In The End - Benjamin Butler Really was a Ladies Man

Congrats @DBF !
That's the one of the best "eye catching" thread titles I've ever seen.

General Butler was never a "pretty boy" . . . but the man did have a very large bank account

No doubt a few women considered that more important.

:bounce:
I'm sure it was his personality lol. Although... I remember learning from @General Butler that he did well with the ladies and was very successful after the war. As hated as he was... you have to respect his drive for what he accomplished after the war both financially and political, as well as his involvement with civil rights.
 
I'm sure it was his personality lol. Although... I remember learning from @General Butler that he did well with the ladies and was very successful after the war. As hated as he was... you have to respect his drive for what he accomplished after the war both financially and political, as well as his involvement with civil rights.
I do indeed.

Butler was a very complex and interesting man.

But he would have never graced the cover of a teenage girl's magazine.

I'm honestly not trying to degrade General Butler.
 
On July 23, 1864, during a period of separation, Sarah wrote to Ben:

"So, so. I must not expect you here. You are so enamored with your trade, a day cannot be lost from it. ... I shall not help to buckle on your armor, but I have mended your drawers and will return them to you when they are nicely pressed."​

What a lady!

There is a very revealing 40 page sketch of Sarah Hildreth Butler in Gamaliel Bradford" 1925 book Wives. He begins her chapter:

I would recommend the book highly, for a number of its biographies:
View attachment 390458
Wow I would like to track it down.
Thanks
Prior to her death Ben would simply get dressed for work or photos. After her death he daily put a flower in his lapel as seen in many photos.
They did have a real love
 
I'm sure it was his personality lol. Although... I remember learning from @General Butler that he did well with the ladies and was very successful after the war. As hated as he was... you have to respect his drive for what he accomplished after the war both financially and political, as well as his involvement with civil rights.
He grew up smart and tough. Having the bad eye would make him a source of childhood ridicule but he overcame it with brains, a quick and biting wit and a loooong memory especially for slights
 
He grew up smart and tough. Having the bad eye would make him a source of childhood ridicule but he overcame it with brains, a quick and biting wit and a loooong memory especially for slights
Yes, as a child he was bullied ... until his big brother Andrew came to his defense. After that, he was blind to all his brother's faults. To Ben, Andrew could do no wrong. Which was a great mistake, because Andrew was as greedy and corrupt as they come. In New Orleans Andrew Butler acquired immense profits. Some said that one million dollars from an illicit trade of medicines and foodstuffs with the needy Confederates had gone into his pockets. As the brother of the commanding General, many people naturally expected one to share in and facilitate the profits of the other.

Sarah, who had never liked or trusted Andrew, warned her husbsnd, "He is utterly hated, and all his deeds are reflecting on you. You think you control him and know his acts. On the contrary, though subservient to your face, he controls where he wishes." But the General refused to listen. He chided Sarah for her "foolish notions," asserting that he was perfectly capable of taking care of his "own honor among women or men." He refused "to speak of Andrew, of what he may or may not do," and finalized his stubborn rejection of Sarah's pleas with a blunt acknowledgement of her wishes and the gruff assurance that he would be guided by them "only so far as I may." It was a rare instance of him utterly rejecting Sarah's advice. And it did him a great deal of harm.

Butler was nothing if not loyal. He never forgot a friend ... or an enemy.
 
Yes, as a child he was bullied ... until his big brother Andrew came to his defense. After that, he was blind to all his brother's faults. To Ben, Andrew could do no wrong. Which was a great mistake, because Andrew was as greedy and corrupt as they come. In New Orleans Andrew Butler acquired immense profits. Some said that one million dollars from an illicit trade of medicines and foodstuffs with the needy Confederates had gone into his pockets. As the brother of the commanding General, many people naturally expected one to share in and facilitate the profits of the other.

Sarah, who had never liked or trusted Andrew, warned her husbsnd, "He is utterly hated, and all his deeds are reflecting on you. You think you control him and know his acts. On the contrary, though subservient to your face, he controls where he wishes." But the General refused to listen. He chided Sarah for her "foolish notions," asserting that he was perfectly capable of taking care of his "own honor among women or men." He refused "to speak of Andrew, of what he may or may not do," and finalized his stubborn rejection of Sarah's pleas with a blunt acknowledgement of her wishes and the gruff assurance that he would be guided by them "only so far as I may." It was a rare instance of him utterly rejecting Sarah's advice. And it did him a great deal of harm.

