Although he sympathized with the South, Butler stated, "I was always a friend of southern rights but an enemy of southern wrongs" and sought to serve in the Union Army. His military career before the Civil War began as a private in the Lowell militia in 1840. Butler eventually rose to become colonel of a regiment of primarily
Irish American men. In 1855, the nativist
Know Nothing governor
Henry J. Gardner disbanded Butler's militia, but Butler was elected
brigadier general after the militia was reorganized. In 1857
Secretary of War Jefferson Davis appointed him to the Board of Visitors of
West Point. These positions did not give him any significant military experience.
1860 After
Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, Butler traveled to
Washington, D.C. When a secessionist South Carolina delegation arrived there he recommended to lameduck President
James Buchanan that they be arrested and charged with treason. Buchanan rejected the idea. Butler also met with Jefferson Davis and learned that he was not the Union man that Butler had thought he was. Butler then returned to Massachusetts, where he warned Governor
John A. Andrew that hostilities were likely and that the state militia should be readied. He took advantage of the mobilization to secure a contract with the state for his mill to supply heavy cloth to the militia. Military contracts would constitute a significant source of profits for Butler's mill throughout the war.
Petitioning for military leadership appointment Butler also worked to secure a leadership position should the militia be deployed. He first offered his services to Governor Andrew in March 1861. The nation's capital was threatened with isolation from free states because it was unclear whether
Maryland, a slave state, would also secede.
1861: Baltimore and Virginia operations The two regiments Massachusetts sent to Maryland were the
6th and
8th Volunteer Militia. The 6th departed first and was caught up in
a secessionist riot in
Baltimore, Maryland on April 19. Butler traveled with the 8th, which left
Philadelphia the next day amid news that railroad connections around Baltimore were being severed. Butler and the 8th traveled by rail and ferry to Maryland's capital,
Annapolis, where Governor
Thomas H. Hicks attempted to dissuade them from landing. Butler landed his troops (who needed food and water), occupying the
Naval Academy. When Hicks informed Butler that no one would sell provisions to his force, Butler pointed out that armed men did not necessarily have to pay for needed provisions, and he would use all measures necessary to ensure order. After being joined by the
7th New York Militia, Butler directed his men to restore rail service between Annapolis and Washington via
Annapolis Junction, which was accomplished by April 27. He also threatened Maryland legislators with arrest if they voted in favor of secession, and he seized the
Great Seal of Maryland, "without which no legislation could become law." Butler's prompt actions in securing Annapolis were received with approval by the US Army's top general,
Winfield Scott, and he was given formal orders to maintain the security of the transit links in Maryland. In early May, Scott ordered Butler to lead the operations that occupied Baltimore. On May 13 he entered Baltimore on a train with 1000 men and artillery, with no opposition. That was done in contravention of Butler's orders from Scott, which had been to organize four columns to approach the city by land and sea. General Scott criticized Butler for his strategy (despite its success) as well as his heavy-handed assumption of control of much of the civil government, and he recalled him to Washington. Butler shortly after received one of the early appointments as
major general of the volunteer forces.
Fort Monroe, Virginia , 1862 When two Massachusetts regiments had been sent overland to Maryland, two more were dispatched by sea under Butler's command to secure
Fort Monroe at the mouth of the
James River. On May 27, Butler sent a force north to occupy the lightly defended adjacent town of
Newport News, Virginia at Newport News Point, an excellent anchorage for the
Union Navy. The force established and significantly fortified Camp Butler and a battery at Newport News Point that could cover the entrance to the James River ship canal and the mouth of the
Nansemond River. Butler also expanded Camp Hamilton, established in the adjacent town of
Hampton, Virginia, just beyond the confines of the fort and within the range of its guns. The Union occupation of Fort Monroe was considered a threat to
Richmond by Confederate General
Robert E. Lee, and he began organizing the defense of the
Virginia Peninsula in response. Confederate General
John B. Magruder, seeking to buy time while awaiting men and supplies, established well-defended forward outposts near Big and Little Bethel, only from Butler's camp at Newport News as a lure to draw his opponent into a premature action. Butler took the bait, and suffered an embarrassing defeat at the
Battle of Big Bethel on June 10. Butler devised a plan for a night march and operation against the positions but chose not to lead the force in person, for which he was criticized. The plan proved too complex for his inadequately trained subordinates and troops to carry out, especially at night, and was further marred by the failure of staff to communicate passwords and precautions. A
