View source for Benjamin Butler

{{Short description|American general and politician (1818–1893)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Benjamin Butler
| image               = Hon. Benjamin Butler, Senator from Mass. Crop Edit.jpg
| caption             = Portrait by [[Mathew Brady]] {{circa|1870–1879}}
| order               = 33rd
| office              = Governor of Massachusetts
| lieutenant          = [[Oliver Ames (governor)|Oliver Ames]]
| term_start          = January 4, 1883
| term_end            = January 3, 1884
| predecessor         = [[John Davis Long|John Long]]
| successor           = [[George D. Robinson]]
| office1             = Member of the<br>[[U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Massachusetts]]
| term_start1         = March 4, 1877
| term_end1           = March 4, 1879
| constituency1       = [[Massachusetts's 7th congressional district|7th district]]
| predecessor1        = [[John K. Tarbox]]
| successor1          = [[William A. Russell (Massachusetts politician)|William A. Russell]]
| term_start2         = March 4, 1867
| term_end2           = March 4, 1875
| constituency2       = {{ushr|MA|6|6th district}} (1867–1873)<br>{{ushr|MA|7|7th district}} (1873–1875)
| predecessor2        = [[John B. Alley]]
| successor2          = [[Charles Perkins Thompson]]
| office4             = Member of the<br>[[Massachusetts Senate]]
| term4               = 1859
| predecessor4        = Arthur Bonney
| successor4          = Ephraim Patch
| birth_name          = Benjamin Franklin Butler
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1818|11|5}}
| birth_place         = [[Deerfield, New Hampshire]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1893|1|11|1818|11|5}}
| death_place         = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| restingplace        = [[Hildreth Cemetery]]
| party               = {{ubl|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (Before 1861, 1889–1893)|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (1861–1874)}}
| otherparty          = [[Greenback Party|Greenback]] (1874–1889)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Sarah Hildreth Butler|Sarah Hildreth]]|May 16, 1844|April 8, 1876|end=died}}
| children            = 4, including [[Blanche Butler Ames|Blanche]]
| education           = [[Colby College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| signature           = Benjamin Franklin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) Signature.svg
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States|1863}} ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
| branch              = {{Dodseal|Board}} [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] ([[Union Army]])
| rank                = [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|border|23px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major general]]
| commands            = {{ubl|[[Department of Virginia]]|[[Army of the Gulf|Department of the Gulf]]|[[Army of the James]]}}
| battles             = {{Tree list}}
* [[American Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Big Bethel]]
** [[Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries|Battle of Hatteras Inlet]]
** [[Capture of New Orleans]]
** [[Bermuda Hundred Campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Port Walthall Junction|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]]
{{Tree list/end}}
}}
'''Benjamin Franklin Butler''' (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American [[major general (United States)|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 general|political]] major general of the Union Army during the [[American Civil War]] and had a leadership role in [[impeachment of Andrew Johnson|the impeachment]] of [[President of the United States|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 of Massachusetts|governor]] before his election to that office in [[1882 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1882]].

Butler, a successful trial lawyer, served in the [[Massachusetts General Court|Massachusetts legislature]] as an antiwar [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and as an officer in the [[Massachusetts National Guard|state militia]]. Early in the Civil War he joined the Union Army, where he first gained renown when he refused to return escaped slaves, designating them as [[Contraband (American Civil War)|contraband of war]],<ref>Jordan, Brian Matthew, "Benjamin F. Butler, ''Ex Parte Milligan'', and the Unending Civil War," p. 35.</ref> an idea that the Lincoln administration endorsed and that played a role in making emancipation an official war goal. Later in the war, he was noted for his questionable military skills and his controversial command of [[New Orleans]], which made him widely disliked in the South and earned him the "Beast" epithet. 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.

At the request of General-in-Chief [[Ulysses S. Grant]], President [[Abraham Lincoln]] relieved Butler from the posts he held in the Union Army after his failure 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 era|Reconstruction]] agenda to be too weak, and he advocated harsher punishments of former Confederate leadership and stronger stances on civil rights reform. He was also an early proponent of [[Efforts to impeach Andrew Johnson|impeaching Johnson]]. After [[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|Johnson was impeached in early 1868]], Butler served as the lead prosecutor among the House-appointed [[impeachment manager]]s in [[Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson|the Senate impeachment trial proceedings]]. Additionally, as Chairman of the House Committee on Reconstruction, Butler authored the [[Enforcement Act of 1871 (third act)|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 United States presidential election|1884]], having unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination as well.

==Early years==
Benjamin Franklin Butler was born in [[Deerfield, New Hampshire]], the sixth and youngest child of John Butler and Charlotte Ellison Butler. His father served under General [[Andrew Jackson]] at the [[Battle of New Orleans]] during the [[War of 1812]] and later became a [[privateer]], dying of [[yellow fever]] in the [[West Indies]] not long after Benjamin was born.<ref name=West8_9>West (1965), pp. 8–9</ref> He was named after [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] [[Benjamin Franklin]]. His elder brother, Andrew Jackson Butler (1815–1864), served as a colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War and joined him in New Orleans.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9403E3DB1739E43BBC4953DFB066838F679FDE LAW REPORTS.; The Will of Col. A. J. Butler. Surrogate's Court—May 31...], ''The New York Times'', 1 June 1864</ref> Butler's mother was a devout [[Baptists|Baptist]] who encouraged him to read the Bible and prepare for the ministry.<ref name=West8_9/> In 1827, at the age of nine, Butler was awarded a scholarship to [[Phillips Exeter Academy]], where he spent one term. He was described by a schoolmate as "a reckless, impetuous, headstrong boy", and regularly got into fights.<ref>West (1965), p. 10</ref>

Butler's mother moved the family in 1828 to [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], where she operated a [[boarding house]] for workers at the [[textile mill]]s. He attended the public schools there, from which he was almost expelled for fighting, the principal describing him as a boy who "might be led, but could not be driven."<ref>West (1965), pp. 10–13</ref> He attended Waterville (now [[Colby College|Colby]]) College in pursuit of his mother's wish that he prepare for the ministry, but eventually rebelled against the idea. In 1836, Butler sought permission to go instead to [[West Point]] for a military education, but he did not receive one of the few places available. He continued his studies at Waterville, where he sharpened his rhetorical skills in theological discussions and began to adopt [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] political views. He graduated in August 1838.<ref>West (1965), pp. 13–16</ref>  Butler returned to Lowell, where he clerked and read law as an apprentice with a local lawyer. He was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the Massachusetts bar]] in 1840 and opened a practice in Lowell.<ref name=West17_23>West (1965), pp. 17–23</ref>

After an extended courtship, Butler married [[Sarah Hildreth Butler|Sarah Hildreth]], a stage actress and daughter of Dr. [[Israel Hildreth]] of Lowell, on May 16, 1844. They had four children: Paul (1845–1850), [[Blanche Butler Ames|Blanche]] (1847–1939), Paul (1852–1918) and Ben-Israel (1855–1881).<ref>Hearn (2000), p. 13</ref> Butler's business partners included Sarah's brother Fisher and her brother-in-law, W. P. Webster.<ref>West (1965), pp. 25, 27</ref>

In 1844, Butler was elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1844&year-max=1844&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-12|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

==Law and early business dealings==
Butler quickly gained a reputation as a dogged criminal defense lawyer who seized on every misstep of his opposition to gain victories for his clients, and also became a specialist in [[Bankruptcy in the United States|bankruptcy law]].<ref name="West17_23"/> His trial work was so successful that it received regular press coverage, and he was able to expand his practice into [[Boston]].<ref>West (1965), p. 27</ref> [[George Riley (abolitionist)|George Riley]] worked at his Boston law office.<ref name=OregonEncyclopedia>{{cite web |url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/riley-george-putnam/ |title=George Putnam Riley (1833–1905) |first=Jean M. |last=Ward |website=Oregon Encyclopedia |date=2022 |access-date=February 25, 2022 }}</ref>

Butler's success as a lawyer enabled him to purchase shares in Lowell's Middlesex Mill Company when they were cheap.<ref name=Hearn19>Hearn (2000), p. 19</ref> Although he generally represented workers in legal actions, he also sometimes represented mill owners. When he became more politically active, he advocated the passage of a law establishing a [[Eight-hour day|ten-hour day]] for laborers,<ref>Hearn (2000), p. 14</ref> but he also opposed [[labor strike]]s over the matter. He instituted a ten-hour work day at the Middlesex Mills.<ref name="Quarstein 2011, p. 29">Quarstein (2011), p. 29</ref>

==Pre-Civil War political career==
[[File:Portrait of Benjamin F. Butler with a dog.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of Butler with his dog {{circa|1845–1847}}]]
During the debates over the ten-hour day a [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]-supporting Lowell newspaper published a verse suggesting that Butler's father had been hanged for [[piracy]]. Butler sued the paper's editor and publisher for that and other allegations that had been printed about himself. The editor was convicted and fined $50, but the publisher was acquitted on a technicality. Butler blamed the Whig judge, [[Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar]], for the acquittal, inaugurating a feud between the two that would last for decades and significantly color Butler's reputation in the state.<ref>West (1965), pp. 32–35</ref>

Butler, as a Democrat, supported the [[Compromise of 1850]] and regularly spoke out against the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition of slavery]]. At the state level, he supported the coalition of Democrats and [[Free Soil Party|Free Soilers]] that elected [[George S. Boutwell]] governor in 1851. This garnered him enough support to win election to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives|state legislature]] in 1852.<ref name="Quarstein 2011, p. 29"/> His support for [[Franklin Pierce]] as president, however, cost him the seat the next year. He was elected a delegate to the [[Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853|1853 state constitutional convention]] with strong [[Catholicism|Catholic]] support, and was elected to the [[Massachusetts State Senate|state senate]] in 1858, a year dominated by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] victories in the state.<ref>Hearn (2000), p. 18</ref> Butler was nominated for governor [[1859 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|in 1859]] and ran on a pro-slavery, pro-tariff platform. He lost to incumbent Republican [[Nathaniel Prentice Banks]].<ref name=Hearn19/><ref>Dupree (2008), p. 11</ref>

In the [[1860 Democratic National Convention]] at [[Charleston, South Carolina]], Butler initially supported [[John C. Breckinridge]] for president but then shifted his support to [[Jefferson Davis]], believing that only a moderate Southerner could keep the Democratic party from dividing. A conversation he had with Davis prior to the convention convinced him that Davis might be such a man, and he gave him his support before the convention split over slavery.<ref>Hearn (2000), p. 20</ref> Butler ended up supporting Breckinridge over Douglas against state party instructions, ruining his standing with the state party apparatus. He was nominated for governor [[1860 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|in the 1860 election]] by a Breckinridge splinter of the state party, but trailed far behind other candidates.<ref>Hearn (2000), p. 21</ref>

