Peter Buell Porter

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Peter Buell Porter

12th United States Secretary of War
In office May 23, 1828 – March 4, 1829
Preceded by	James Barbour
Succeeded by	John Henry Eaton

Born	August 14, 1773 Salisbury, Connecticut, USA
Died	March 20, 1844 (aged 70) Niagara Falls, New York, USA
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Profession	Lawyer, Politician

Peter Buell Porter (August 14, 1773 – March 20, 1844) was a U.S. political figure and soldier. He served as the Secretary of War between 1828 and 1829.

Porter was born in Salisbury, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1791, studied law in Litchfield, Connecticut, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Canandaigua, New York in 1793. He served as clerk of Ontario County from 1797 to 1804 and was member of the New York State Assembly in 1802 and again in 1828.

In the fall of 1809, Porter moved to Buffalo, New York and was elected as a Republican to the Eleventh and Twelfth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1813, but declined renomination. During his service in Congress, Porter served on a commission on inland navigation established in 1810 to survey a Lake Erie to Hudson River canal route, and was a leading figure among Congressional "war hawks" and chairman of the committee that recommended preparation for war with Great Britain.

During the War of 1812, Porter was initially quartermaster general of the New York militia from May to October 1812. He participated in and criticized General Alexander Smyth’s abortive operations against British Canada in 1812, culminating in a bloodless duel between the two. He later raised and commanded a brigade of New York militia that incorporated a Six Nations Indian contingent and led his command with distinction. For his actions, he was presented a gold medal under joint resolution of Congress dated November 3, 1814 "for gallantry and good conduct" during the Battle of Chippewa, the Battle of Niagara, and the Battle of Erie.

In 1814, Porter was elected to the Fourteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1815 to January 23, 1816, when he resigned, having been appointed secretary of state of New York. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York in 1817, losing to DeWitt Clinton. Porter became regent of the University of the State of New York in 1824, and served in that capacity until 1830.

From May 16, 1828 to March 9, 1829, Porter served as Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President John Quincy Adams, and was an advocate for the removal of Eastern Indians beyond the Mississippi. He moved to Niagara Falls in 1836 and was a presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1840. He died at Niagara Falls in 1844, and is interred in Oakwood Cemetery.

Peter Buell Porter was grandfather of Peter Augustus Porter and uncle of Augustus Seymour Porter. He married Letitia Breckinridge in 1818.