifeintheus494 3 роки тому

    HI MY FRIEND

  • @jamesporter1123
    @jamesporter1123 4 роки тому +5

    John Porter who was a soldier and was a scapegoat for President Lincoln's ambitions...Colonel Oliver North anyone?

    • @stevenzimbler1406
      @stevenzimbler1406 4 роки тому

      Ppl llooo9o9ooloooooooool

    • @stevenzimbler1406
      @stevenzimbler1406 4 роки тому

      Oll

    • @stevenzimbler1406
      @stevenzimbler1406 4 роки тому

      9ll

    • @annastevens7123
      @annastevens7123 3 роки тому

      John Porter is my family member...

    • @indy_go_blue6048
      @indy_go_blue6048 2 роки тому +3

      Ollie directly violated a stricture passed by the US Congress (like them or not) not to provide aid to the "freedom fighters." IMO he and his ilk committed treason by selling weapons to Iran, considered a belligerent in the 1980s, to get money to give to the anti-Ortega forces in Nicaragua. I don't think it's fair to compare Porter with North.

  • @truettjohnson7230
    @truettjohnson7230 Рік тому

    It's time to suceed again,her in Florida,we didn't lose a battle in our state

    • @robertgiles9124
      @robertgiles9124 11 місяців тому

      Best to learn to spell the word before you preceed. Maybe you will be under water before that happens though. smh

  • @benlaney3083
    @benlaney3083 Місяць тому

    Matt, your framing is always so distorted and tinted with lost cause sentiments. For those who don’t know their history, I fear it to be deeply misleading. I know you know better, but many don’t and as the more informed party, the responsibility for misunderstanding rests on your shoulder.

  • @neilmoulden5323
    @neilmoulden5323 7 років тому +16

    It just proves what a "Politician" Lincoln was. Just as bad as all the rest, and just as deceitful.

    • @TheRobdarling
      @TheRobdarling 7 років тому +5

      Neil Moulden you lack a full perspective. Keep reading.

    • @wolfgangjr1969
      @wolfgangjr1969 5 років тому +4

      @@g.m.i.9771 Just remember, lincoln replaced his commanding generals if he found them lenient on the southern armies. He wanted generals who would beat the south to a poulp. He got pissed off at Grant for being too lenient with Lee.

    • @marrenrue7731
      @marrenrue7731 3 роки тому

      @@g.m.i.9771 There's Washington and Lincoln and everyone else

    • @marrenrue7731
      @marrenrue7731 3 роки тому

      @@wolfgangjr1969 he did not get upset at Grant

  • @daveadriance2400
    @daveadriance2400 2 роки тому

    The Battle of monocacy

  • @pauldefrances6408
    @pauldefrances6408 9 місяців тому

    LOL after watching two of your lectures seems you have a great love of the Northern Democrats. Maybe you are not as impartial as you ought to be.

  • @FASAfan
    @FASAfan Рік тому

    I’ve given many presentations, and one thing the presenter must watch out for is commentary, asides, jokes and other distractions. This lecture would probably be good, but I can’t get through it because of these. Cringe.

  • @chasetower6773
    @chasetower6773 3 роки тому

    45:02 Yep, 🐢👨🏻‍🦳

  • @suzannetaylor366
    @suzannetaylor366 Рік тому

    Terrible maps

  • @ricardodesotorodriguez3503
    @ricardodesotorodriguez3503 4 роки тому +1

    What's with the cameraman's inability to zoom in and out porperly as when need be?

    • @jgvtc559
      @jgvtc559 Рік тому

      😂 he too was court martialed

  • @indy_go_blue6048
    @indy_go_blue6048 6 років тому +3

    Actually I think about 90% of the Joint Commission, along with Reichsminister Stanton, needed to be prosecuted for their actions during the war. Talk about a star court.

    • @gkelly941
      @gkelly941 6 років тому +2

      At Second Manassas, Pope obviouly lacked tactical awareness of his situation and the situation and location of his own opposing forces. Porter evidently contributed to this by failing to communicate what he knew, and faling to respond to orders without communicating the reasons for doing so. Was the punishment justified? Probably not. Should he have been removed from command? Probably yes.

    • @indy_go_blue6048
      @indy_go_blue6048 4 роки тому

      @@gkelly941 I don't disagree with you, in a later post I said the same thing. But Porter was only one action of the Committee that smelled really bad. Stone was another example of a general who suffered unjustly... and, well frankly I have a real hate for Stanton, lol.

  • @solowbass
    @solowbass 3 роки тому +1

    Very informative and well done. I learned a great deal. I might suggest that you and your colleagues refrain from "breaking character" with jokes, gestures, talking to audiences... on these very deadly and serious topics. It ruins the whole flow and frankly there is no room for an attempt at comedy with the subject.

  • @patscally5390
    @patscally5390 4 роки тому

    Swell...he's reading to the crowd. Very poor presentation skills.

  • @richardzellers
    @richardzellers 5 років тому +1

    Public speaking grade.....D minus

    • @indy_go_blue6048
      @indy_go_blue6048 5 років тому +4

      Charisma A+++ He does much better with his battle walks.

    • @marymoriarity2555
      @marymoriarity2555 5 років тому +6

      He does s fine job as a public speaker. I see no reason to criticize ranger Atkinson. He deals with the information

    • @marymoriarity2555
      @marymoriarity2555 5 років тому +2

      Richard Zellers I dint see any of your credentials ousted.

    • @USGrant-rr2by
      @USGrant-rr2by 5 років тому +1

      Just to be clear, I do hold degrees in history and public relations from The Ohio State Unv. And I can certainly say from listening to several presentations from Ranger Rick, he is one of the worst public speakers I have ever seen. His presentations are so disjointed that it makes it difficult to follow his train of thought. The most annoying is his dumb ass side bar comments that have no actual bearing on the topic. If it annoys you to be texted during your presentation then turn the F'n phone off or take it out of your GD pocket you moron!

    • @USGrant-rr2by
      @USGrant-rr2by 5 років тому

      @@marymoriarity2555 You're an idiot!

  • @thomasjamison2050
    @thomasjamison2050 7 років тому

    An appallingly narrow minded and racist viewpoint.

    • @spartanumismatics8165
      @spartanumismatics8165 6 років тому +3

      How?

    • @acdragonrider
      @acdragonrider 4 роки тому +2

      All you modern a holes only care if someone is racist or not. You are the narrow minded shit heads.

    • @sartainja
      @sartainja 4 роки тому +5

      You think that just because he has a southern accent.