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Gen Richard Taylor, Confederate commander in Louisiana during much of the war, is among the more popular heroes of the Confederacy. He is largely credited with the defeat of Banks' Red River Campaign (though he himself credited his victory to "General Banks, whose blunders served to endear him to President Lincoln." In his 1878 memoir, Destruction and Reconstruction Personal Experiences of the Late War, Taylor tells of the only direct dealings he had with General Benjamin F. Butler, during the latter's time as commander in New Orleans.
During the summer of 1862, Federal troops in some of the outposts in western and southern Louisiana, had taken to raiding and plundering the civilian population: stealing just about everything that wasn't nailed down. Particularly unruly was the garrison in Bayou des Allemands, not far from New Orleans. Taylor sent a force to attack the place, and wound up capturing two companies of infantry after relatively little resistance. He describes finding there "multifarious 'loot: ... books, pictures, household furniture, finger rings, ear rings, breastpins and other articles of feminine adornment and wear, [that] attested the taste and temper of these 'patriots'".[p.111]
"Persuaded that the Federal commander at New Orleans, General Benjamin F. Butler, was ignorant of the practices of his outlying detachments, I requested ex-Govenor Wickliffe of Louisiana, a non-combatant, to visit that officer under a flag of truce and call his attention to the subject. Duty to the suffering population would force me to deal with perpetrators of such misdeeds as robbers rather than as soldiers. General Butler received Governor Wickliffe politely, invited him to dine, and listened attentively to his statements, then dismissed him without committing himself to a definite reply. However, the conduct complained of was speedily stopped, and, as I was informed, by orders from General Butler." [p.112]
Taylor went on to say that he felt like "the good Scotch parson [who] finished praying for all created beings and things, [and then] requested his congregation to unite in asking a blessing for the 'puir deil,' [poor Devil] who had no friends at all; and General Butler has been so universally abused as to make it pleasant to say a word in his favor. Not that he needs assistance to defend himself; for in the war of epithets he has proved his ability to hold his ground against all comers."
During the summer of 1862, Federal troops in some of the outposts in western and southern Louisiana, had taken to raiding and plundering the civilian population: stealing just about everything that wasn't nailed down. Particularly unruly was the garrison in Bayou des Allemands, not far from New Orleans. Taylor sent a force to attack the place, and wound up capturing two companies of infantry after relatively little resistance. He describes finding there "multifarious 'loot: ... books, pictures, household furniture, finger rings, ear rings, breastpins and other articles of feminine adornment and wear, [that] attested the taste and temper of these 'patriots'".[p.111]
"Persuaded that the Federal commander at New Orleans, General Benjamin F. Butler, was ignorant of the practices of his outlying detachments, I requested ex-Govenor Wickliffe of Louisiana, a non-combatant, to visit that officer under a flag of truce and call his attention to the subject. Duty to the suffering population would force me to deal with perpetrators of such misdeeds as robbers rather than as soldiers. General Butler received Governor Wickliffe politely, invited him to dine, and listened attentively to his statements, then dismissed him without committing himself to a definite reply. However, the conduct complained of was speedily stopped, and, as I was informed, by orders from General Butler." [p.112]
Taylor went on to say that he felt like "the good Scotch parson [who] finished praying for all created beings and things, [and then] requested his congregation to unite in asking a blessing for the 'puir deil,' [poor Devil] who had no friends at all; and General Butler has been so universally abused as to make it pleasant to say a word in his favor. Not that he needs assistance to defend himself; for in the war of epithets he has proved his ability to hold his ground against all comers."
Bringing the