A Disgraced Civil War General

The Haverhill Historical Society will sponsor the presentation “Hero or Coward? The Story of General Fitz John Porter” on Thursday, June 14 at 7:00 PM at the Ladd Street School. The program will be followed by a book signing.

This illustrated lecture will be presented by Dr. Kimberly Alexander and Dr. Dane Morrison. They will describe the career and controversial court martial of Civil War General Fitz John Porter (1822–1901), a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire who was the subject of a politically-charged prosecution following the Union’s defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Porter spent the next sixteen years seeking to restore his name and reputation.
Drs. Alexander and Morrison trace Porter’s story with the help of newly uncovered print sources, images, and artifacts. The lecture is based on their book, co-authored with Richard Schubert, Hero or Coward? The Story of General Fitz John Porter, published last year by Blue Hill Press. Copies of the book will be available for sale after the program.

Dr. Kimberly S. Alexander is adjunct professor of history at the University of New Hampshire; Director of Client Relations of TheBranchCreative; and past Chief Curator at Strawbery Banke Museum. Dr. Dane A. Morrison is Professor of Early American History at Salem State University; author of A Praying People: Massachusetts Acculturation and the Failure of the Puritan Vision, 1600–1690; and editor of American Indian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues and Salem: Place, Myth, and Memory.