I never encouraged officers to discuss politics at all, and, as a rule, officers of the navy were exempt from political bias, and considered that it … - David Dixon Porter

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I never encouraged officers to discuss politics at all, and, as a rule, officers of the navy were exempt from political bias, and considered that it was their duty to heartily support the Government in any measures which might be taken to preserve the Union. This was my view of the subject, and I tried to impress it upon others, and succeeded in excluding politics from the mess-table.