Butler was nothing if not loyal. He never forgot a friend ... or an enemy.
I have a few handwritten orders from Col. Andrew Butler when in NO.
Andrew would amass a small fortune as many traders did but when Andrew died in the middle of the war, Ben was the heir.
 
Yes, as a child he was bullied ... until his big brother Andrew came to his defense. After that, he was blind to all his brother's faults. To Ben, Andrew could do no wrong. Which was a great mistake, because Andrew was as greedy and corrupt as they come. In New Orleans Andrew Butler acquired immense profits. Some said that one million dollars from an illicit trade of medicines and foodstuffs with the needy Confederates had gone into his pockets. As the brother of the commanding General, many people naturally expected one to share in and facilitate the profits of the other.

Sarah, who had never liked or trusted Andrew, warned her husbsnd, "He is utterly hated, and all his deeds are reflecting on you. You think you control him and know his acts. On the contrary, though subservient to your face, he controls where he wishes." But the General refused to listen. He chided Sarah for her "foolish notions," asserting that he was perfectly capable of taking care of his "own honor among women or men." He refused "to speak of Andrew, of what he may or may not do," and finalized his stubborn rejection of Sarah's pleas with a blunt acknowledgement of her wishes and the gruff assurance that he would be guided by them "only so far as I may." It was a rare instance of him utterly rejecting Sarah's advice. And it did him a great deal of harm.

Confederate President Davis's December 23, 1862 Proclamation that labels General Butler and his cohorts as criminals and outlaws who are to be executed when captured, made specific mention of Andrew Butler:

"The slaves have been driven from the plantations in the neighborhood of New Orleans until their owners would consent to share their crops with the commanding general, his brother, Andrew J. Butler, and other officers ; and when such consent had been extorted, the slaves have been restored to the plantations, and there compelled to work under the bayonets of the guards of United States soldiers. Where that partner- ship was refused, armed expeditions have been sent to the plantations to rob them of everything that was susceptible of removal.
And even slaves, too aged or infirm for work, have, in spite of their entreaties, been forced from the homes provided by their owners, and driven to wander helpless on the highway."
Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benj. F. Butler: Butler's Book, Benjamin F. Butler, pg. 544
 
Confederate President Davis's December 23, 1862 Proclamation that labels General Butler and his cohorts as criminals and outlaws who are to be executed when captured, made specific mention of Andrew Butler:

"The slaves have been driven from the plantations in the neighborhood of New Orleans until their owners would consent to share their crops with the commanding general, his brother, Andrew J. Butler, and other officers ; and when such consent had been extorted, the slaves have been restored to the plantations, and there compelled to work under the bayonets of the guards of United States soldiers. Where that partner- ship was refused, armed expeditions have been sent to the plantations to rob them of everything that was susceptible of removal.
And even slaves, too aged or infirm for work, have, in spite of their entreaties, been forced from the homes provided by their owners, and driven to wander helpless on the highway."
Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benj. F. Butler: Butler's Book, Benjamin F. Butler, pg. 544
This was war and the poor of NO were left supporting the slaves in jail until the owners got around to showing up without ever paying the fees. The crops fed the people.of NO as well as the army and to a lesser extent the navy. Cotton would be auctioned off up north
 
Ahh good and wise General. Being a fan of the Beast and having feasted, to the extent I could at his auction I would drive by the mansion each time I went to visit my grandmother in Lowell. But it is an uphill slog and our peers cling virouciously to the Myth scenario.
Heck if Lee and Beauraguard would write to him and thank him he must have been at least ok as a human.
Onward is the cry for our tiny unit of Butlers men

My generally positive view of Buler suffered a hard knock when I tried to read his book. It seemed be little more than a litany of his quarrels with other Union generals. Really hard to read.
 