==Civil War==
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.<ref name="jones20120518">{{cite news | url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/the-beast-in-the-big-easy/ | title=The Beast in the Big Easy | work=The New York Times | date=2012-05-18 | access-date=May 19, 2012 | author=Jones, Terry L.}}</ref> His military career before the Civil War began as a private in the Lowell militia in 1840.<ref>West (1965), p. 20</ref> 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 (United States)|brigadier general]] after the militia was reorganized. In 1857 [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] Jefferson Davis appointed him to the Board of Visitors of [[West Point]].<ref>West (1965), pp. 41–42</ref> These positions did not give him any significant military experience.<ref>Wells (2011), p. 40</ref>

===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,<ref>Hearn (2000), p. 23</ref> 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.<ref name=Hearn24>Hearn (2000), p. 24</ref>

===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.<ref name=Hearn24/> When the call for militia finally arrived in April, Massachusetts was asked for only three regiments, but Butler managed to have the request expanded to include a brigadier general. He telegraphed [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Simon Cameron]], with whom he was acquainted, suggesting that Cameron issue a request for a brigadier and general staff from Massachusetts, which soon afterward appeared on Governor Andrew's desk. He then used banking contacts to ensure that loans that would be needed to fund the militia operations would be conditioned on his appointment. Despite Andrew's desire to assign the brigadier position to [[Ebenezer Peirce]], the bank insisted on Butler, and he was sent south to ensure the security of transportation routes to Washington.<ref name=Hearn25>Hearn (2000), p. 25</ref><ref>Quarstein (2011), p. 31</ref> The nation's capital was threatened with isolation from free states because it was unclear whether [[Maryland]], a slave state, would also secede.<ref name=Wells34>Wells (2011), p. 34</ref>

===1861: Baltimore and Virginia operations===
[[File:Baltimore Riot 1861.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Engraving depicting the [[Baltimore riot of 1861]]]]
The two regiments Massachusetts sent to Maryland were the [[6th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia|6th]] and [[8th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia|8th]] Volunteer Militia. The 6th departed first and was caught up in [[Baltimore riot of 1861|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.<ref>West (1965), pp. 51–53</ref> Butler and the 8th traveled by rail and ferry to Maryland's capital, [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], where Governor [[Thomas H. Hicks]] attempted to dissuade them from landing.<ref>West (1965), p. 54</ref> Butler landed his troops (who needed food and water), occupying the [[United States Naval Academy|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.<ref>West (1965), p. 57</ref>

After being joined by the [[7th New York Militia]], Butler directed his men to restore rail service between Annapolis and Washington via [[Annapolis Junction, Maryland|Annapolis Junction]],<ref>West (1965), pp. 58–60</ref> 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."<ref>[http://homenewshere.com/wilmington_town_crier/news/article_34a7cd58-3880-11e9-bc70-f36db63eafbe.html Neilson, Larz F., "History: Butler saved Maryland for the Union, ''Wilmington Town Crier'', February 24, 2019]</ref> 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.<ref>West (1965), p. 61</ref> 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.<ref>West (1965), pp. 65–70</ref> 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.<ref>West (1965), pp. 65, 70–73</ref> Butler shortly after received one of the early appointments as [[major general (United States)|major general]] of the volunteer forces.<ref name=Wells34/> His exploits in Maryland also brought nationwide press attention, including significant negative press in the South, which concocted stories about him that were conflations of biographical details involving not just Butler but also [[Benjamin Franklin Butler (lawyer)|a namesake from New York]] and others.<ref>West (1965), p. 76</ref>

===Fort Monroe, Virginia===
[[File:Fort Monroe Map.jpg|thumb|left|Map of [[Fort Monroe]], 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]].<ref name=Wells34/> After being dressed down by Scott for overstepping his authority, Butler was next assigned command of Fort Monroe and of the [[Department of Virginia]].<ref>West (1965), pp. 72–74</ref>  On May 27, Butler sent a force {{convert|8|mi|km}} 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.<ref>Lossing and Barritt, pp. 500–502</ref>

The Union occupation of Fort Monroe was considered a threat to [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] by Confederate General [[Robert E. Lee]], and he began organizing the defense of the [[Virginia Peninsula]] in response.<ref>Quarstein (2011), p. 38</ref>  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 {{convert|8|mi|km}} from Butler's camp at Newport News as a lure to draw his opponent into a premature action.<ref>Quarstein (2011), p. 62</ref>  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.<ref name="Quarstein48">Quarstein and Mroczkowski (2000), p. 48</ref> 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.<ref>Lossing and Barritt, p. 505</ref> Massachusetts militia general [[Ebenezer W. Peirce]], who commanded in the field, received the most criticism for the failed operation.<ref>Poland, pp. 232–233</ref> 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.<ref name="Quarstein49">Quarstein and Mroczkowski (2000), p. 49</ref> 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.<ref>West (1965), pp. 102–103</ref> 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.<ref>West (1965), pp. 103–105</ref>

[[File:Battle of Big Bethel.png|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Contemporary drawing of military movements in the [[Battle of Big Bethel]], by [[Alfred Waud]]]]

In August, Butler commanded an expeditionary force that, in conjunction with the [[United States Navy]], took [[Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries|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.<ref>West (1965), p. 107</ref> 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.<ref>West (1965), pp. 110–115</ref> The dispute delayed Butler's return to Virginia, and in November he was assigned to command ground troops in [[Louisiana]].<ref>West (1965), p. 113</ref>

While in command at Fort Monroe, Butler had declined to return to their owners [[fugitive slave]]s who had come within his lines. He argued that Virginians considered them to be [[Personal property|chattel property]], and that they could not appeal to the [[Fugitive Slave Law of 1850]] because of Virginia's secession. "I am under no constitutional obligations to a foreign country," he said, "which Virginia now claims to be."<ref>Butler, Benjamin, ''Butler's Book'', p. 257</ref> Furthermore, slaves used as laborers for building fortifications and other military activities could be considered [[Contraband (American Civil War)|contraband]] of war.<ref>Quarstein (2011), p. 53</ref><ref>Oakes (2013), pp. 95-100</ref> "Lincoln and his Cabinet discussed the issue on May 30 and decided to support Butler's stance".<ref>Stahr, Walter, ''Samuel Chase: Lincoln's Vital Rival''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2021, p. 342</ref><ref>[https://cwemancipation.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/birth-of-a-policy/ Civil War Emancipation] Letter from [[Simon Cameron]] to Butler.</ref> It was later made standard Union Army policy to not return fugitive slaves.<ref name=Finkelman277>Finkelman (2006), p. 277</ref> This policy was soon extended to the Union Navy.<ref>Oakes (2013), pp. 100-101</ref>

===New Orleans===
Butler directed the first Union expedition to [[Ship Island (Mississippi)|Ship Island]], off the [[Mississippi]] Gulf Coast, in December 1861,<ref>[http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/index.php?id=211 Mississippi History Now: Union Soldiers on Ship Island During the Civil War] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208234653/http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/index.php?id=211 |date=2009-02-08 }}</ref> 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.{{r|jones20120518}}

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 [[Jewish deicide|Jews who betrayed their Savior]], & also have betrayed us."<ref>[https://www.shapell.org/manuscript/antisemitic-civil-war-general-benjamin-butler-jews-betrayed-savior/ Shapell]</ref>

====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.<ref>Holzman, "Ben Butler in the Civil War", pp. 330–345</ref>

====Civil administration difficulties====
[[File:Portrait of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, officer of the Federal Army Trim.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait by [[Mathew Brady]] {{circa|1861–1865}}]]

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]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hnoc.org/broadside-depicting-benjamin-butler%E2%80%99s-general-order-no-28 | title=Broadside depicting Benjamin Butler's General Order No. 28 &#124; the Historic New Orleans Collection }}</ref> 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 pot]]s full of human excrement on patrolling U.S. soldiers, and, in one notorious case, pouring urine on Union Navy commander Admiral [[David Farragut]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://longislandwins.com/news/national/union-leader-ben-butler-seeks-support-in-a-hostile-new-orleans/ | title=Union Leader Ben Butler Seeks Support in a Hostile New Orleans | date=April 27, 2012 }}</ref>

"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".<ref>West, Richard S. Jr., ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p. 141.</ref> 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.{{r|jones20120518}} "[F]or years after the Civil War steamships plying the lower Mississippi were furnished with [[chamber pots]] bearing the likeness of 'Beast Butler{{'"}}.<ref>West, Richard S. Jr., ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p. 143.</ref>

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 [[sterling silver|silverware]] from a New Orleans woman who attempted to cross Union lines<ref>Orcutt</ref> 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.<ref>Hearn (1997), pp. 185–187</ref>

====Censorship of newspapers====
Butler censored New Orleans [[newspaper]]s. 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.{{r|jones20120518}}

====Execution of William Mumford====
On June 7, 1862, Butler ordered the execution of [[William Bruce Mumford|William B. Mumford]] for tearing down a [[United States flag]] placed by Admiral Farragut on the [[New Orleans Mint|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."<ref>[[#butler92|Butler, 1892]], p. 439</ref>

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.<ref>[[#butler92|Butler, 1892]], p. 442</ref> Most, including Mumford and his family, expected Butler to pardon him. The general refused to do so,<ref>In ''Butler's Book'', p. 440, Butler wrote, "I thought I should be in the utmost danger if I did not have him executed, for the question was now to be determined whether I commanded that city or whether the mob commanded it".</ref> 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 [[President of the Confederate States|Confederate President]] [[Jefferson Davis]] in General Order 111 as a [[Felony|felon]] deserving [[capital punishment]], who, if captured, should be "reserved for execution".<ref>[http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/pow.htm ''Jefferson Davis' Proclamation'']</ref>

====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.<ref>Trefousse (1969), p. 242</ref> Butler was replaced by [[Nathaniel P. Banks]].<ref>Trefousse (1969), p. 281</ref> 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 (United States)|Republican Party]]. He also sought revenge against the more moderate Secretary of State Seward, whom he believed to be responsible for his eventual recall.<ref>Trefousse (1969), pp. 281–282</ref>

Butler continues to be a disliked and controversial figure in New Orleans and the rest of the South.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/why-do-people-here-hate-union-gen-benjamin-butler/Content?oid=2543788|title=Why do people here hate Union Gen. Benjamin Butler?|access-date=20 April 2017|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421103823/http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/why-do-people-here-hate-union-gen-benjamin-butler/Content?oid=2543788|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Louisiana Native Guard====

