Why did a ship runaway from it’s mission under direct orders in April 1861? Civil War Blunders abound but this one involves the USS Powhatan, Fort Sumter, and an over-ambitious lieutenant named David C. Porter. History recalls this story as the Seward-Meigs-Porter Affair. As the story goes, at the outset … Continue reading Civil War Blunders: Abraham Lincoln’s Runaway Ship