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[823]

Farragut, who had been offered the command of the expedition against Fort Fisher, but was — unhappily for me — too sick to take it, after he learned that the expedition was to go with my army, wrote me a confidential letter in which he strongly advised me not to go with the navy under the command of Porter, because he would not co-operate with me. If I had got the letter in season,--as it expressed my own thought,--I doubt whether I should have gone even for the reasons which urged me to go; but, alas for me! it came too late.

After the affair at Fort Fisher Grant treated Porter very kindly; and Porter was enthusiastic in his praise of Grant, and almost adulatory in his conduct toward him. They were apparently the best possible friends. During this time Porter wrote a confidential letter to Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the Navy. The close, friendship of Grant and Porter remained until Farragut died, when Porter was appointed admiral in his place.

Grant appointed Borie, a respectable sugar merchant of Philadelphia, his Secretary of the Navy. Porter immediately claimed that as admiral it was his duty to carry on all matters appertaining to the personnel of the navy and its ships, and that Borie should look after what I may call the civil administration of the navy. Porter placed himself in the office of the secretary and attempted to carry on all the business of that office as admiral. Borie's incumbency of his office was short, and Grant appointed Hon. George M. Robeson his successor as Secretary of the Navy. When he entered upon the duties of his office he undertook to be Secretary of the Navy, and finding Porter in his way and interfering with him too much, advised him to remove his office elsewhere, which was done, and Robeson assumed the full administration of the duties of secretary. This mortally offended Porter and he and one of Grant's staff entered into a cabal to get Robeson removed and to lessen his influence with Grant, Porter claiming to Grant that he had been his fidus achates. While that was going on one of the clerks in the Navy Department, in examining the correspondence on file, discovered and brought to the attention of Mr. Robeson the confidential letter of Porter to Welles, and that was so abusive of Grant and made such accusation against him that the secretary thought it his duty to bring it to the President's attention. Grant read it with great astonishment and chagrin;

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David D. Porter (12)
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