On September 27, 1862, Butler formed the first African-American regiment in the US Army, the [[1st Louisiana Native Guard (United States)|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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/color-bravery|title=The Color of Bravery|date=July 29, 2013|website=American Battlefield Trust}}</ref> Butler organized three regiments totaling 3,122 soldiers and officers.<ref>Westwood, Howard C. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4232388 "Benjamin Butler's Enlistment of Black Troops in New Orleans in 1862"] ''Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association'', vol. 26, no. 1 (Winter 1985), pp. 5–22 ("3,122" on p. 18).</ref>

===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.<ref>Trefousse (1969), pp. 242–244</ref> 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.<ref>Brown (1985), pp. 65–67</ref> 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 [[Ulysses S. Grant|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 [[New York City draft riots|draft riots]],"<ref>[[Elizabeth D. Leonard]], ''Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life'', p. 149</ref><ref>Robert S. Holzman, ''Stormy Ben Butler'' (1954), pp. 142–143.</ref> 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.<ref>Clint Johnson, ''A Vast and Fiendish Plot: The Confederate Attack on New York City''. New York: [[Kensington Publishing]] Corp. (2010), pp. 180–181, 185.</ref>

[[File:General Butler after the battle of September 29, 1864, sketched by William Waud (Harper's Weekly, October 22, 1864).jpg|thumb|General Butler after the battle of September 29, 1864, sketched by William Waud (''Harper's Weekly'', October 22, 1864)]]

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 United States Colored Infantry Regiment|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====
{{Main|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, Virginia|Petersburg]]. This would sever the rail links supplying [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], and force the Confederates to abandon the city. In spite of [[Ulysses S. Grant|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 [[William Farrar Smith|"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===
{{Main|First Battle of Fort Fisher}}
Although Grant had largely been successful in removing incompetent political generals from service, Butler could not be easily gotten rid of.<ref name=Foote73940/> As a prominent Radical Republican, Butler was a potential replacement for Lincoln as the party's presidential nominee.<ref>Trefousse (1969), pp. 294–295</ref> Lincoln had even asked Butler to be the 1864 nominee for vice president,<ref name=Foote73940/> as did Treasury Secretary [[Salmon P. Chase]], who sought to replace Lincoln as president.<ref>West, Richard S. Jr., ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', pp. 230-231.</ref> 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...."<ref>West, Richard S. Jr., ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p. 231.</ref>

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 [[First Battle of Fort Fisher|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,<ref name=Foote73940/> Grant appealed directly to Lincoln for permission to terminate Butler, noting "there is a lack of confidence felt in [Butler's] military ability". Grant also voiced his suspicions about corruption going on in Butler's department, including smuggling of supplies to Lee's army, and that Butler arbitrarily arrested anyone who noticed what was going on, although, due to Butler's formidable political connections, nothing came of Grant's complaints.<ref>West (1965), p. 291</ref> 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.<ref name=Foote73940>Foote, pp. 739–740</ref> Grant informed Butler of his recall on January 8, 1865, and named Major General [[Edward Ord|Edward O. C. Ord]] to replace him as commander of the Army of the James.<ref name=Foote73940/> "Embarrassed and outraged, Butler broke off all relations with Grant and set out to destroy him."<ref name="Simpson">[[Brooks D. Simpson|Simpson, Brooks D.]], ''Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861-1868'', Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1991, p. 210.</ref> 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."<ref name="Simpson"/>

Rather than report to Lowell, Butler went to Washington, where he used his considerable political connections to get a hearing before the [[United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War|Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War]] in mid-January. At his hearing Butler focused his defense on his actions at Fort Fisher. He produced charts and duplicates of reports by subordinates to prove he had been right to call off his attack of Fort Fisher, despite orders from General Grant to the contrary. Butler claimed the fort was impregnable. To his embarrassment, a follow-up expedition led by Maj. Gen. [[Alfred H. Terry]] and Brig. Gen. [[Adelbert Ames]] (Butler's future son-in-law) [[Second Battle of Fort Fisher|captured the fort]] on January 15, and news of this victory arrived during the committee hearing; Butler's military career was over.<ref name=Foote73940/> He was formally retained until November 1865 with the idea that he might act as military prosecutor of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.<ref>West (1965), pp. 312–313</ref>

===Colonization===

General Butler claimed that Lincoln approached him in 1865, a few days before his assassination, to talk about reviving colonization in Panama.<ref>Benjamin F. Butler, ''Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major General Benj. F. Butler: Butler's Book'' (Boston: A. M. Thayer, 1892), p. 903</ref> 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.<ref>Mark E. Neely, "Abraham Lincoln and Black Colonization: Benjamin Butler's Spurious Testimony," ''Civil War History'' 25 (1979), pp. 77–83</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Magness |first=Phillip W. |date=Winter 2008 |title=Benjamin Butler's Colonization Testimony Reevaluated |journal=Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.5406/19457987.29.1.03 |issn=1945-7987 |hdl=2027/spo.2629860.0029.103 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

===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.{{r|jones20120518}} 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 $200,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=200000|start_year=1862}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref>Hearn (1997), pp. 194, 195</ref> 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."<ref>Ludwell Johnson, "Red River Campaign: Politics and Cotton in the Civil War" (Kent: Kent State University Press, 1993) p. 52</ref>

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."<ref>Johnson, Ludwell, "Contraband Trade During the Last Year of the Civil War", ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', Vol. 91 No. 4 (March 1963), p. 646</ref>

Shortly after arriving in Norfolk, Butler became surrounded by such men. Foremost among them was Brigadier General [[George Foster Shepley (judge)|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.<ref>Ludwell Johnson, "Contraband Trade During the Last Year of the Civil War" pp. 643–645</ref>

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.<ref>Philip Leigh, ''Trading With the Enemy: The Covert Economy During the American Civil War'' (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2014) p. 99</ref>  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."<ref>''The Record of Benjamin Butler From Original Sources'' (Boston: Pamphlet, 1883) p. 13</ref>

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.<ref>Frederick A. Wallace ''Civil War Hero George H. Gordon'' (Charleston, SC: History Press, 2011) p.101; Robert Futrell "Federal Trade With the Confederate States" PhD dissertation, Vanderbilt University, 1950 p. 441</ref> Gordon's report received little publicity, because of the end of the war and Lincoln's assassination.<ref>Philip Leigh, ''Trading With the Enemy: The Covert Economy During the American Civil War'' (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2014) p. 100</ref>

==Postbellum business and charitable dealings==
Butler greatly expanded his business interests during and after the Civil War, and was extremely wealthy when he died, with an estimated net worth of $7 million (${{Inflation|US|7|1893|r=-1|fmt=c}} million today). Historian Chester Hearn believed "The source of his fortune has remained a mystery, but much of it came from New Orleans...."<ref>Hearn (1997), p. 240</ref>  However, Butler's mills in Lowell, which produced woolen goods and were not hampered by cotton shortages, were economically successful during the war, supplying clothing and blankets to the Union Army, and regularly paying high dividends.<ref name=West309>West (1965), p. 309</ref>  Successful postwar investments included a granite company on [[Cape Ann]] and a barge freight operation on the Merrimack River. After learning that no domestic manufacturer produced [[bunting (textile)|bunting]], he invested in another Lowell mill to produce it, and convinced the federal government to enact legislation requiring domestic sources for material used on government buildings. Less successful ventures included investments in real estate in [[Virginia]], [[Colorado]], and the [[Baja Peninsula]] of western [[Mexico]], and a fraudulent gold mining operation in [[North Carolina]].<ref>West (1969), pp. 310–311</ref> He also founded the [[Wamesit Canal-Whipple Mill Industrial Complex|Wamesit Power Company]] and the [[United States Cartridge Company]],<ref name="usc">{{cite web|url=http://lowelllandtrust.org/greenwayclassroom/history/USCartridgeCompany.pdf|title=U.S. Cartridge Company|publisher=Lowell Land Trust|access-date=2013-02-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426182220/http://lowelllandtrust.org/greenwayclassroom/history/USCartridgeCompany.pdf|archive-date=2013-04-26}}</ref> and was one of several high-profile investors who were deceived by [[Philip Arnold]] in the famous [[Diamond hoax of 1872]].

Butler put some of his money into more charitable enterprises. He purchased confiscated farms in the Norfolk, Virginia area during the war and turned them over to cooperative ventures managed by local African Americans, and sponsored a scholarship for African-Americans at [[Phillips Andover Academy]].<ref>West (1965), pp. 309-310</ref> He also served for fifteen years in executive positions of the [[National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers]], including as its president from 1866 through 1879.<ref>West (1965), pp. 316 and 408-413</ref>

His law firm also expanded significantly after the war, adding offices in [[New York City]] and Washington. High-profile cases he took included the representation of Admiral David Farragut in his quest to be paid by the government for [[prize (law)|prizes]] taken by the Navy during the war, and the defense of former Secretary of War [[Simon Cameron]] against an attempted [[extortion]] in a salacious case that gained much public notice.<ref>West (1965), pp. 313–316</ref>

Butler built a mansion immediately across the street from the [[United States Capitol]] in 1873–1874, known as the [[Butler Building]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/reportsuperinte04survgoog/page/n28|title=Annual Report of the Superintendent, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey|date=1916|pages=15|publisher=Govt. print. off.|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Furman|first=Bess|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSQJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA198|title=A Profile of the United States Public Health Service, 1798–1948|date=1973|publisher=National Institutes of Health|pages=198, 201–202, 367|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XqQ3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA19|title=Annual Report of the Superintendent, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey|date=1919|pages=17, 19|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|language=en}}</ref> One unit of the building was constructed to be [[Fireproofing|fireproof]] so that it could be rented as storage for valuable and irreplaceable survey records, maps, and engraving plates of the United States Coast Survey (renamed the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]] in 1878), whose headquarters in the [[Richards Building]] was directly next door.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K6RmAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1814|title=Congressional Record, Forty-Third Congress, Third Session|date=1875|pages=1814|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|language=en}}</ref> The building was used by President [[Chester A. Arthur]] while the [[Executive Residence|White House]] was being refurnished.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=2012-06-04|title=Lost Capitol Hill: Another President on the Hill|url=https://thehillishome.com/2012/06/lost-capitol-hill-another-president-on-the-hill/|access-date=2020-12-14|website=The Hill is Home|language=en-US}}</ref> On April 10, 1891, the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] purchased the building from Butler for $275,000, (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=275000|start_year=1891}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) and it became the headquarters of the [[Marine Hospital Service|U.S. Marine Hospital Service]], with its Hygienic Laboratory (the predecessor of the [[National Institutes of Health]]) occupying its top floor.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last1=Harden|first1=Victoria A.|last2=Lyons|first2=Michele|date=2018-02-27|title=NIH's Early Homes|url=https://irp.nih.gov/catalyst/26/2/nihs-early-homes|access-date=2020-12-13|website=NIH Intramural Research Program|language=en}}</ref>

