Note 105 — Chapter XV

David Porter was born in Boston, February 1, 1780. In 1799, when a midshipman on the “Constellation,” he took part in her combat with the “Insurgente.” In 1799 he became lieutenant, and served in the West Indies. During the Barbary War he led the expedition which destroyed several vessels in the harbor of Tripoli. In the War of 1812-15, he commanded the Essex on her famous cruise. After the peace treaty, he was a member of the board of navy commissioners until 1823, when he resigned to command an expedition against the West India pirates. From 1826 to 1829 Porter was commander-in-chief of the Mexican navy, and later became United States consul general to the Barbary states. From that position he was transferred to Constantinople, first as chargé d’affaires and then as minister, dying there in 1843.—Ed.