Porterfield, George A. (1822-1919) Mexican War and post-war diary
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06299 Author/Creator: Porterfield, George A. (1822-1919) Place Written: [various places] Type: Autograph manuscript signed Date: 1845-1849 Pagination: 1 v. : 38 loose p. ; 19.5 x 15.6 cm or smaller Order a Copy
Part one, crudely bound, includes vignettes about people Porterfield encountered, a pen and ink sketch of Rancho Buena Vista, and a rudimentary genealogy. Part two, unbound, begins in April 1848 and records his travels and activities after the war ends. Mentions being in love with Miss Ybarra and is saddened to leave. By September 1849 he has become the editor of the Gazette in Martinsburg and is studying to become a lawyer. He is relieved his wife, possibly Miss Ybarra, is enjoying living in the United States. Part three consists of a receipt, a list of deceased relatives, a note explaining the Pythagorean Theorem, and a dried flower. Bound volume consists of a collection of recipes, short stories, Shakespearean extracts, and a detailed diary. Sketches include a homestead, a square in Monterrey, Mexico, the battlefield at Buena Vista, and General Winfield Scott's position in relation to Santa Anna's on 14 August 1847 in Mexico City. Obituary clipping of Porterfield's mother is affixed to the inside of the back cover.
Porterfield went on to become a Confederate Colonel during the Civil War, finding infamy when his
775-man force fired a volley, then panicked. The battle became known as the "Philippi Races" for the speed of the Confederates' retreat to Huttonsville. Philippi was the first land battle of the Civil War.
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