==Early postbellum political activities==
At the urging of his wife, Butler actively sought another political position in the Lincoln administration, but this effort came to an end with Lincoln's assassination in April 1865.<ref>West (1965), p. 320</ref> Soon after he became president, however, Andrew Johnson sought Butler's legal advice as to whether he could prosecute Robert E. Lee for treason, even though General Grant had granted Lee [[parole]] at [[Battle of Appomattox Court House|Appomattox]]. "On April 25, 1865, Butler wrote a lengthy memorandum to Johnson explaining why the parole Lee received from Grant did not protect him from being prosecuted for treason.... Butler argued that parole was merely a military arrangement that allowed a prisoner 'the privilege of partial liberty instead of close confinement.... Indeed the Lieutenant General [Grant] had not authority to grant amnesty or pardon even if he had undertaken to do so.{{'"}}<ref>Reeves, John, ''The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee: The Forgotten Case against an American Icon'', Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield (2018), pp. 60-61</ref>

In March 1866, Butler argued in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the United States in ''[[Ex parte Milligan]]'', in which the Court held, against the United States, that military commission trials could not replace civilian trials when courts were open and where there was no war.<ref>Jordan, Brian Matthew. "Benjamin F. Butler, ''Ex Parte Milligan'', and the Unending Civil War."</ref>

==United States House of Representatives (1867–75 and 1877–79)==
Popular from his reputation as a general,<ref name="BuildingtheCase"/> Butler turned his eyes to Congress and was elected in [[1866 and 1867 United States House of Representatives elections|1866]] on a platform of civil rights and opposition to President [[Andrew Johnson]]'s weak [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] policies. He supported a variety of populist and social reform positions, including [[women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage]], an eight-hour workday for federal employees, and the issuance of [[Greenback (money)|greenback currency]].<ref name=West321-325>West (1965), pp. 321–325</ref> In his [[stump speech]]es, Butler not only denounced Johnson, but also regularly called for his removal from office.<ref name="BuildingtheCase">{{cite web |title=Building the Case for Impeachment, December 1866 to June 1867 {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |url=https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Johnson-Impeachment/Building-the-Case-for-Impeachment/ |website=history.house.gov |publisher=United States House of Representatives |access-date=2 March 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Butler served four terms (1867–75) before failing to be reelected (after hostile Republicans led by Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar succeeded in denying him renomination for his congressional seat in 1874).<ref>West (1965), pp. 350–351</ref> He was then elected in 1876 and served a single additional term. As a former Democrat, he was initially opposed by the state Republican establishment, which was particularly unhappy with his support of women's suffrage and greenbacks. The more conservative party organization closed ranks against him to reject his two attempts (in 1871 and 1873) to gain the Republican nomination for [[Governor of Massachusetts]].<ref name=ANB93>Trefousse (1999), p. 93</ref>

===Impeachment of Andrew Johnson===
{{further|Efforts to impeach Andrew Johnson|Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson|1868 impeachment managers investigation}}

Butler was an early and fierce supporter of impeaching President Johnson.

As a congressional candidate, by October 1866 Butler was traveling to multiple cities across the United States delivering speeches in which he promoted the prospect of impeaching Johnson.<ref name="Perrysburg"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Impeachment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/349541077 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=6 August 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=October 21, 1866}}</ref> He detailed six specific charges that Johnson should be impeached for.<ref name="Perrysburg">{{cite web |title=Impeachment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/215010845 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Perrysburg Journal |access-date=6 August 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=October 26, 1866}}</ref> These were:

*Seeking to overthrow the government of the United States, doing so by attempting to bring Congress "to disgrace" by refusing to execute or carry out the laws that it had passed which he disagreed with, such as the [[Civil Rights Act of 1866]] and the [[Freedmen's Bureau bills]]<ref name="Perrysburg"/>
*Corruptly using his powers to appoint and remove officers<ref name="Perrysburg"/>
*[[Conclusion of the American Civil War|Declaring peace]] in the [[American Civil War]] without the consent of Congress<ref name="Perrysburg"/>
*Corruptly using his [[Federal pardons in the United States|pardon powers]] and restoring to former [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]] property seized by the United States in the Civil War<ref name="Perrysburg"/>
*Failing to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1866<ref name="Perrysburg"/>
*Complicity in the [[New Orleans massacre of 1866]]<ref name="Perrysburg"/>

By the end of November 1866, Congressman[[-elect]] Butler was promoting the idea of impeaching Johnson on the basis of eight articles.<ref name="butler1">{{cite web |title=The Proposed Impeachment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85294808 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia) |access-date=5 March 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=1 Dec 1866}}</ref> The articles that he proposed charged Johnson with:
*"Degrading and debasing...the station and dignity of the office of Vice-President and that of president" [[Andrew Johnson alcoholism debate|by being publicly drunk]] at "official and public occasions"<ref name="butler1"/>
*"Officially and publicly making declarations and inflammatory harangues, indecent and unbecoming in derogation of his high office, dangerous to the permanency of our republican form of government, and in design to excite the ridicule, fear, hatred, and contempt of the people against the legislative and judicial departments therof"<ref name="butler1"/>
*"Wickedly, tyrannically, and unconstitutionally...usurping the lawful rights and powers of the Congress"<ref name="butler1"/>
*"Wickedly and corruptly using and abusing" the constitutional power of the President by making [[recess appointment]]s with the "design to undermine, overthrow and evade the power" of the Congress to advice and consent on such appointments<ref name="butler1"/>
*"Improperly, wickedly, and corruptly abusing the constitutional power of pardons" with his [[pardons for ex-Confederates]]; "knowingly and willfully violating the constitutionally enacted laws of the United States by appointing disloyal men to office and illegally and without right giving to them [[emoluments]] of such office from [[United States Treasury|the Treasury]], well knowing the appointees to be ineligible to office"<ref name="butler1"/>
*"Knowingly and willfully neglecting and refusing to carry out the constitutional laws of Congress" in the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] states "in order to encourage men lately into rebellion and in arms against the United States to the oppression and injury of the loyal true citizens of such States"<ref name="butler1"/>
*"Unlawfully, corruptly, and wickedly confederating and conspiring with one [[John T. Monroe]]...and other evil disposed persons, traitors, and Rebels" in the [[New Orleans massacre of 1866]].<ref name="butler1"/>

In March 1867, Butler unsuccessfully lobbied to be appointed to the [[House Committee on the Judiciary]], which was overseeing the [[first impeachment inquiry against Andrew Johnson]]. [[John Bingham]], who had worked to combat many of the early efforts to impeach Johnson,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Benedict |first1=Michael Les |title=From Our Archives: A New Look at the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson |journal=Political Science Quarterly |date=1998 |volume=113 |issue=3 |pages=493–511 |doi=10.2307/2658078 |jstor=2658078 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2658078.pdf |access-date=2 March 2021 |issn=0032-3195}}</ref> strongly opposed the prospect of Butler's being appointed to that committee.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wineapple |first1=Brenda |date=2019 |chapter=Twelve: Tenure of Office |title=The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and The Dream of a Just Nation |edition=First |location=New York |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780812998368}}</ref>

Although Butler was not included on the [[Select or special committee (United States Congress)|select committee]] appointed to draft [[Articles of impeachment adopted against Andrew Johnson|the articles of impeachment for Johnson]] after he was impeached in February 1868, he independently wrote his own article of impeachment. He did so at the urging of [[Thaddeus Stevens]], a member of the select committee who felt that Radical Republicans on the select committee were conceding too much to moderates in limiting the scope of the violations of law that the articles of impeachment the committee was drafting would charge Johnson with.<ref name=Clerk/> The article Butler wrote cited no clear violation of law, but instead charged Johnson with attempting, "to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the United States."<ref name=Clerk/> The article was seen as having been written in response to speeches that Johnson had made during his "[[Swing Around the Circle]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Impeachment - Butler's Additional Article- The Rules in the Senate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/668096872 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Chicago Evening Post at Newspapers.com |access-date=28 March 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=March 2, 1868}}</ref> Butler's article was initially rejected by a 48–74 vote on March 2, 1868. However, it was subsequently adopted as the tenth article of impeachment by a 88–45 vote after it was reintroduced by the [[impeachment manager]]s the following day.<ref name=Clerk>{{Cite web| title=The House Impeaches Andrew Johnson| url=https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Johnson-Impeachment/Johnson-Impeached/| publisher=Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House's Office of Art and Archives| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=January 13, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Hinds"/><ref name="article10">{{cite web |title=Journal of the United States House of Representatives (40th Congress, Second Session) pages 465 and 466 |url=https://voteview.com/source_images/house_journal/66/0#page/465/mode/2up |website=voteview.com |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref> It was the only article of impeachment that any Republican congressman voted against.<ref name="40thcongressmembers">{{cite web |title=40th Congress (1867-1869) > Representatives |url=https://voteview.com/congress/house/40 |website=voteview.com |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="article10"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Journal of the United States House of Representatives (40th Congress, Second Session) pages 463 and 464 |url=https://voteview.com/source_images/house_journal/66/0#page/463/mode/2up |website=voteview.com |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Journal of the House of Representatives, March 2, 1868 |url=https://www.cop.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/johnson-house-votes-on-impeachment.pdf |website=www.cop.senate.gov |publisher=United States Congress |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030060146/https://www.cop.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/johnson-house-votes-on-impeachment.pdf |archive-date=October 30, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Impeachment Committee, Hon. George S. Boutwell, Mass., Gen. John A. Logan, Hon. Thomas Williams, Pa., Hon. James F.... - NARA - 528423 (1).jpg|thumb|Johnson impeachment managers<Br>Seated L-R: Butler, [[Thaddeus Stevens]], [[Thomas Williams (Pennsylvania politician)|Thomas Williams]], [[John Bingham]];<br>Standing L-R: [[James F. Wilson]], [[George S. Boutwell]], [[John A. Logan]]]]
[[File:Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, Delivering the Opening Speech, As One of the Managers of Impeachment, At the Impeachment Trial, In the Senate Chamber, Washington, D.C. (1).png|thumb|Illustration of Butler (left) delivering the opening remarks of the prosecution during the [[impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson]]]]

