ABSTRACT
The origin of the Foxardo controversy lay in the irritation and financial losses caused by pirate attacks on American ships throughout the history of the republic. One such controversy involved Captain David Porter's naval expedition against Foxardo, Puerto Rico, in December 1824. Granting the serious implications of the Foxardo Affair for American diplomacy and military command policy, it has received surprisingly little serious analysis by historians. Involved in the episode were questions of national honour, the interpretation of instructions to a navy commander, and a test of will between Porter and his civilian superior in the Monroe and Adams administrations, Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard. The Foxardo affair and its aftermath destroyed Porter's faith in the American government. Publicly humiliated, he determined never to serve the nation as long as the likes of Southard and Adams were in authority.
