General Porter’s Escape or Fitz John’s Folly

General Porter’s attempted escape from McClellan’s command, became known to some as Fitz John’s Folly. If Fitz John Porter wasn’t blessed with bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. He became the scape-goat of his brother officers and a cloud of doom followed Porter in most of his Civil War commands. Porter became a close advisor and confidant of General McClellan and it didn’t take long for Fitz John to realize he had hooked his wagon to the wrong horse. McClellan had many radical slants on command and politics, that worried Porter, but extricating himself from the “Young Napoleon’s” sphere of influence would take cunning and stealth.

Fitz John Porter, a native of New Hampshire, born in 1822, whose family included renowned naval officers, graduated from the United States Military Academy, in 1845. He served in the Mexican War with distinction, participated in the Mormon Campaign and when the Civil War erupted he was recruited and promoted by General George B. McClellan. Porter eventually attained the rank of Brigadier General under McClellan, however, Porter always had this sinking feeling, that something wasn’t quite right about his posting to the “Young Napoleon’s” command.

General Porter found himself, at McClellan’s direction, in charge of the Seige of Yorktown, commanding the V Corps. One of his command’s innovations was the use of hydrogen filled observation balloons. These were used, well out of range of the Confederate guns and afforded an unparrelled view of the enemies encampment, artillery placements and troop movements. In addition, Porter enjoyed the aerial adventures and would accompany the observers daily. Fitz John became so adept at managing the contraptions that he often went aloft early in the mornings alone. The observation crafts were held in place by cables and ropes and the altitude was controlled by a ballast and valve system that would release gas from the canvas enclosure to aid in descent. General Porter relished the freedom of flight and began to wonder if there weren’t other possibilities to his travels into the great beyond.

One early April morning in 1862, well before the nightmares of Second Manassas, Pope’s humiliating accusations and Fitz John’s career ending court-martial, General Porter rose early and hopped into the balloon’s basket. He instructed the guard to cast off the ropes and cables and Porter ascended to heights beyond which no one had ever attempted. Fitz John knew that the only retaining cable had snapped and the observation flight was at the mercy of the wind and God outside Yorktown. At first, the General seemed a little flustered by his predicament, but as the airship rose higher and floated over the Confederate lines, his demeanor calmed, pulling out his telescope, Fitz John began committing to memory the enemies positions and emplacements. His troops on the ground, were beside themselves with worry, regarding the fate of their lofty commander. They yelled and hurrahed Porter with instructions on how to control the balloon, but the wayward General was beyond hearing distance. General Fitz John Porter thought he had found the answer to all his misgivings and stress. He would just float away, to where, it didn’t matter, how his flight would end, that didn’t matter either. All Porter knew was that he had never felt so free and unencumbered in his life. About then, the wind shifted and Porter’s adventure ended and reality returned. The balloon was being blown back toward the Union lines and he reached up, grabbed the valve rope, pulled and started his descent, back to the real world and the continuing torment, that would be General Fitz John Porter’s legacy.

General Porter’s attempted escape, was a momentary reality warp, but to many, it was Fitz John’s Folly.

Bummer