Butler was elected by the House serve as be one of the managers (prosecutors) for the impeachment trial of Johnson before the [[United States Senate|Senate]].<ref>Stewart, p. 159</ref><ref name=HDOTGAp73>Schlup and Ryan, p. 73</ref><ref name="Hinds">{{cite book |last1=Hinds |first1=Asher C. |title=HINDS' PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES INCLUDING REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION, THE LAWS, AND DECISIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE |pages=858 and 860 |date=March 4, 1907 |publisher=United States Congress |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-HPREC-HINDS-V3/pdf/GPO-HPREC-HINDS-V3.pdf#page=870 |access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref> Although [[Thaddeus Stevens]] was the principal guiding force behind the impeachment effort, he was aging and ill at the time, and Butler stepped in to become the main organizing force in the prosecution. The case was focused primarily on Johnson's removal of [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Edwin Stanton]] in violation of the [[Tenure of Office Act (1867)|Tenure of Office Act]], and was weak because the constitutionality of the law had not been decided. The trial was a somewhat uncomfortable affair, in part because the weather was hot and humid, and the chamber was packed. The prosecution's case was a humdrum recitation of facts already widely known, and it was attacked by the defense's [[William Evarts]], who drowned the proceedings by repeatedly objecting to Butler's questions, often necessitating a vote by the Senate on whether to allow the question. Johnson's defense focused on the point that his removal of Stanton fell within the bounds of the Tenure of Office Act. Despite some missteps by the defense and Butler's vigorous cross-examination of defense witnesses, the impeachment failed by a single vote. In the interval between the trial and the Senate vote, Butler searched without success for substantive evidence that Johnson operatives were working to bribe undecided Senators.<ref>Stewart, pp. 181–218</ref> After acquittal on May 16, 1868, of the first article voted on,<ref>Stewart, pp. 273–278</ref> Senate Republicans voted to adjourn for ten days, seeking time to possibly change the outcome on the remaining articles.<ref name="babelcentury"/>

Later on May 16, 1868, The House enabled an investigation by the impeachment managers into alleged "improper or corrupt means used to influence the determination of the Senate". Butler led this investigation, approving [[summons]] for several eyewitnesses the same day that the investigation was authorized.<ref>Stewart, p. 291</ref> Butler looked into the possibility that four of the seven Republican senators who voted for acquittal had been improperly influenced in their votes. He uncovered some evidence that promises of patronage had been made and that money may have changed hands but was unable to decisively link these actions to any specific senator.<ref>Stewart, pp. 280–294</ref>

On May 26, 1868, Johnson was acquitted on the second and third articles voted on, and the trial was adjourned. On August 3, 1868, Johnson wrote that Butler was "the most daring and unscrupulous demagogue I have ever known."<ref name="babelcentury">[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106010577952&view=1up&seq=454&skin=2021 Truman, Benjamin C., "Anecdotes of Andrew Johnson," ''The Century Magazine'', vol. 85, pp. 435–440, quotation on p. 440 (November 1912).]</ref> Butler's performance as a prosecutor has been regarded as subpar, and this has been cited as a factor that contributed to Johnson's acquittal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Benjamin Butler |url=https://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/BenjaminButler.htm |website=www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> After the trial resulted in an acquittal, Butler continued the impeachment managers' investigation into possible corrupt influence on the trial, conducting hearings on reports that Republican senators had been bribed to vote for Johnson's acquittal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Impeachment Skullduggery |work=Alexandria Gazette |date=May 26, 1868}}</ref> He published the final report of the investigation on July 3, 1868, having failed to prove the alleged corruption that had been investigated.<ref>Stewart, pp. 303–304</ref>

===Civil Rights Act of 1871===
[[File:11 April 1874 art detail, from- The cradle of liberty in danger - Th. Nast. LCCN2003663115 (cropped).tif|thumb|327x327px|[[Harper's Weekly]] illustration by [[Thomas Nast]] in 1874 with helpless baby "Boston"|alt=]]
Butler wrote the initial version of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1871]] (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act). After his bill was defeated, Representative [[Samuel Shellabarger (congressman)|Samuel Shellabarger]] of Ohio drafted another bill, only slightly less sweeping than Butler's, that successfully passed both houses and became law upon Grant's signature on April 20.<ref name=HDOTGAp73/><ref>Trelease, pp. 387ff</ref> Along with Republican senator [[Charles Sumner]], Butler proposed the [[Civil Rights Act of 1875]], a seminal and far-reaching law banning racial discrimination in public accommodations.<ref name=EOAAHpp669-700>Rucker and Alexander, pp. 669-700</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United States]] declared the law unconstitutional in the 1883 [[Civil Rights Cases]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Fifteenth-Amendment/Roll-Back/|title=Rolling Back Civil Rights|publisher=United States House of Representatives|access-date=2016-10-10}}</ref>

===Relationship with President Ulysses S. Grant===
Butler managed to rehabilitate his relationship with Ulysses Grant after the latter became president, to the point where he was seen as generally speaking for the president in the House.<!--{fact}-->  He annoyed Massachusetts old-guard Republicans by convincing Grant to nominate one of his protégés to be collector of the [[Port of Boston]], an important patronage position, and secured an exception for an ally, [[John B. Sanborn]], in legislation regulating the use of contractors by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] for the collection of tax debts. In 1874, Sanborn would be involved in the [[Sanborn incident|Sanborn Contract]] scandal, in which he was paid over $200,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=200000|start_year=1874}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) for collecting debts that would likely have been paid without his intervention.<ref>Bunting, pp. 133-135</ref>

===Other actions===
In 1871, Butler sponsored an appearance by suffragette [[Victoria Woodhull]] before a congressional committee. In her testimony, Woodhull argued that the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th]] and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|15th]] Amendments to the [[Constitution of the United States]] implicitly grant women the right to vote. During his tenure in Congress, Butler served for some time as the chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=Former Gen. Benjamin Butler retires from Congress, July 29, 1878 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/this-day-in-politics-july-29-1878-094836 |website=Politico |access-date=13 August 2022 |language=en |date=July 29, 2013}}</ref> During the [[41st United States Congress|41st Congress]], Butler served as the chairman of the [[House Select Committee on Reconstruction]].<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. House of Representatives. Select Committee on Reconstruction. 7/3/1867-3/2/1871 Organization Authority Record |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10456699 |website=catalog.archives.gov |publisher=National Archives Catelog |access-date=28 March 2022 |archive-date=March 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328050223/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10456699 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In a campaign speech in 1871, Butler spoke out in support of the [[Paris Commune]]. He described the working-class insurrection as "possibly overshadowing the great act of emancipation by which this country liberated four millions of people." Butler's speech provided a rare example of a U.S. politician offering solidarity to the Communards.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cosmonaut |date=2025-01-03 |title=Butler on the Paris Commune |url=https://cosmonautmag.com/2025/01/butler-on-the-paris-commune/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Cosmonaut |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Governor of Massachusetts (1883–84)==
===Unsuccessful bids===
{{See also|1871 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1874 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1878 Massachusetts gubernatorial election}}

Butler made four unsuccessful attempts at being elected [[governor of Massachusetts]] between the years 1871 and 1879.

In 1871 and 1874, he attempted to receive the Republican nomination, but the more conservative party organization closed ranks against him to deny him the nomination.<ref name=ANB93/>

Butler again ran unsuccessfully for governor of Massachusetts in 1878, this time as an independent with [[Greenback Party]] support. He had unsuccessfully also sought the Democratic nomination. He was denied the Democratic nomination by the party's leadership, which refused to admit him into the party. Despite this, Butler did receive the nomination of a populist rump group of Democrats that disrupted the main convention, forcing it to adjourn to another location.<ref>West (1965), pp. 365-368</ref> He was renominated by the populist Democrats in similar fashion in 1879. In both years, Republicans won against the divided Democrats.<ref name="West 1965, p. 369">West (1965), p. 369</ref>

Because Butler sought the governorship in part as a stepping stone to the presidency, he opted not to run for it again until 1882.<ref name="West 1965, p. 369"/>

===Term in office===
{{see also|1882 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1883 Massachusetts gubernatorial election}}

In 1882, Butler successfully litigated ''[[Juilliard v. Greenman]]'' before the Supreme Court. In what was seen as a victory for [[Greenback (1860s money)|Greenback]] supporters, the case confirmed that the government had the right to issue paper currency for public and private debts.<ref>West (1965), p. 380</ref>

In 1882, Butler again ran for governor of Massachusetts, this time being elected by a 14,000-vote margin after winning nomination by both Greenbacks and an undivided Democratic Party.<ref>West (1965), p. 372</ref> As governor, Butler was active in promoting reform and competence in administration, in spite of a hostile Republican legislature and [[Massachusetts Governor's Council|Governor's Council]].<ref>West (1965), pp. 374-375</ref>  He appointed the state's first Irish-American judge, its first African American judge, [[George Lewis Ruffin]],<ref name=ANB93/> and appointed the first woman to executive office, [[Clara Barton]], to head the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women.<!--{fact}--> He also graphically exposed the mismanagement of the state's [[Tewksbury Hospital|Tewksbury Almshouse]] under a succession of Republican governors.<ref name=Richardson597/> Butler was somewhat notoriously snubbed by [[Harvard University]], which traditionally granted honorary degrees to the state's governors. Butler's honorarium was denied because the Board of Overseers, headed by Ebenezer Hoar, voted against it.<ref>West (1965), pp. 376–377</ref>

Butler's bid for reelection in 1883 was one of the most contentious campaigns of his career.  His presidential ambitions were well known, and the state's Republican establishment, led by Ebenezer and [[George Frisbie Hoar]], poured money into the campaign against him. Running against Congressman [[George D. Robinson]] (whose campaign manager was a young [[Henry Cabot Lodge]]), Butler was defeated by 10,000 votes, out of more than 300,000 cast.<ref name=Richardson597>Richardson, p. 597</ref> Butler is credited with beginning the tradition of the "[[lone walk]]", the ceremonial exit from the office of Governor of Massachusetts, after finishing his term in 1884.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Tour of the Grounds of the Massachusetts State House|url=http://www.sec.state.ma.us/trs/trsbok/trstour.htm|publisher=Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=June 8, 2012}}</ref>

==1884 presidential campaign==
{{Main|1884 United States presidential election}}

Butler parlayed his victory in the ''Juilliard v. Greenman'' decision into a run for president in 1884. Butler was nominated by the Greenback and [[Anti-Monopoly Party|Anti-Monopoly]] parties,<ref>West (1965), p. 383</ref> but was unsuccessful in getting the Democratic nomination, which went to [[Grover Cleveland]].<ref>West (1965), p. 388</ref>  Cleveland refused to adopt parts of Butler's platform in exchange for his political support, prompting Butler to run in the general election rather than withdrawing in deference to Cleveland.<ref>West (1965), pp. 389-390</ref> He sought to gain electoral votes by engaging in fusion efforts with Democrats in some states and Republicans in others,<ref>West (1965), pp. 400-404</ref> in which he took what were perceived in the contemporary press as bribes $25,000 from the campaign of Republican [[James G. Blaine]].<ref>West (1965), pp. 403-407</ref> The effort was in vain: Butler polled 175,000 out of 10 million votes cast in the election, which Cleveland won.<ref>West (1965), p. 407</ref>

