Original Burial Site of US Army Officer killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Original burial site. 1st Lt Porter was the first candidate from the New England area, and the second in the United States, to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point by competitive exam. He graduated from West Point on June 15, 1869. On June 30, 1869, 2nd Lt Porter reported for duty at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was assigned to Company C, 7th US Cavalry Regiment. On July 1, 1872, Porter was promoted to 1st Lt and assigned to Company I, 7th Cavalry. The commanding officer of Company I was Captain Myles Keogh. Later that same year he married Eliza Frances Wescott. During their marriage, Porter and his wife moved 14 times. To provide a more stable life for his young family, Porter submitted a request for transfer to the General Staff. His request for transfer was endorsed by several senior officers and was going through the final steps, when the 7th Cavalry embarked on the expedition that would tragically end for Porter at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Company I was attached to LTC George A Custer's Battalion. Sometime during the battle Lt Porter was killed. Though his remains were never identified, his bloodstained buckskin shirt, with his name sewn in it, was found by a Dr. Paulding on the other side of the Little Big Horn River in an abandoned Lakota/Cheyenne Village. The doctor described the jacket as having several bullet holes in it, one of them in the area of the left breast. When the doctor showed it to an acquaintance of Porter, Captain Walter Clifford, Company E, 7th US Infantry, he confirmed the jacket had belonged to Porter. It is believed that Porter's unidentified remains were buried where they had been found on the battlefield. In 1881 all known battlefield burials were moved to a mass grave on Last Stand Hill. In 1890 the first marble markers were placed on the battlefield. Since it was not known where Porter had died, there was initially no marker with his name on it. In 1910 a marker with Porter's name was shipped to the battlefield. The placement of that marker was near where most of the bodies of his company (Company I) had been found. Porter was survived by a wife and two sons, David and James. On May 5, 1877, his wife was awarded a survivor's pension.
Original Burial Site of US Army Officer killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Original burial site. 1st Lt Porter was the first candidate from the New England area, and the second in the United States, to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point by competitive exam. He graduated from West Point on June 15, 1869. On June 30, 1869, 2nd Lt Porter reported for duty at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was assigned to Company C, 7th US Cavalry Regiment. On July 1, 1872, Porter was promoted to 1st Lt and assigned to Company I, 7th Cavalry. The commanding officer of Company I was Captain Myles Keogh. Later that same year he married Eliza Frances Wescott. During their marriage, Porter and his wife moved 14 times. To provide a more stable life for his young family, Porter submitted a request for transfer to the General Staff. His request for transfer was endorsed by several senior officers and was going through the final steps, when the 7th Cavalry embarked on the expedition that would tragically end for Porter at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Company I was attached to LTC George A Custer's Battalion. Sometime during the battle Lt Porter was killed. Though his remains were never identified, his bloodstained buckskin shirt, with his name sewn in it, was found by a Dr. Paulding on the other side of the Little Big Horn River in an abandoned Lakota/Cheyenne Village. The doctor described the jacket as having several bullet holes in it, one of them in the area of the left breast. When the doctor showed it to an acquaintance of Porter, Captain Walter Clifford, Company E, 7th US Infantry, he confirmed the jacket had belonged to Porter. It is believed that Porter's unidentified remains were buried where they had been found on the battlefield. In 1881 all known battlefield burials were moved to a mass grave on Last Stand Hill. In 1890 the first marble markers were placed on the battlefield. Since it was not known where Porter had died, there was initially no marker with his name on it. In 1910 a marker with Porter's name was shipped to the battlefield. The placement of that marker was near where most of the bodies of his company (Company I) had been found. Porter was survived by a wife and two sons, David and James. On May 5, 1877, his wife was awarded a survivor's pension.
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