friendly fire incident during the night gave away the Union position, further harming the advance, which was attempted without knowledge of the layout or the strength of the Confederate positions. Massachusetts militia general
Ebenezer W. Peirce, who commanded in the field, received the most criticism for the failed operation. With the withdrawal of many of his men for use elsewhere, Butler was unable to maintain the camp at Hampton, although his forces retained the camp at Newport News. Butler's commission, which required approval from Congress, was vigorously debated after Big Bethel, with critical comment raised about his lack of military experience. But his commission was narrowly approved on July 21, the day of the
First Battle of Bull Run, the war's first large-scale battle. The battle's poor outcome for the Union was used as cover by General Scott to reduce Butler's force to one incapable of substantive offense, and it was implicit in Scott's orders that the troops were needed nearer to Washington. , by
Alfred Waud In August, Butler commanded an expeditionary force that, in conjunction with the
United States Navy, took
Forts Hatteras and Clark in
North Carolina. That move, the first significant Union victory after First Bull Run, was lauded in Washington and won Butler accolades from President Lincoln. Butler was sent back to Massachusetts to raise new forces. That thrust Butler into a power struggle with Governor Andrew, who insisted on maintaining his authority to appoint regimental officers, refusing to commission (among others) Butler's brother Andrew and several of the general's close associates. The spat instigated a recruiting war between Butler and the state militia organization. The dispute delayed Butler's return to Virginia, and in November he was assigned to command ground troops in
Louisiana. While in command at Fort Monroe, Butler refused to return to their owner three
fugitive slaves who had come within his lines. He told a Confederate officer who asked for the return of the men: Butler later explained, "Property of whatever nature, used or capable of being used for warlike purposes ... may be captured and held either on sea or on shore as property contraband of war," and, even if "some of us might doubt" that "there may be property in human beings," the Confederacy had no such doubt. Biographer Walter Stahr notes, "Lincoln and his Cabinet discussed the issue on May 30 and decided to support Butler's stance". It was later made standard Union Army policy to not return fugitive slaves. This policy was soon extended to the Union Navy.
New Orleans Butler directed the first Union expedition to
Ship Island, off the
Mississippi Gulf Coast, in December 1861, and in May 1862 commanded the force that conducted the
capture of New Orleans after its occupation by the Navy following the
Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. In the administration of that city he showed great firmness and political subtlety. He devised a plan for relief of the poor, demanded oaths of allegiance from anyone who sought any privilege from government, and confiscated weapons. However, Butler's subtlety seemed to fail him as the military governor of
New Orleans when it came to dealing with its
Jewish population, about which the general, referring to local smugglers, infamously wrote, in October 1862: "They are
Jews who betrayed their Savior, & also have betrayed us."
Public health management In an ordinary year, it was not unusual for as much as 10 percent of the city's population to die of
yellow fever. In preparation, Butler imposed strict quarantines and introduced a rigid program of garbage disposal. As a result, in 1862, only two cases were reported.
Civil administration difficulties Some of his acts were highly unpopular. Most notorious was
Butler's General Order No. 28 of May 15, 1862, that if any woman should insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the
United States, she may be treated similarly to a "woman of the town plying her avocation," i.e., a
prostitute. This was in response to various acts of verbal and physical abuse inappropriate for "respectable" women, including mocking the funeral cortège of a fallen soldier, spitting in the faces of U.S. officers, pouring
chamber pots full of human excrement on patrolling U.S. soldiers, and, in one notorious case, pouring urine on Union Navy commander Admiral
David Farragut. "Butler's 'Woman Order' was immediately effective. Insults by word, look or gesture abruptly ceased.... Throughout the South, however, the Woman Order evoked a universal shout of execration". Butler's insistence on prosecuting the woman as any other person "aiding the Confederacy" provoked angry jeers from white residents of New Orleans, who amplified a narrative that he used his power to engage in the petty
looting of New Orleanians. "[F]or years after the Civil War steamships plying the lower Mississippi were furnished with
chamber pots bearing the likeness of 'Beast Butler. He was nicknamed "Butler the Beast" by Confederate General
P. G. T. Beauregard (despite Beauregard's leaving his wife under Butler's personal care) or alternatively "Spoons Butler", the latter nickname deriving primarily from an incident in which Butler seized a 38-piece set of
silverware from a New Orleans woman who attempted to cross Union lines while using a pass that permitted her to carry nothing more than the clothing on her person.