==Later years and death==
[[File:General Butler's Monument (Rear).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Butler's memorial at the [[Hildreth Cemetery#Hildreth Family Cemetery|Hildreth family cemetery]] in [[Lowell, Massachusetts]]]]
In his later years Butler reduced his activity level, working on his memoir, ''Butler's Book'', which was published in 1892.<ref>West (1965), pp. 408-413</ref> ''Butler's Book'' has 1,037 pages plus a 94-page appendix consisting of letters. In it, "Butler focused by far the majority of his attention on the war years, vigorously defending his often-maligned record." He arranged "with his longtime friend and ally [[James Parton]] [author of ''General Butler in New Orleans''] that Parton would finish the book if Butler died before it was done. (As it happens, Parton died first, in October 1891)."<ref>Leonard, Elizabeth D., ''Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life'', p. 270.</ref> Butler's biographer Richard S. West, Jr. writes, "The autobiography may be said to be generally true without being meticulously accurate".<ref>''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p. 418.</ref>

Butler died on January 11, 1893, of complications from a [[bronchial infection]], two days after arguing a case before the Supreme Court.<ref>Holzman, Robert S., ''Stormy Ben Butler'' (1954), p. 225.</ref> He is buried in his wife's family cemetery, behind the main [[Hildreth Cemetery]] in Lowell.<ref>Leonard, Elizabeth D., ''Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life'', pp. 274–275.</ref> The inscription on Butler's monument reads, "the true touchstone of civil liberty is not that all men are equal but that every man has the right to be the equal of every other man—if he can."<ref>[https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/this-day-in-politics-july-29-1878-094836 ''Politico''], [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=108045 The Historical Marker Database]</ref>

His daughter Blanche married [[Adelbert Ames]], a Mississippi governor and senator who had served as a general in the Union Army during the war. Butler's descendants include the scientist [[Adelbert Ames Jr.]], suffragist and artist [[Blanche Ames Ames]], [[Butler Ames]], [[Hope Butler]], and [[George Plimpton]].

==Legacy==
According to biographer Hans L. Trefousse:

<blockquote>Butler was one of the most controversial 19th-century American politicians. Demagogue, speculator, military bungler, and sharp legal practitioner—he was all of these; and he also was a fearless advocate of justice for the downtrodden, a resourceful military administrator, and an astonishing innovator.  He was passionately hated and equally strongly admired, and if the South called him "Beast," his constituents in Massachusetts were fascinated by him.... As a leading advocate of radical Reconstruction, Butler played an important role in the conflict between president and Congress. His effectiveness was marred by the frequency with which engaged in personal altercations, and his conduct as one of the principal managers of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson was dubious. Nevertheless he deserves recognition as a persistent critic of southern terrorism and is one of the chief authors of the Civil Rights Act of 1875.<ref>Hans L. Trefousse, "Butler, Benjamin Franklin" in John A. Garraty, ed. ''Encyclopedia of American Biography'' (1974), pp. 154–156. [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780062700179/page/94/mode/2up online]</ref></blockquote>

Black newspapers eulogized him "consistently as a 'friend of the colored race,' 'a staunch and enthusiastic advocate' of Black progress, and 'one of the few American statesmen who have stood as a wall of defense in favor of equal rights for all American citizens.' ...<ref>"Butler recommended that Congress pay colored private soldiers on the same scale as whites. 'The colored man fills an equal space in the ranks while he lives, and an equal grave when he falls.{{'"}} West, Richard S. Jr., ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p. 222.</ref> The ''New England Torchlight'' put it simply: 'The white South hated him. The black South loved him.{{'"}}<ref>Leonard, Elizabeth D., ''Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life'', p. 274.</ref>

==Ideology ("Butlerism")==
{{Infobox political party
| name        = Butlerism
| leader      = Benjamin Butler
| foundation  = 
| ideology    = • [[Radical Republican]]ism<br>• [[Irish nationalism]]<br>• [[Women's suffrage]]<br>• [[Monetary inflation]]<br>• Pro-[[spoils system]]
| position    = [[Populism in the United States|Populist]]
| country     = the United States
| dissolution = 
| footnotes   =
| national    = 
*[[Stalwarts (politics)|Stalwart]] faction of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] (during the [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] presidency)
}}

'''Butlerism''' was a political term in the [[United States]] during the [[Gilded Age]] applied as a [[pejorative]] by its opponents<ref name=butlerisminmassachusetts>Mallam, William D. (June 1960). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/362899 Butlerism in Massachusetts]. ''JSTOR''. Retrieved February 18, 2022.</ref><ref name=cra1875>[https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Fifteenth-Amendment/Civil-Rights-Bill-1875/ Civil Rights Act of 1875] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827001741/https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Fifteenth-Amendment/Civil-Rights-Bill-1875/ |date=August 27, 2022 }}. ''US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives''. Retrieved February 18, 2022.</ref> that referred to the political causes of Butler. A [[Populism in the United States|populist]] movement, it was criticized for its "spirit of the European mob," and appealed to support for women's suffrage, Irish nationalism, an eight-hour work day, monetary inflation, and the usage of [[Greenback (1860s money)|greenbacks]] to pay off the [[National debt of the United States|national debt]].{{sfn|Foner|pp=491–92}}

The ideology and political themes of Butlerism, which opposed [[Civil service reform in the United States|civil service reform]], advocated inflationary monetary policy, and assailed capitalism as exploiting workmen, clashed with the aims of [[Liberalism in the United States|liberal]] reformers in the [[Gilded Age]].{{sfn|Foner|pp=491–92}} Its left-wing stances on monetary policy came at odds with the considerably more [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] members of the Republican Party, including [[Ulysses S. Grant]] and [[James G. Blaine]]. When Butler and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] congressman [[George H. Pendleton]] led a bipartisan wing of inflationists advocating the continued usage of greenbacks, Blaine emerged as the first member of Congress antagonizing the repudiation theory.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=54}} After President Grant in 1874 vetoed Butler's "inflation bill,"<ref>Grant, Ulysses S. (April 22, 1874). [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/veto-message-412 Veto Message]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved February 18, 2022.</ref> ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' published a cartoon by [[Thomas Nast]] depicting Grant, a supporter of [[sound money]], as having "bottled up" Butlerism.<ref>Nast, Thomas (May 16, 1874). [https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.88.225 Cradle of Liberty Out of Danger]. ''National Portrait Gallery''. Retrieved February 18, 2022.</ref>

In spite of Butlerism's [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] elements during its time, Butler during the [[presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes]] was closely aligned with the politics of the conservative Stalwart faction in his support for [[Ulysses S. Grant]], due to their shared concern for civil rights, tendency to "[[waving the bloody shirt|wave the bloody shirt]]," and antipathy towards the hardline civil service reform efforts.{{sfn|Foner|pp=496–97}} These aims were in turn harshly lamented by reformers, including [[Charles Francis Adams Jr.]], and [[Carl Schurz]].

Opponents of Butler derided the ideology as involving "no principle which is elevating, it inspires no sentiment which is ennobling."<ref name=butlerisminmassachusetts/> In turn, defenders of Butlerism retorted:
{{cquote|There is one thing that this unholy alliance cannot efface, that General Butler has pluck and brains, and they will find that the more people believe in men of that make-up. The country today needs more "Butlerism" and less "toadyism."}}

Attacks on Butlerism included one by [[Kentucky]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[John Y. Brown (politician, born 1835)|John Y. Brown]] in February 1874, who complained: "If I wished to describe all that was pusillanimous in war, inhuman in peace, forbidden in morals, and infamous in politics, I should call it 'Butlerism.{{'"}}<ref name=cra1875/> Brown subsequently faced a censure for his remarks, and bickering on the House floor soon followed.

==Electoral history==
===Gubernatorial===
{{Election box begin no change
| title=[[1859 Massachusetts gubernatorial election]]<ref name="dubin1">{{Cite book |last=Dubin |first=Michael J. |title=United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2003 |isbn=9780786414390 |location=Jefferson |pages=119–120}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[Nathaniel Prentiss Banks]] (incumbent)
  |votes      = 58,804
  |percentage = 54.02
  |change     = {{decrease}}3.591
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Benjamin Franklin Butler
  |votes      = 35,326
  |percentage = 32.45
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Know-Nothing
  |candidate  = [[George Nixon Briggs]]
  |votes      = 14,365
  |percentage = 13.20
 }}
{{Election box total no change
  | votes = 108,140
  | percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title=[[1860 Massachusetts gubernatorial election]]<ref name="dubin1"/>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[John Albion Andrew]]
  |votes      = 104,527
  |percentage = 61.63
  |change     = {{increase}}7.61
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Erasmus Beach
  |votes      = 35,191
  |percentage = 20.75
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Constitutional Union Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[Amos Adams Lawrence]]
  |votes      = 23,816
  |percentage = 14.04
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Southern Democratic (United States)
  |candidate  = Benjamin Franklin Butler
  |votes      = 6,000
  |percentage = 3.54
 }}
{{Election box total no change
  | votes = 169,534
  | percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change|title=[[1872 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1872]] Massachusetts Republican Convention gubernatorial nomination vote<ref>{{cite news|title=MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICANS: Results of the State Convention Renomination of Gov. Washburn List of Resolutions The Liquor Law to be Enforced.|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 Aug 1872|access-date=20 Jan 2022|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/08/29/79189422.html|page=5}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|candidate=[[William B. Washburn]] (incumbent)
|party  = Republican Party (US)
|votes = 563
|percentage = 67.10
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Benjamin Butler
|party  = Republican Party (US)
|votes = 259
|percentage = 30.87
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Scattering
|party  = Republican Party (US)
|votes = 17
|percentage = 2.03
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 839
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title=[[1878 Massachusetts gubernatorial election]]<ref>{{cite book |date=1879 |title= Manual for the General Court, 1879 |url= https://archive.org/stream/manualforuseofge1879mass#page/266/mode/2up |location= Boston, MA |publisher=Rand, Avery, & Co., Printers to the Commonwealth }}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[Thomas Talbot (Massachusetts politician)|Thomas Talbot]]
  |votes      = 134,725
  |percentage = 52.56
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Benjamin Butler
  |votes      =
  |percentage =
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Greenback Party
  |candidate  = Benjamin Butler
  |votes      =
  |percentage =
 }}
{{Election box candidate no change
  |party      = Total
  |candidate  = Benjamin Butler
  |votes      = 109,435
  |percentage = 42.69
 }}
{{Election box candidate no change
  |party      = [[Independent Democrat|Ind. Democrat]]
  |color      = #6699CC
  |candidate  = [[Josiah Gardner Abbott]]
  |votes      = 10,162
  |percentage = 3.96
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Prohibition Party
  |candidate  = [[Alonzo Ames Miner]]
  |votes      = 1,913
  |percentage = 0.75
}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
  |votes      = 97
  |percentage = 0.04
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title=[[1879 Massachusetts gubernatorial election]]<ref>{{cite book |date=1880 |title= Manual for the Use of the General Court, 1880 |url= https://archive.org/stream/manualforuseofge1880mass#page/266/mode/2up |location= Boston, MA |publisher=Rand, Avery, & Co., Printers to the Commonwealth }}</ref>
}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[John Davis Long]]
  |votes      = 122,751
  |percentage = 50.38
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Benjamin Butler
  |votes      = 109,149
  |percentage = 44.80
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Independent Democrat
  |candidate  = [[John Quincy Adams II]]
  |votes      = 9,989
  |percentage = 4.10
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Prohibition Party
  |candidate  = D.C. Eddy
  |votes      = 1,645
  |percentage = 0.68
}}
{{Election box candidate no change
  |party      = Others
  |candidate  = Others
  |votes      = 108
  |percentage = 0.04
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title=[[1882 Massachusetts gubernatorial election]]<ref>{{cite book |date=1883 |title= Manual for the Use of the General Court, 1883 |url=https://archive.org/details/manualforuseofge1883mass/page/270 |location= Boston, MA |publisher=Wright & Potter Printing Company, State Printers }}</ref>
}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Benjamin Franklin Butler
  |votes      = 133,946
  |percentage = 52.27
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[Robert R. Bishop]]
  |votes      = 119,997
  |percentage = 46.82
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
  |party      = Prohibition Party
  |candidate  = Charles Almy
  |votes      = 2,137
  |percentage = 0.83
}}
{{Election box candidate no change
  |party      = Others
  |candidate  = Others
  |votes      = 198
  |percentage = 0.08
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title=[[1883 Massachusetts gubernatorial election]]<ref>{{cite book |date=1884 |title= Manual for the Use of the General Court, 1884 |url=https://archive.org/details/manualforuseofge1884mass/page/270 |location= Boston, MA |publisher=Wright & Potter Printing Company, State Printers }}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
 |party = Republican Party (United States)
 |candidate = [[George D. Robinson]]
 |votes = 160,092
 |percentage = 51.25
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
 |party = Democratic Party (United States)
 |candidate = Benjamin Franklin Butler (incumbent)
 |votes = 150,228
 |percentage = 48.10
 |change = 
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
 |party = Prohibition Party
 |candidate = Charles Almy
 |votes = 1,881
 |percentage = 0.60
}}
{{Election box candidate no change
 |party = Others
 |candidate = Others
 |votes = 156
 |percentage = 0.05
 |change =
}}
{{Election box end}}