This is great! Thanks for sharing! :smile:

Fun fact: Writer George Plimpton is descended from both Benjamin Butler and Adelbert Ames because his mother Pauline was the daughter of Adelbert and Blanche's daughter Blanche Ames Ames. :D

I kept running across Plimpton when I was working on my master's thesis and used his material as a source but never knew about his Civil War heritage until about a year ago.
The same George Plimpton that did the voiceovers for New York lawyer and diarist George Templeton Strong in the Ken Burns as well the voiceovers for Strong in the Ric Burns documentary of New York. And Adelbert Ames was the first commanding officer of the 20th Maine before he was a brigade commander in the 11th Corps at Gettysburg. I had no idea that he had been a descendant of both of them. In the Ken Burns series, the late Studs Terkel did the voiceovers for Butler.
 
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Confederate President Davis's December 23, 1862 Proclamation that labels General Butler and his cohorts as criminals and outlaws who are to be executed when captured, made specific mention of Andrew Butler:

"The slaves have been driven from the plantations in the neighborhood of New Orleans until their owners would consent to share their crops with the commanding general, his brother, Andrew J. Butler, and other officers ; and when such consent had been extorted, the slaves have been restored to the plantations, and there compelled to work under the bayonets of the guards of United States soldiers. Where that partner- ship was refused, armed expeditions have been sent to the plantations to rob them of everything that was susceptible of removal.
And even slaves, too aged or infirm for work, have, in spite of their entreaties, been forced from the homes provided by their owners, and driven to wander helpless on the highway."
Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benj. F. Butler: Butler's Book, Benjamin F. Butler, pg. 544
Ironically, Butler was an early backer of Davis for President in the 1860 campaign.
 
Ironically, Butler was an early backer of Davis for President in the 1860 campaign.
What does Butler have in common with Heinz ketchup? The number “57”. According to this site he voted 57 times in favor of nominating Jefferson Davis as the Democratic presidential candidate at the 1860 National Democratic Convention in Charleston.
https://civilwarsaga.com/benjamin-butler-the-yankee-who-voted-for-jefferson-davis/

Fun Side-bar - The slogan “57 Varieties” of Heinz ketchup was made up in 1892 and doesn’t stand for anything.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-never-were-57-varieties-heinz-ketchup-180965158/
 
What does Butler have in common with Heinz ketchup? The number “57”. According to this site he voted 57 times in favor of nominating Jefferson Davis as the Democratic presidential candidate at the 1860 National Democratic Convention in Charleston.
https://civilwarsaga.com/benjamin-butler-the-yankee-who-voted-for-jefferson-davis/

Fun Side-bar - The slogan “57 Varieties” of Heinz ketchup was made up in 1892 and doesn’t stand for anything.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-never-were-57-varieties-heinz-ketchup-180965158/
Right I forgot that was the amount of times he voted in favor of him. Good comparison
 
The same George Plimpton that did the voiceovers for New York lawyer and diarist George Templeton Strong in the Ken Burns as well the voiceovers for Strong in the Ric Burns documentary of New York. And Adelbert Ames was the first commanding officer of the 20th Maine before he was a brigade commander in the 11th Corps at Gettysburg. I had no idea that he had been a descendant of both of them. In the Ken Burns series, the late Studs Terkel did the voiceovers for Butler.
Yep! His maternal grandmother was Adelbert Ames's daughter with Butler's daughter. His grandmother was apparently pretty irritated with JFK over what he wrote in his book Profiles in Courage about her dad and wrote her own bio of him in retaliation. Plimpton said he tried to bring it up with JFK, but JFK knew more about Ames than he did, and it embarrassed him to be outgamed on family history. :giggle: Plimpton had early memories of meeting Ames when he himself was a child, but he said by that point, Ames was pretty frail.
 
Yep! His maternal grandmother was Adelbert Ames's daughter with Butler's daughter. His grandmother was apparently pretty irritated with JFK over what he wrote in his book Profiles in Courage about her dad and wrote her own bio of him in retaliation. Plimpton said he tried to bring it up with JFK, but JFK knew more about Ames than he did, and it embarrassed him to be outgamed on family history. :giggle: Plimpton had early memories of meeting Ames when he himself was a child, but he said by that point, Ames was pretty frail.
Interesting I had no idea that JFK knew more about Ames than Plimpton
 
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