Dr. Henry R. Porter: The Surgeon Who Survived Little Bighorn

by L.G. Walker , Jr., M.D.

Overview

"Custer came to me and said: 'Porter, there is a large camp of Indians ahead, and we are going to have a great killing.'"

The words of army contract surgeon Henry R. Porter are chilling today in their matter-of-fact reference to the battle to come—a battle of which Porter would be one of the few white survivors. Drawing on his writings, this biography tells the story of Porter's transformation from young easterner to ambitious frontier settler and medical practicioner in mid-19th century America. In its details of frontier life, of the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn, and of Porter's later travels around the world (which ended with his death in Agra, India), the reader finds richness that brings history vividly to life. Appendices contain a list of items from the North Dakota Historical Society's Henry R. Porter collection and a detailed Porter lineage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786431717
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	12/18/2007
Pages:	231
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Retired surgeon L.G. Walker, Jr., M.D., lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Walker is also a Professor of Clinical Surgery, Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has published widely on scientific topic and articles.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     

1. Early Life and Education     
2. Medical School Adventures     
3. Western Adventures     
4. Bismarck, on the Frontier     
5. The Road to Little Bighorn     
6. The Battle as Seen by Porter     
7. After the Battle     
8. Recalling the Battle     
9. Return to Bismarck     
10. Hail to the Chief     
11. Early Business Ventures     
12. The Reno Inquiry     
13. Banking on Bismarck     
14. A Capital Matter     
15. Farewell to Lottie     
16. Banking Business     
17. Travels Abroad     
18. Italian Journey     
19. Up the Nile     
20. Travels to the Holy Land and Around the Mediterranean     
21. Washington and Bismarck     
22. Final Years     
23. Forgotten Hero     

Epilogue     
Appendix A—Holdings of Dr. H.R. Porter Items, North Dakota Historical Society, Bismarck     
Appendix B—Porter Lineage     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

Porter’s story is important for the part he played in frontier medical history and the development of Bismarck, North Dakota”—C&RL News; “thanks to retired surgeon L.G. Walker, Jr., we now know about Henry Porter’s fascinating life.... clearly a labor of love and this book doesn’t disappoint. This is no boring monograph; it’s a fascinating short study of a man who narrowly escaped one of the most famous disasters in history and went on to have several careers as a consummate man of his times”—Michigan Alumnus.

From the Publisher

"thanks to retired surgeon L.G. Walker, Jr., we now know about Henry Porter's fascinating life.... clearly a labor of love and this book doesn't disappoint. This is no boring monograph; it's a fascinating short study of a man who narrowly escaped one of the most famous disasters in history and went on to have several careers as a consummate man of his times"

Michigan Alumnus

Porter's story is important for the part he played in frontier medical history and the development of Bismarck, North Dakota

C&RL News