Peter Buell Porter (August 14, 1773 – March 20, 1844) was an American lawyer, soldier and politician who served as United States Secretary of War from 1828 to 1829.

[1] His father, Dr. Joshua Porter, a 1754 graduate of Yale, fought in the Revolutionary War as a colonel.

[1] He attended and graduated from Yale College in 1791, studied law in Litchfield, Connecticut with Judge Tapping Reeve, who also taught Aaron Burr and John C.

[5] Porter, along with Henry Clay and others, pressured Madison to end the discussion and take up arms against England, in what became known as the War of 1812.

[3] Porter served on the Commission with fellow Democratic-Republicans, Simeon De Witt and DeWitt Clinton.

The Federalists on the Committee were Gouverneur Morris, William North, Thomas Eddy, and Stephen Van Rensselaer.

[6][7][8] While in Congress, Porter, realizing the level of America’s unpreparedness for war, pushed for greater numbers of soldiers and supplies.

He brokered a deal with Red Jacket, who agreed to provide 500 troops under Porter's command.

[3] A British raiding force of 240 troops including regulars and militia led by Lt. Col. Cecile Bishop attacked Black Rock, New York.

While this was going on, Peter B. Porter gathered at least 140 militiamen, a company of regulars, and at least 40 allied Seneca warriors.

[10][11] Peter B. Porter was able to successfully negotiate an alliance with Red Jacket to assist the American armed forces in the Battle of Chippawa.

However, the Americans ran into a fresh reserve of British regulars waiting in linear formation who fired a volley.

Porter and his men came back to their ambush site to police the scene to assess casualties of their force and of the enemy.

After a long battle, the Americans withdrew under Jacob Brown’s orders against Porter’s advice.

In the chaotic attack, the Americans destroyed 3 batteries of cannons, blew up the magazine, and inflicted heavy casualties on the British.

[14][15] With the end of military operations, Porter went to Washington where he was given command of all American forces on the Niagara Frontier by President Madison.

When news of a peace treaty arrived, he returned to civilian life and was declared a hero by his fellow citizens.

On January 23, 1816, he resigned, having been appointed a Commissioner under the Treaty of Ghent, which caused a controversy as to the constitutionality of sitting in Congress and holding this commissionership at the same time.

DeWitt Clinton, the otherwise unopposed candidate, was fiercely hated by the Tammany organization, and Porter received about 1,300 votes although he was not really running for the office.

[3] From May 16, 1828, to March 9, 1829, Porter served as U.S. Secretary of War under President John Quincy Adams, and was an advocate for the removal of Eastern Indians beyond the Mississippi.

[20] Together, Peter and Letitia had: On March 20, 1844, General Porter died in Niagara Falls and was interred in Oakwood Cemetery, along with brother Augustus.

His son, Peter A. Porter died in the bloody Battle of Cold Harbor during the American Civil War.

In 1820, Porter and his wife Letitia signed an affidavit attesting to the ownership of five enslaved Africans.

[24] Porter's letters and papers survive in the library collections of the Buffalo History Museum.