Cotton seizures Shortly after the
Confiscation Act of 1862 became effective in September, Butler increasingly relied upon it as a means of grabbing cotton. Since the Act permitted confiscation of property owned by anyone "aiding the Confederacy," Butler reversed his earlier policy of encouraging trade by refusing to confiscate cotton brought into New Orleans for sale. First, he conducted a census in which 4,000 respondents failing to pledge loyalty to the Union were banished. Their property was seized and sold at low auction prices in which his brother Andrew was often the prime buyer. Next, the general sent expeditions into the countryside with no military purpose other than to confiscate cotton from residents who were assumed to be disloyal. Once brought into New Orleans, the cotton would be similarly sold in rigged auctions. To maintain correct appearances, auction proceeds were dutifully held for the benefit of "just claimants", but the Butler consortium still ended up owning the cotton at bargain prices. Always inventive of new terminology to achieve his ends, Butler sequestered, or made vulnerable to confiscation, such "properties" in all of Louisiana beyond parishes surrounding New Orleans.
Censorship of newspapers Butler censored New Orleans
newspapers. When William Seymour, the editor of the
New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin, asked Butler what would happen if the newspaper ignored his censorship, an angry Butler reportedly stated, "I am the military governor of this state — the supreme power — you cannot disregard my order, Sir. By God, he that sins against me, sins against the Holy Ghost." When Seymour published a favorable obituary of his father, who had been killed serving in the Confederate army in Virginia, Butler confiscated the newspaper and imprisoned Seymour for three months.
Execution of William Mumford On June 7, 1862, Butler ordered the execution of
William B. Mumford for tearing down a
United States flag placed by Admiral Farragut on the
United States Mint in New Orleans. In his memoirs, Butler maintained that "[a] party headed by Mumford had torn down the flag, dragged it through the streets and spit on it, and trampled on it until it was torn to pieces. It was then distributed among the rabble, and each one thought it a high honor to get a piece of it and wear it." Butler added that these actions were "against the laws of war and his country." Before Mumford was executed, Butler permitted him to make a speech for as long as he wished, and Mumford defended his actions by claiming that he was acting out of a high sense of patriotism. Most, including Mumford and his family, expected Butler to pardon him. The general refused to do so, but promised to care for his family if necessary. (After the war, Butler fulfilled his promise by paying off a mortgage on Mumford's widow's house and helping her find government employment.) For the execution and General Order No. 28, he was denounced (December 1862) by
Confederate President Jefferson Davis in General Order 111 as a
felon deserving
capital punishment, who, if captured, should be "reserved for execution".
Recall Although Butler's governance of New Orleans was popular in the North, where it was seen as a successful stand against recalcitrant secessionists, some of his actions, notably those against the foreign consuls, concerned Lincoln, who authorized his recall in December 1862. Butler was replaced by
Nathaniel P. Banks. The necessity of taking sometimes radical actions and the support he received in
Radical Republican circles drove Butler to change political allegiance, and he joined the
Republican Party. He also sought revenge against the more moderate Secretary of State Seward, whom he believed to be responsible for his eventual recall. Butler continues to be a disliked and controversial figure in New Orleans and the rest of the South.
Louisiana Native Guard On September 27, 1862, Butler formed the first African-American regiment in the US Army, the
1st Louisiana Native Guard, and commissioned 30 officers to command it at the company level. This was highly unusual, as most USCT regiments were commanded by white officers only. "Better soldiers never shouldered a musket," Butler wrote, "I observed a very remarkable trait about them. They learned to handle arms and to march more easily than intelligent white men. My drillmaster could teach a regiment of Negroes that much of the art of war sooner than he could have taught the same number of students from Harvard or Yale." The regiment would serve Butler effectively during the
Siege of Port Hudson. Butler organized three regiments totaling 3,122 soldiers and officers.
