Porter's character is hard to estimate: clearly he possessed considerable personal courage, but was also a prudent tactician, often declining battle when he could not choose his ground and when he thought the potential for casualties disproportionate to projected gains. Declining the option to pursue the retreating Union force at Santa Fe, Mudd has him say "I can't see that anything would be accomplished by pursuing the enemy. We might give them a drive and kill a dozen of them and we might lose a man or two, and I wouldn't give them one of my men for a dozen dead federals unless to gain some particular purpose."