==See also==
* [[Butler House (Pueblo, Colorado)]]
* [[General Butler (ship)|''General Butler'' (ship)]]
* [[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]
* [[List of Massachusetts generals in the American Civil War]]
* [[List of New Hampshire historical markers (126–150)#145|New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 145]]: Deerfield Parade
* [[Massachusetts in the American Civil War]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Alexander|first1=Leslie M.|last2=Rucker|first2=Walter C.|title=Encyclopedia of African American History|year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851097746|location=Santa Barbara, CA|oclc=477273442}}
* {{cite book|last=Bunting III|first=Josiah|author-link=Josiah Bunting III|title=Ulysses S. Grant|publisher=Macmillan|year=2004|isbn=9780805069495|location=New York|oclc=218662712|url=https://archive.org/details/ulyssessgrant00bunt}}
* {{cite book|last=Catton|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Catton|title=Grant Takes Command|publisher=Open Road Media|year=2015|orig-year=1970|location=New York|isbn=9781504024211|oclc=922587560}}
* {{cite book|last=Dupree|first=Stephen|title=Planting the Union Flag in Texas: The Campaigns of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks in the West|publisher=Texas A & M University Press|year=2008|location=College Station, TX|isbn=9781585446414|oclc=153772989}}
* {{cite book|last=Finkelman|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Finkelman|title=Encyclopedia of African American History, Volume 2|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|location=Oxford|isbn=9780195167771|oclc=162212335}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Foner
  | first = Eric
  | author-link=Eric Foner
  | title = Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877
  | year = 1988
  | volume = 
  | publisher = New York: Harper & Row
  | location = 
  | url = 
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Foner}}
  }}
* {{cite book|last=Foote|first=Shelby|author-link=Shelby Foote|title=The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 3, Red River to Appomattox|location=New York|publisher=Random House|year=1974|isbn=0-394-74913-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Hearn|first=Chester|title=When the Devil Came Down to Dixie: Ben Butler in New Orleans|location=Baton Rouge, LA|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|year=2000|orig-year=1997|isbn= 9780807126233|oclc=45756792}}
* {{cite journal|last=Holzman|first=Robert S.|title=Ben Butler in the Civil War|journal=The New England Quarterly|volume=30|issue=3|date=September 1957|pages=330–345|doi=10.2307/362990|jstor=362990}}
* Jordan, Brian Matthew. "Benjamin F. Butler, ''Ex Parte Milligan'', and the Unending Civil War", in Winger, Stewart L., and White, Jonathan W., eds. (2020), ''Ex Parte Milligan Reconsidered: Race and Civil Liberties From the Lincoln Administration to the War on Terror''. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2020.
* Longacre, Edward G. ''Army of Amateurs: General Benjamin F. Butler and the Army of the James, 1863-1865'' (1997) [https://archive.org/details/armyofamateursge0000long online]
* {{cite book|last1=Lossing|first1=Benson John|last2=Barritt|first2=William|url=https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00lossgoog|title=Pictorial History of the Civil War in the United States of America, Volume 1|location=Philadelphia|publisher=George W. Childs|year=1866|oclc=1007582}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Muzzey
  | first = David Saville
  | year = 1934
  | title = James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days
  | url = https://archive.org/details/jamesgblainepoli0000muzz
  | url-access = registration
  | publisher = Dodd, Mead, and Company
  | location = New York
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Muzzey}}
  }}
* {{cite book
|last=Oakes
|first=James
|date=2013
|title=Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861–1865
|location=New York and London
|publisher=W. W. Norton
|isbn=978-0-393-34775-3
|author-link=James Oakes (historian)
}}
* {{cite journal|last=Orcutt|first=William Dana|author-link=William Dana Orcutt|title=Ben Butler and the 'Stolen Spoons'|journal=North American Review|volume=CCVII|issue=66|date=January 1918}}
* {{cite book|last=Poland|first=Charles P. Jr.|title=The Glories of War: Small Battles and Early Heroes of 1861|location=Bloomington, IN|publisher=AuthorHouse|year=2006|isbn=1-4184-5973-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Quarstein|first=John V.|author2=Mroczkowski, Dennis P.|title=Fort Monroe: The Key to the South|location=Charleston, SC|publisher=Tempus Publications|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7385-0114-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Quarstein|first=John V.|title=Big Bethel: The First Battle|publisher=History Press|year=2011|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=9781609493547|oclc=710903915}}
* {{cite book |last=Richardson|first=Darcy|title=Others: Third-Party Politics from the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party|publisher=iUniverse|year=2004|location=New York|isbn=9780595317233|oclc=237051049}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Schlup|editor-first=Leonard|editor2-last=Ryan|editor2-first=James G.|title=Historical Dictionary of the Gilded Age|year=2003|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=9780765621061|location=Armonk, NY|oclc=367956722}}
* {{cite book |last=Stewart |first=David O.|author-link=David O. Stewart|title=Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|year=2009|isbn=9781416547495}}
* {{cite book|last=Trefousse|first=Hans L.|author-link=Hans L. Trefousse|title=Ben Butler: The South Called Him Beast!|location=New York|publisher=Twayne|year=1957|oclc=371213}}
* {{cite book|last=Trefousse|first=Hans L.|title=The Radical Republicans: Lincoln's Vanguard for Racial Justice|url=https://archive.org/details/radicalrepublica0000tref|url-access=registration|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|year=1969|oclc=170051}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Trefousse|first=Hans L.|title=Butler, Benjamin |encyclopedia=Dictionary of American National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=4|location=New York |pages=91–93 |year=1999 |isbn=9780195206357|oclc=39182280}}
* {{cite book|last=Trelease|first=Allen|title=White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction|year=1971|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|location=Baton Rouge, LA|isbn=0-8071-1953-9|oclc=136081}}
* {{cite book|last=Wells|first=Bruce|title=The Bermuda Hundred Campaign: The Creole and the Beast|publisher=History Press|year=2011|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=9781609493141|oclc=755712553}}
* {{cite book|last=West |first=Richard S. Jr.|title=Lincoln's Scapegoat General: A Life of Benjamin F. Butler, 1818–1893|url=https://archive.org/details/lincolnsscapegoa00west|url-access=registration|year=1965|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|location=Boston|oclc=241783}}
* {{cite book |last=Winters |first=John D. |title=The Civil War in Louisiana |author-link=John D. Winters |publisher=LSU Press |year=1991 |orig-year=1963 |isbn=9780807117255 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PjicJWUQhPYC&q=mumford}}