Army of the James Butler's popularity with the Radicals meant that Lincoln could not readily deny him a new posting. Lincoln considered sending him to a position in the
Mississippi River area in early 1863, and categorically refused to send him back to New Orleans. In November 1863, he finally gave Butler command of the
Department of Virginia and North Carolina based in
Norfolk, Virginia. In January 1864, Butler played a pivotal role in the creation of six regiments of U.S. Volunteers recruited from among Confederate prisoners of war ("
Galvanized Yankees") for duty on the western frontier. In May, the forces under his command were designated the
Army of the James. On November 4, 1864, Butler arrived in New York City with 3,500 troops of the Army of the James. Secretary of War
Edwin Stanton had "requested that
Grant send troops to New York City to help oversee the election there. Stanton's concern arose from the city's perennial political and racial divisions, which had erupted during the 1863
draft riots," and because of fear of Confederates coming from Canada to burn the city on Election Day. Grant selected Butler for the assignment. "Even though he knew nothing about the plot [to burn the city] and did nothing to prevent it, Butler's mere presence with his 3,500 troops" demoralized the leaders of the conspiracy, who postponed it until November 25, when it failed. The Army of the James also included several regiments of
United States Colored Troops. These troops saw combat in the Bermuda Hundred campaign (see below). At the
Battle of Chaffin's Farm (sometimes also called the Battle of New Market Heights), the USCT troops performed extremely well. The
38th USCT defeated a more powerful force despite intense fire, heavy casualties, and terrain obstacles. Butler awarded the
Medal of Honor to several men of the 38th USCT. He also ordered a special medal designed and struck, which was awarded to 200 African-American soldiers who had served with distinction in the engagement. This was later called the
Butler Medal.
Bermuda Hundred campaign In the spring of 1864, the
Army of the James was directed to land at Bermuda Hundred on the James River, south of Richmond, and from there attack
Petersburg. This would sever the rail links supplying
Richmond, and force the Confederates to abandon the city. In spite of
Grant's low opinion of Butler's military skills, he was given command of the operation. Butler's force landed on May 5, when Petersburg was almost undefended, but Butler became unnerved by the presence of a handful of Confederate militia and home guards. While he dithered, the Confederates assembled a substantial force under General
P. G. T. Beauregard. On 13 May, Butler's advance toward Richmond was repulsed. On May 16, the Confederates drove Butler's force back to Bermuda Hundred, bottling up the Union troops in a loop of the James River. Both sides entrenched; the Union troops were safe but impotent, and Beauregard sent most of his troops as reinforcements to Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia. Had Butler been more aggressive in early May, he might have taken Petersburg or even Richmond itself and ended the war a year early, although his two West Pointer corps commanders Maj. Gen
"Baldly" Smith and
Quincy Gilmore also did not perform well or make up for Butler's limitations as a general. Despite this fiasco, Butler remained in command of the Army of the James.
Fort Fisher and final recall Although Grant had largely been successful in removing incompetent political generals from service, Butler could not be easily gotten rid of. Lincoln had even asked Butler to be the 1864 nominee for vice president, In reply to Lincoln's offer, Butler said, "Tell him ... I would not quit the field [resign as major general] to be Vice-President, even with himself as President, unless he will give me bond with sureties ... that he will die or resign within three months after his inauguration. Ask him what he thinks I have done to deserve the punishment ... of being made to sit as presiding officer over the Senate, to listen for four years to debates more or less stupid, in which I can take no part or say a word...." There was no good place to put Butler; sending him to Missouri or Kentucky would likely end in disaster, so it was considered safer to leave him where he was in Virginia. More worrying was that Butler was one of the highest ranking volunteer major generals in the Union army; next to Grant himself, he was the ranking field officer in the Eastern theater, and command of the Army of the Potomac would default to him in Grant's absence. For that reason, Grant remained with the army as much as possible and only made trips away from the front when it was absolutely necessary. In December, troops from the Army of the James
were sent to attack Fort Fisher in North Carolina with Butler in command. Butler devised a scheme to breach the defenses with a boat loaded with gunpowder, which failed completely. He then declared that Fort Fisher was impregnable and withdrew his troops without authorization. However, Admiral
David Dixon Porter (commander of the naval element of the expedition) informed Grant that it could be taken easily if anyone competent were put in charge. This mismanagement finally led to his recall by Grant in early 1865. As Secretary of War
Edwin M. Stanton was not in Washington at the time, By this point, the presidential election was over, so the administration no longer had to be concerned about Butler's running for president, and, in General Order Number 1, Lincoln relieved him from command of the Department of North Carolina and Virginia and ordered him to report to Lowell, Massachusetts. Grant informed Butler of his recall on January 8, 1865, and named Major General
Edward O. C. Ord to replace him as commander of the Army of the James. In 1867, when it seemed that Grant might run for president, Butler "employed detectives in an effort to prove that Grant was "a drunkard, after fast horses, women and whores." Grant, he announced, was "a man without a head or a heart, indifferent to human suffering and impotent to govern."
