BUTLER, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
NEVER HOLD OFFICE. HOLD YOURSELF ABOVE IT ...BECAUSE... AN OFFICER IS A SERVANT. —BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER (B.1818)
Benjamin Franklin Butler achieved prominence as a politician and military officer.
Butler was born November 5, 1818, in Deerfield, New Hampshire. After graduating in 1838 from Waterbury College, now known as Colby College, Butler was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1840. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1853 and the Massachusetts Senate in 1859, he also served a tour of military duty during the Civil War.
At the outbreak of the war, Butler entered
the Massachusetts militia as a brigadier general.
He participated in the capture of Baltimore,
Maryland, in 1861 and led forces against New
Orleans, Louisiana, in 1862. After the conquest
of New Orleans, Butler became military governor
of that city, but his administration was
charged with severity, corruption, and graft.
After six months, Butler was reassigned to the
Eastern Virginia-North Carolina area and commanded
the Army of the James in 1863.
Butler acted as administrator for the return
of prisoners in 1864, and was assigned to New
York to enforce order during the election held in
that same year.
After the war, Butler served in the federal
government, representing Massachusetts in the
U.S. House of Representatives from 1867 to
1875, and from 1877 to 1879. He returned to
Massachusetts in 1882 to perform the duties of
governor and in 1884 was an unsuccessful nominee
for the U.S. presidency, representing two
independent parties—the Anti-Monopoly party
and the Greenback party.
Butler died January 11, 1893, in Washington, D.C.
Benjamin Franklin Butler 1818–1893