===Primary sources===
* {{cite book |last=Butler |first=Benj. F.|title=Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benj. F. Butler: Butler's Book: A Review of His Legal, Political, and Military Career |publisher=A. M. Thayer & Co. |year=1892 |url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyan00butlgoog |ref=butler92}}—[https://archive.org/details/autobiographyper0192butl Other versions and formats available at the Internet Archive] In ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p.&nbsp;424, Richard S. West Jr. writes of ''Butler's Book'': "Poorly organized and peppered with minor inaccuracies of fact ... it nevertheless has merit as an attempt to present controversial issues as they appeared to the writer after a lapse of years."
* ''Private And Official Correspondence Of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler During The Period Of The Civil War'' (1917). [https://archive.org/details/privateoffice05butlrich vol 1 online], [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.153806/page/n7/mode/2up vol 2 online], [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.153768, vol 3 online], [https://archive.org/details/privateandoffici028872mbp vol 4 online], [https://archive.org/details/privateofficialc05butl vol 5 online], [https://archive.org/details/privateofficialc01inbutl in five volumes]
* Butler, Benjamin F. [https://archive.harpers.org/1885/07/pdf/HarpersMagazine-1885-07-0034832.pdf?Expires=1708367933&Signature=UOik~UJ2K6pe8JReItMxHUfHZwE5CXcsWvRTwV0tocTwijMwAJcQJz5KzdudBzS2yua~95VEZdntar4WCUewKxmPuyCmW98DPXikKm30Llmc~J4FRkKl0mXCIwz-gcPLifjmVtABMCb9bTgFXhTBCFgztw3j2JK4LaO4FpfsvV9~geaWLhscRqXBrx2we8BYATitDhSim3XEPK4TU4BepKHA1vXw7zsknCQT2QdE898RSAZ~NLRVe7LWCbmpPnplzotWD1LpEunfwYrgpj9umu6YhX~oN3cQendXCwQup5t6YMy0N36L8SlW17qt-qyyQiMoy6wWMv25mzLu-Mg0EQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIQD6QYTWPWWYIORQ "The Story of the 'America{{'"}}, ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'', July 1885] The ''America'' was a sailing (as opposed to a steam) yacht, which competed in races. [https://harpers.org/archive/1885/07/the-story-of-the-america/ This link identifies Butler as the author.]
* Butler, Benj. F. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25101653 "Some Experiences with Yellow Fever and Its Prevention"] ''The North American Review'', Vol. 147, No. 385 (November 1888), pp.&nbsp;525–541.
* [[James Parton|Parton, James]]. [https://archive.org/details/generalbutlerinn00part_1 ''General Butler in New Orleans: History of the Administration of the Department of the Gulf in the Year 1862: With an Account of the Capture of New Orleans, and a Sketch of the Previous Career of the General, Civil and Military'']. New York: Mason Brothers, 1864. In ''Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life'', p.&nbsp;143, Elizabeth D. Leonard writes that this is "an uncritically admiring study of Butler's command of the occupation in New Orleans," by his "friend James Parton." In ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General'', p.&nbsp;424, Richard S. West Jr. writes that Parton wrote the book independently of Butler and that the book "is invaluable as a full-scale, near-contemporary, narrative ... [and] is generally pro-Butler".
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box
 |onlinebooks=yes
 |by=yes
 |viaf=64804990
 |label=Benjamin Butler}}
{{refbegin}}
* [[Thomas Bland|Bland, Thomas Augustus]]. ''Life of Benjamin F. Butler''. Boston, Massachusetts: Lee & Shepard, 1879.
* Capers, Gerald M. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt130hs9w ''Occupied City: New Orleans Under the Federals 1862–1865''] Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1965.
* [[John H. Eicher|Eicher, John H.]], and [[David J. Eicher]]. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}.
* Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. [https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/336_nicholas_c.pdf "Reconstructing the Crescent City: Benjamin Butler’s Occupation of New Orleans"] 
* Holzman, Robert S. ''Stormy Ben Butler''. Macmillan, 1954. {{OCLC|1198303}}
* Horowitz, Murray M. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4231586 "Ben Butler and the Negro: 'Miracles Are Occurring{{'"}}], ''Louisiana History'', Vol. 17, No. 2 (Spring, 1976), pp.&nbsp;159–186.
* [[Elizabeth D. Leonard|Leonard, Elizabeth D.]] ''Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2022. {{ISBN|9781469668048}}. In his review of Leonard's book, Brian Matthew Jordan writes that it is "the first scholarly, cradle-to-grave treatment of her subject since Richard West's ''Lincoln's Scapegoat General''...." He concludes that it is a "compelling rehabilitation" of Butler. [https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/12/article/912409/pdf ''The Journal of the Civil War Era'', Volume 13, Number 4, December 2023, pp. 563-566] 
* [https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/general-butler-and-the-women/ Long, Alecia P. "General Butler and the Women," ''The New York Times,'' June 18, 2012]
* Nash, Howard P. Jr. ''Stormy Petrel: The Life and Times of General Benjamin F. Butler, 1818–1893''. Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1969. {{ISBN|083867383X}} {{OCLC|49599}}
* {{cite book|last=Nolan|first= Dick |title=Benjamin Franklin Butler: The Damnedest Yankee|location=Novato, California|publisher= Presidio Press|year=1991|isbn= 0891413936|oclc=23017163}}
* [[Alfred Puffer|Puffer, Alfred F.]] [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1863/07/our-general/308754/ "Our General: In defense of Union General Benjamin Butler"], ''The Atlantic'', July 1863.
* Shapiro, Samuel. {{"'}}Aristocracy, Mud, and Vituperation': The Butler-Dana Campaign in Essex County in 1868," ''The New England Quarterly'', vol. 31, no. 3 (September 1958), pp. 340–360. {{JSTOR|362605}}.
* [[Brooks D. Simpson|Simpson, Brooks D.]] [https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0021.105/--lincoln-and-his-political-generals?rgn=main;view=fulltext "Lincoln and His Political Generals," ''Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association'', Volume 21, Issue 1, Winter 2000, pp. 63–77].
* Summers, Mark Wahlgren. ''Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion: The Making of a President, 1884''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-8078-2524-2}}.
* {{cite book|last=Warner|first=Ezra J.|title=Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders|url=https://archive.org/details/generalsinblueli0000warn|url-access=registration|location=Baton Rouge, LA|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|year=1964|isbn=0-8071-0822-7}}
* Weiss, Nathan. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/302062328?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true "THE POLITICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE OF GENERAL BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER" (PhD dissertation, New York University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, June 1961. 6201519)]
* Werlich, Robert. ''"Beast" Butler: The Incredible Career of Major-General Benjamin Franklin Butler''. Washington: Quaker Press, 1962. {{OCLC|2334697}} In footnote 1 of [https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol6/iss11/3 "Ben Butler: A Reappraisal"], Harold B. Raymond writes, "Werlich's book is devoted to sensational denunciation of almost every aspect of the general's career, but lacks documentation or serious evaluation." Warren W. Hassler, Jr. concurs, writing, "this is a brief, episodic, undocumented rehash of the more sensational events in the life of the 'American Cyclops' ... not to be taken seriously". ''Civil War History'', Vol. 8, No. 4, December 1962, pp.&nbsp;446–447.
* [[Brenda Wineapple|Wineapple, Brenda]]. ''The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation''. Random House, 2019.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)}}
{{EB1911 poster|Butler, Benjamin Franklin}}
{{CongBio|B001174}}
* [https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2009/08/sarah-hildreth.html Sarah Hildreth: Wife of Union General Benjamin Franklin Butler] (primarily a summary of Benjamin Butler's career)
* [http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Butler_Benjamin_F_1818-1893 Benjamin F. Butler in ''Encyclopedia Virginia'']
* [http://www.civilwar.si.edu/leaders_butler.html Story of the bust of Butler at the Smithsonian Institution]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060921023708/http://www.t207.com/images/n124/butler.jpg Image of Benjamin Butler from "1888 Presidential Possibilities" card set]
* [http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/sophiasmith/mnsss358_main.html Benjamin F. Butler Papers, 1818–1893]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144004/http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/sophiasmith/mnsss358_main.html |date=June 7, 2019 }}, [https://www.smith.edu/libraries/special-collections/about/sophia-smith-collection-womens-history Sophia Smith Collection], Smith College.
* [https://archive.org/details/privateoffice01butlrich ''Private and official correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler: during the period of the Civil War'' Vol. I] at the Internet Archive, [https://archive.org/details/privateoffice02butlrich Vol. II], [https://archive.org/details/privateoffice03butlrich Vol. III], [https://archive.org/details/privateoffice04butlrich Vol. IV], [https://archive.org/details/privateoffice05butlrich Vol. V]
* {{cite news|last=Goodheart|first=Adam|title=How Slavery Really Ended in America|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/magazine/mag-03CivilWar-t.html|access-date=April 5, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times Magazine|date=April 1, 2011}} Account of Butler's sheltering of slaves at Fort Monroe.
* Raymond, Harold B., [https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol6/iss11/3 "Ben Butler: A Reappraisal"], ''[[Colby Library Quarterly]]'', Series VI, No. 11 (September 1964), pp.&nbsp;445–479.
* Trefousse, Hans L. (1957). [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015026643232 Ben Butler: The South Called Him Beast!] New York: Twayne
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=jefferson%20davis Jefferson Davis] (Internet Archive search)
* [https://www.c-span.org/video/?435570-2/union-general-benjamin-butler C-SPAN lecture on Benjamin Butler by Professor Brian Matthew Jordan (Oct. 22, 2017)]
* [https://archive.org/details/butlersrecord00butlgoog/page/n6/mode/2up ''Butler's Record'']—A campaign pamphlet for the 1879 governor elections.

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Erasmus Beach]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Massachusetts]]|years=[[1859 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1859]]}}
{{s-aft|after=Erasmus Beach}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Gaston (Massachusetts politician)|William Gaston]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts|years=[[1878 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1878]], [[1879 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1879]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Perkins Thompson|Charles Thompson]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Charles Thompson}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts|years=[[1882 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1882]], [[1883 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1883]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Crowninshield Endicott]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Israel W. Andrews}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Greenback Party|Greenback]] nominee for Governor of Massachusetts|years=[[1882 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1882]], [[1883 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1883]]}}
{{s-aft|after=Matthew J. McCafferty}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[James B. Weaver]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Greenback Party|Greenback]] nominee for [[President of the United States]]|years=[[1884 United States presidential election|1884]]}}
{{s-non|reason=Party dissolved}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander of the [[Army of the James]]|years=1864–1865}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edward Ord]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John B. Alley]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member from [[Massachusetts's 5th congressional district]]|years=1867–1873}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Daniel W. Gooch]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Nathaniel P. Banks]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member from [[Massachusetts's 6th congressional district]]|years=1873–1875}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Perkins Thompson|Charles Thompson]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[John Bingham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]]|years=1873–1875}}
{{s-aft|after=[[J. Proctor Knott]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[John K. Tarbox]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member from [[Massachusetts's 7th congressional district]]|years=1877–1879}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William A. Russell (Massachusetts politician)|William A. Russell]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Davis Long|John Long]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of Massachusetts]]|years=1883–1884}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George D. Robinson]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Massachusetts}}
{{USRepMA}}
{{US House Judiciary chairs}}
{{United States presidential election, 1864}}
{{1884 United States presidential election}}
{{Historical left-wing third party presidential tickets (U.S.)}}
{{American Civil War |state=collapsed}}
{{Reconstruction Era}}
{{Impeachment and impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Benjamin Franklin}}
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:1893 deaths]]
[[Category:Benjamin Butler| ]]
[[Category:Anti-Monopoly Party politicians]]
[[Category:Activists for African-American civil rights]]
[[Category:Civil rights activists from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Butler–Ames family|Benjamin Butler]]
[[Category:Colby College alumni]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Governors of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Greenback Party presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Ku Klux Klan]]
[[Category:Louisiana in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Democrats]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Greenbacks]]
[[Category:Massachusetts independents]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Lowell, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Massachusetts state senators]]
[[Category:Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]]
[[Category:People from Deerfield, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Radical Republicans]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Stalwarts (Republican Party)]]
[[Category:Union army generals]]
[[Category:Union (American Civil War) political leaders]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1884 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]