serviceyears laterwork branch commands death_date death_place birth_place allegiance battles birth_date placeofburial rank signature image article_title name
1829-1891 '' -lrb- 1885 -rrb- incidents and anecdotes of the civil war '' united states navy 1864 23px united states navy superintendent of the u.s. naval academy board of inspection 13 february 1891 washington , d.c. , u.s. chester , pennsylvania , u.s. united states 1890 23px united states of america mexican-american war american civil war 8 june 1813 arlington national cemetery arlington county , virginia , u.s. border david dixon porter signature.svg border david dixon porter
 david dixon porter
david dixon porter

david dixon porter -lrb- june 8 , 1813february 13 , 1891 -rrb- was a united states navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the u.s. navy .
promoted as the second u.s. navy officer ever to attain the rank of admiral , after his adoptive brother david g. farragut , porter helped improve the navy as the superintendent of the u.s. naval academy after significant service in the american civil war .
porter began naval service as a midshipman at the age of 10 years under his father , commodore david porter , on the frigate .
for the remainder of his life , he was associated with the sea .
porter served in the mexican war in the attack on the fort at the city of vera cruz .
at the outbreak of the civil war , he was part of a plan to hold fort pickens , near pensacola , florida , for the union ; its execution disrupted the effort to relieve the garrison at fort sumter , leading to its fall .
porter commanded an independent flotilla of mortar boats at the capture of new orleans .
later , he was advanced to the rank of -lrb- acting -rrb- rear admiral in command of the mississippi river squadron , which cooperated with the army under major general ulysses s. grant in the vicksburg campaign .
after the fall of vicksburg , he led the naval forces in the difficult red river campaign in louisiana .
late in 1864 , porter was transferred from the interior to the atlantic coast , where he led the u.s. navy in the joint assaults on fort fisher , the final significant naval action of the war .
porter worked to raise the standards of the u.s. navy in the position of superintendent of the naval academy when it was restored to annapolis .
he initiated reforms in the curriculum to increase professionalism .
in the early days of president grant 's administration , porter was `` de facto '' secretary of the navy .
when his adoptive brother david g. farragut was advanced from rank of vice-admiral to admiral , porter took his previous position ; likewise , when farragut died , porter became the second man to hold the newly created rank of admiral .
he gathered a corps of like-minded officers devoted to naval reform .
porter 's administration of the navy department aroused powerful opposition by some in congress , who forced the secretary of the navy adolph e. borie to resign .
his replacement , george robeson , curtailed porter 's power and eased him into semi-retirement .
