I guess not everyone wanted Greenback money

General Butler

First Sergeant
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
When our new friend Butler and he was out on the campaign trail. He was famous for being a supporter of Greenbacks backed by the government and not gold. Gold dug sold and pushed by wealthy titans.
If course Butler would hedge his bets as he was a big silver backer and even to this day the Bultrr silver mine brings out the nuggets
I think you can buy it
But these unique Butler items are all different and nearly all anti greenback.
One is anti Irish and Butler close relations ship with the working Irish poor, engrained in his brain from the earliest times in Lowell
But the rest of the US feared the Irish and as Dennis Kearny gave strength in politics for his people he migrated to Butler and vice versa however that alliance was not a big boost to ones White House aspirations.
Ahhh political games and "anti" feelings. We surely have advanced as a culture.

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Thank you for posting this interesting thread. I knew nothing about these.
Major..I live to serve and to bring Butler out of the myth shadows...its too easy to simply follow along with traditional Butler images. However, for a man in his time, he was huge and had he been born on the other side of the tracks (the well to do side) his upside would have made him even more impressive.
His 2 downsides: 1...he struggled to control his biting tongue when attacked and though he calmed his speech down as he got older, his crushing enemies financially or in the court never went away. Being poor and snubbed when young hurt him deeply. 2)...he was hell-bent for leather to become rich and he would have chosen to have been welcomed into the rich circle they did not want him around. So he bought the bunting company and controlled (for years) all of the bunting cloth made and sold in the country and his ownership of the US Cartridge Company and with his contacts, they produced and sold more ammo to the US military than any other firm through the end of WW1 !!! That's before we talk about being a widely successful lawyer, a big silver investor, an early Penn oil investor, and an early investor in NY subways...awesome.
 
Now I've seen it all.. gotta give it to the guy... for having such an ugly mug... he sure wasnt shy about showing his face. On a serious note... do you think his looks actually helped him to gain recognition and success? Once you've seen his picture... it's stamped in your mind.
 
Major..I live to serve and to bring Butler out of the myth shadows...its too easy to simply follow along with traditional Butler images. However, for a man in his time, he was huge and had he been born on the other side of the tracks (the well to do side) his upside would have made him even more impressive.
His 2 downsides: 1...he struggled to control his biting tongue when attacked and though he calmed his speech down as he got older, his crushing enemies financially or in the court never went away. Being poor and snubbed when young hurt him deeply. 2)...he was hell-bent for leather to become rich and he would have chosen to have been welcomed into the rich circle they did not want him around. So he bought the bunting company and controlled (for years) all of the bunting cloth made and sold in the country and his ownership of the US Cartridge Company and with his contacts, they produced and sold more ammo to the US military than any other firm through the end of WW1 !!! That's before we talk about being a widely successful lawyer, a big silver investor, an early Penn oil investor, and an early investor in NY subways...awesome.
You make some solid points. Even though Butler wasn't the most tactical commander and might have been one of the most hated generals... was he a genius? He seemed to be very successful in most aspects of his life. His determination is impressive too.
 
I'd never heard of this either. Very interesting.

BTW, California and Oregon refused to accept greenbacks during the war. Oregon had to pay it's volunteers (who replaced the regulars so as to fight the Indians) extra on top of the federal pay because, since the greenbacks were severely discounted, the pay wasn't sufficient to attract enough men. After the war Oregon tried to get Congress to reimburse it for the extra pay expense but was not successful although they tried for almost thirty years.
 
Now I've seen it all.. gotta give it to the guy... for having such an ugly mug... he sure wasnt shy about showing his face. On a serious note... do you think his looks actually helped him to gain recognition and success? Once you've seen his picture... it's stamped in your mind.
He was very confident in himself..period. He stood strong as a kid against the forced church attendance while in school...he stood strong against bad labor practices in the Mills...he stood strong against Rebels when the wind blew in that direction. Remember he voted for Jeff Davis nearly 50 times at the Demo Convention, Davis even appointed Butler to the Board at West Point...he took the case (and won) when he represents Sutter concerning his gold claim...but he quickly overcame his looks and stood strong based on his skills. He was never going to win anything in the looks department but did win in the power and self reliance department
 
You make some solid points. Even though Butler wasn't the most tactical commander and might have been one of the most hated generals... was he a genius? He seemed to be very successful in most aspects of his life. His determination is impressive too.
Well, genius...I am not sure I can pass judgment on that. Was tying white armbands prior to the night march before Big Bethel genius or before its time even for veteran troops? Was the use of tripwires on the Bermuda Hundred and the self-purchase of "machine guns" genius or before its time? He saw an end game and then developed a plan to achieve that end game. Cash...stature...generational solid footing...supply granite to the Feds...ammo...bunting...federal jobs for supporters such as Mumford or Van Lew and her team...He was a FORCE and I suspect dangerous if you stood in his way
 
I'd never heard of this either. Very interesting.

BTW, California and Oregon refused to accept greenbacks during the war. Oregon had to pay it's volunteers (who replaced the regulars so as to fight the Indians) extra on top of the federal pay because, since the greenbacks were severely discounted, the pay wasn't sufficient to attract enough men. After the war Oregon tried to get Congress to reimburse it for the extra pay expense but was not successful although they tried for almost thirty years.
The cool thing to keep in mind here though is that while Butler KNEW that gold was simply not needed to back the federal cash he also KNEW silver would be needed for coins and thus he was a big silver investor. He saw an opportunity on a broad scale
 
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