For other uses, see Benjamin Butler (disambiguation).
Benjamin Butler
Butler c. 1870–80
33rd Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 4, 1883 – January 3, 1884
Lieutenant
Oliver Ames
Preceded by
John Long
Succeeded by
George D. Robinson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts
In office March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1879
Preceded by
John K. Tarbox
Succeeded by
William A. Russell
Constituency
7th district
In office March 4, 1867 – March 4, 1875
Preceded by
John B. Alley
Succeeded by
Charles Perkins Thompson
Constituency
6th district (1867–1873) 7th district (1873–1875)
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1859
Preceded by
Arthur Bonney
Succeeded by
Ephraim Patch
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Franklin Butler
(1818-11-05)November 5, 1818 Deerfield, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died
January 11, 1893(1893-01-11) (aged 74) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place
Hildreth Cemetery
Political party
Democratic (Before 1861, 1889–1893)
Republican (1861–1874)
Other political affiliations
Greenback (1874–1889)
Spouse
Sarah Hildreth
(m. 1844; died 1876)
Children
4, including Blanche
Education
Colby College (BA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
United States (Union)
Branch/service
U.S. Army (Union Army)
Rank
Major general
Commands
Department of Virginia
Department of the Gulf
Army of the James
Battles/wars
American Civil War
Battle of Big Bethel
Battle of Hatteras Inlet
Capture of New Orleans
Bermuda Hundred Campaign
Battle of Port Walthall
Battle of Proctor's Creek
Battle of Ware Bottom Church
First Battle of Petersburg
Battle of Chaffin's Farm
First Battle of Fort Fisher
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler was a political major general of the Union Army during the American Civil War and had a leadership role in the impeachment of U.S. President Andrew Johnson. He was a colorful and often controversial figure on the national stage and on the Massachusetts political scene, serving five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and running several campaigns for governor before his election to that office in 1882.
Butler, a successful trial lawyer, served in the Massachusetts legislature as an antiwar Democrat and as an officer in the state militia. Early in the Civil War he joined the Union Army, where he was noted for his lack of military skill and his controversial command of New Orleans, which made him widely disliked in the South and earned him the "Beast" epithet. Although freeing an enemy's slaves had occurred in previous wars, Butler came up with the idea of doing so by designating them as contraband of war,[1] an idea that the Lincoln administration endorsed and that played a role in making emancipation an official war goal. His commands were marred by financial and logistical dealings across enemy lines, some of which may have taken place with his knowledge and to his financial benefit.
Butler was dismissed from the Union Army after his failures in the First Battle of Fort Fisher, but he soon won election to the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a Radical Republican he considered President Johnson's Reconstruction agenda to be too weak, advocating harsher punishments of former Confederate leadership and stronger stances on civil rights reform. He was also an early proponent of the prospect of impeaching Johnson. After Johnson was impeached in early 1868, Butler served as the lead prosecutor among the House-appointed impeachment managers in the Johnson impeachment trial proceedings. Additionally, as Chairman of the House Committee on Reconstruction, Butler authored the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and coauthored the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1875.
In Massachusetts, Butler was often at odds with more conservative members of the political establishment over matters of both style and substance. Feuds with Republican politicians led to his being denied several nominations for the governorship between 1858 and 1880. Returning to the Democratic fold, he won the governorship in the 1882 election with Democratic and Greenback Party support. He ran for president on the Greenback Party and the Anti-Monopoly Party tickets in 1884.
^Jordan, Brian Matthew, "Benjamin F. Butler, Ex Parte Milligan, and the Unending Civil War," p. 35.
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from...
which was issued in 1865. The medal was commissioned by Major General BenjaminButler and was intended to recognize meritorious or heroic acts of bravery...
third-party candidates, John St. John of the Prohibition Party and BenjaminButler of the Greenback Party and the Anti-Monopoly Party, each won less than...
wrote Benjamin F. Butler, proposing that, while Stevens worked to add two more additional articles to the seven already written by the committee, Butler would...
On May 1, 1862, Maj. Gen. BenjaminButler occupied the city of New Orleans with an army of 5,000, facing no resistance. Butler was a former Democratic party...
historian and presidential speech writer John Brough, Governor of Ohio BenjaminButler, Congressman from Massachusetts and Union General John Cochrane, Congressman...
War, according to a biography of Union General BenjaminButler, when New Orleans, under General Butler, was subject to martial law, "More and more New...
The Butler Building was a mansion in Washington, D.C., constructed by Benjamin Franklin Butler. It served as the headquarters of the U.S. Marine Hospital...
Hildreth Butler (born Sarah Jones Hildreth, August 17, 1816 – April 8, 1876) was an American stage actress. She was the wife of Benjamin Franklin Butler, a...
arms. The company was founded in 1869 by American Civil War general BenjaminButler. Company startup was during the most rapid evolution of cartridge design...
troops during the American Civil War. In response, Union Army Maj. Gen. BenjaminButler, the commander of the Union ground forces, had Mumford court-martialed...
Austin Robert Butler (born August 17, 1991) is an American actor. Butler began his career on television, first in roles on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon...
Tennessee Vice President Hannibal Hamlin from Maine Major General BenjaminButler from Massachusetts Former Senator Daniel Dickinson from New York Major...
from Waterville College, Richard C. Shannon, Henry C. Merriam, and BenjaminButler. Twenty-seven Waterville College students perished in the war, and...
self-proclaimed themselves "The Colored College Champions" under head coach BenjaminButler Church. In 1913, Livingstone finished the season with a 5–0 record...
Virginia, during May 1864 in the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. BenjaminButler, commanding the Army of the James, threatened Richmond from the east...
Carolina, the South's last major Atlantic port. Led by Major General BenjaminButler, it lasted from December 24–27, 1864. The Union navy first attempted...
the war took place in eastern Virginia on June 10. Union Maj. Gen. BenjaminButler, based at Fort Monroe, sent converging columns from Hampton and Newport...
tradition of the ceremonial door originated when departing governor BenjaminButler kicked open the front door and walked out by himself in 1884. Incoming...
Governor Butler may refer to: BenjaminButler (1818–1893), 33rd Governor of Massachusetts David Butler (politician) (1829–1891), 1st Governor of Nebraska...
Global Information
United States (Union)
U.S. Army (Union Army)
Major general