David Dixon Porter citations
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David Dixon Porter fut un amiral de l'United States Navy, durant la guerre de Sécession.

✵ 8. juin 1813 – 13. février 1891

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David Dixon Porter: 45 citations 0 J'aime

David Dixon Porter: Citations en anglais

“Well, Mister President, with all due deference to you, I don't believe in natural-born generals except where they have had proper military training, and it seems to me the siege of Vicksburg is too important a matter to trust to anybody except a scientific military man; besides, if you take troops from Grant and Sherman to give them to McClernand, you will weaken the army.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 123

“I then made some observations to the general on the beautiful weather we were having, and the satisfaction I experienced at seeing him in a position requiring so much judgment and forbearance, and that our co-operation so far had been of such a pleasant nature that I should always look back to this time with the most delightful recollections, as there could not by any possibility be any mis-understanding between the army and navy, their duties being so distinct from each other, and the only chance of their clashing would be through the stupid blunder of an irresponsible officer.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), pp. 256–257

“Such was the discipline of the navy at that time, and such the anxiety to conform to the law of Congress against spirituous liquors, that no officer or man in the service would take a drink out of a bottle unless it was marked 'Medicine.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 324

“Grant's most generous treatment of the Confederate army at Vicksburg, after its surrender, satisfied the President that he would be equally generous to Generals Lee and Johnston. I am quite sure that General Grant shared the convictions of the President, that we should deal with the Confederates in the most generous manner and thereby bring about a lasting peace. I was present almost always at the interviews between the President and General Grant, and, though the former did most of the talking, General Grant agreed with him in his views of the situation.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 317

“A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.”

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David Dixon Porter

Some sources attribute this to David Glasgow Farragut instead, see The Boston Marine Barracks: A History, 1799–1974 https://books.google.com/books?id=pVbIBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=%22A+ship+without+Marines+is+like+a+garment+without+buttons.%22&source=bl&ots=5U6Ab6k9Se&sig=IiEOJlssRzP6CIhEx_BL6euFQjM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ5o7lwIveAhVsUd8KHSKeCMcQ6AEwCXoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22A%20ship%20without%20Marines%20is%20like%20a%20garment%20without%20buttons.%22&f=false (2015), by John R. Yates, Jr. and Thomas Yates, p. 14
Attributed

“What is the matter with you?' I asked. 'Be a man and tell me; is the President dead?' My prophetic soul told me that must be so. It was some time before the man could speak. At length he stammered out, 'Assassinated!' and then I knew I had come too late. I might, perhaps, have saved his life with my persistent precautions, which he did not at all object to. I should have been about him until all excitement was over, and would have impressed the Cabinet with the necessity of guarding his person. I am not now, and never have been, given to great emotions; but when I heard of Mr. Lincoln's cruel death I was completely unmanned. I went immediately to Washington and saw him as he lay in his grave-clothes; the same benevolent face was there, but the kindly smile had departed from his lips, and the soft, gentle eyes were closed for ever.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 319

“[T]he navy must be an adjunct to the army, yet the officers and men of the navy should always have full credit for the service they perform.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 212

“Perhaps it was better for Mr. Lincoln's happiness that he died when he did. Had he lived, he would likely have been involved in bitter political feuds, owing to his liberal opinions in regard to the reconstruction of the States. He was of too sensitive a nature not to feel the shafts that would have been hurled at him by those whom he thought to be his friends, and he would not likely have been permitted to carry out his ideas. As it was, he died a martyr to a great cause, and venerated by all those who loved the Union; and while the names of many who held high places in the State will be forgotten, the memory of Abraham Lincoln will live in the hearts of his countrymen while the art of printing exists by which his name can be handed down to posterity.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 320

“There,' I said to a friend, 'lies the best man I ever knew or ever expect to know; he was just to all men, and his heart was full to overflowing with kindness toward those who accomplished his death.' I have been satisfied that the persons who called at the Malvern were some of the assassins who would have killed him there if they could have got on board, and they could easily have escaped in the confusion by jumping overboard and swimming to the shore, which was not more than twenty yards distant. More-over, I do not think that the prime instigator of the deed was ever suspected, though I have my own opinion on the subject, as also had Senator Nye, that stanch old patriot who held, in the latter part of the war, a position somewhat analogous to that of a minister of police, or was in consultation, by the wish of President Lincoln, with the police authorities of our great cities. He picked up many interesting incidents in relation to the President's assassination which he talked about freely to me; but he was a prudent man, and a politician, and did not desire to raise questions which might affect his personal interests in the future.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), pp. 319–320

“The navy and the powder-boat would be all-sufficient, and I rather liked the notion, as the expedition would be entirely a naval affair.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 269

“A pin is worth fighting for if a principle is involved. The first war with Great Britain was for principle and it gave us our independence and national existence. The war of 1812 was for principle and gave us our maritime independence. The war with Mexico was for principle and gave us the subjugated possessions on our whole Pacific coast. The war for the Union was for principle and resulted in the restoration of the authority of the constitution and gave us a people, north and south, animated by a military spirit which will be equal to every possible requirement.”

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David Dixon Porter

Interview with the Washington, D.C. Evening Star (12 March 1889)
1890s

“It seemed to be the policy of the Secretary of War to lose no opportunity to throw a stone at those who had made themselves prominent in the Rebellion. Even if Sherman had made a mistake, his great services entitled him to better treatment than he received at the hands of Mr. Stanton. How deeply he felt this treatment was shown when he arrived in Washington with his troops, and was invited upon the platform whence the President and his Cabinet were reviewing them. He deliberately refused to take Stanton's hand when the secretary stepped forward to greet him. It is now twenty years since the interesting events referred to took place; most of the actors in those scenes have gone to their final resting places.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), pp. 317–318

“I had often heard of the wonderful power of the President in telling anecdotes, but no one could form an adequate idea of his ability in this line unless he had been alone with him for ten days as I was. He had an illustration for everything, and if anything particular attracted his attention he would say, 'That reminds me of something that occurred when I was a lawyer in Illinois,' or 'when I was a boatman on the Mississippi.' He was not at all ashamed of any business he had ever been engaged in, because it was honest business, and he made an honest living by it; and he told me many stories of his earlier life, which were as creditable to him as anything he was engaged in while occupying a higher sphere.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), pp. 282–283

“It was a warm day, and the streets were dusty, owing to the immense gathering which covered every part of them, kicking up the dirt. The atmosphere was suffocating, but Mr. Lincoln could be seen plainly by every man, woman, and child, towering head and shoulders above that crowd; he overtopped every man there. He carried his hat in his hand, fanning his face, from which the perspiration was pouring. He looked as if he would have given his Presidency for a glass of water I would have given my commission for half that.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 299

“Mr. Lincoln looked down on the poor creatures at his feet; he was much embarrassed at his position. 'Don't kneel to me,' he said. 'That is not right. You must kneel to God only, and thank him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy. I am but God's humble instrument; but you may rest assured that as long as I live no one shall put a shackle on your limbs, and you shall have all the rights which God has given to every other free citizen of this Republic.”

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David Dixon Porter

Source: 1880s, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), p. 295