Colonization General Butler claimed that Lincoln approached him in 1865, a few days before his assassination, to talk about reviving colonization in Panama. Since the mid-twentieth century, historians have debated the validity of Butler's account, as Butler wrote it years after the fact and was prone to exaggerating his prowess as a general. Recently discovered documents prove that Butler and Lincoln did indeed meet on April 11, 1865, though whether and to what extent they talked about colonization is not recorded except in Butler's account.
Financial dealings Negative perceptions of Butler were compounded by his questionable financial dealings in several of his commands, as well as the activities of his brother Andrew, who acted as Butler's financial proxy and was given "almost free rein" to engage in exploitative business deals and other "questionable activities" in New Orleans. Upon arriving in the city, Butler immediately began attempts to participate in the lucrative inter-belligerent trade. He used a Federal warship to send $60,000 in sugar to Boston where he expected to sell it for $160,000. However, his use of the government ship was reported to the military authorities, and Butler was chastised. Instead of earning a profit, military authorities permitted him to recover only his $60,000 plus expenses. Thereafter, his brother Andrew officially represented the family in such activities. Everyone in New Orleans believed that Andrew accumulated a profit of $1–$2 million while in Louisiana. Upon inquiry from Treasury Secretary Chase in October 1862, the general responded that his brother actually cleared less than $200,000 (~$ in ). When Butler was replaced in New Orleans by Major General Nathaniel Banks, Andrew Butler unsuccessfully tried to bribe Banks with $100,000 if Banks would permit Andrew's "commercial program" to be carried out "as previous to [Banks's] arrival." Butler's administration of the Norfolk district was also tainted by financial scandal and cross-lines business dealings. Historian Ludwell Johnson concluded that during that period: "... there can be no doubt that a very extensive trade with the Confederacy was carried on in [Butler's Norfolk] Department.... This trade was extremely profitable for Northern merchants ... and was a significant help to the Confederacy.... It was conducted with Butler's help and a considerable part of it was in the hands of his relatives and supporters." Shortly after arriving in Norfolk, Butler became surrounded by such men. Foremost among them was Brigadier General
George Shepley, who had been military governor of Louisiana. Butler invited Shepley to join him and "take care of Norfolk." After his arrival, Shepley was empowered to issue military permits allowing goods to be transported through the lines. He designated subordinate George Johnston to manage the task. In fall 1864, Johnston was charged with corruption. However, instead of being prosecuted, he was allowed to resign after saying he could show "that General Butler was a partner in all [the controversial] transactions," along with the general's brother-in-law Fisher Hildreth. Shortly thereafter, Johnston managed a thriving between-the-lines trade depot in eastern North Carolina. There is no doubt that Butler was aware of Shepley's trading activities. His own chief of staff complained about them and spoke of businessmen who "owned" Shepley. Butler took no action. Much of the Butler-managed Norfolk trade was via the Dismal Swamp Canal to six northeastern counties in North Carolina separated from the rest of the state by
Albemarle Sound and the
Chowan River. Although cotton was not a major crop, area farmers purchased bales from the Confederate government and took them through the lines where they would be traded for "family supplies." Generally, the Southerners returned with salt, sugar, cash, and miscellaneous supplies. They used the salt to preserve butchered pork, which they sold to the Confederate commissary. After Atlantic-blockaded ports such as Charleston and Wilmington were captured, this route supplied about ten thousand pounds of bacon, sugar, coffee, and codfish daily to Lee's army. Ironically, Grant was trying to cut off Lee's supplies from the Confederacy when Lee's provender was almost entirely furnished from Yankee sources through Butler-controlled Norfolk. Grant wrote of the issue, "Whilst the army was holding Lee in Richmond and Petersburg, I found ... [Lee] ... was receiving supplies, either through the inefficiency or permission of [an] officer selected by General Butler ... from Norfolk through the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal." Butler's replacement, Major General
George H. Gordon, was appalled at the nature of the ongoing trade. Reports were circulating that $100,000 in goods daily left Norfolk for Rebel armies. Grant instructed Gordon to investigate the prior trading practices at Norfolk, after which Gordon released a sixty-page indictment of Butler and his cohorts. It concluded that Butler associates, such as Hildreth and Shepley, were responsible for supplies from Butler's district pouring "directly into the departments of the Rebel Commissary and Quartermaster." Some Butler associates sold permits for cross-line trafficking for a fee. Gordon's report received little publicity, because of the end of the war and Lincoln's assassination. ==Postbellum business and charitable dealings==