Butler, Benjamin Franklin (1818-1893), was an American politician and a Union general during the Civil War (1861-1865). Shortly after the war broke out, Butler entered the Union Army as a brigadier general of the Massachusetts militia. In May 1861, he occupied Baltimore and kept it in Union hands. That same month, Butler was promoted to major general of volunteers and given command of the Department of Eastern Virginia. In 1862, while in charge of Union troops occupying New Orleans, he became known as “Beast Butler” among city residents who opposed his authority. In 1863, Butler became commander of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. In 1864, he took command of the Army of the James.
After the war, Butler represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1867 to 1875 and from 1877 to 1879. He became a leading Republican in the House and demanded firm treatment of the South. He was a major opponent of President Andrew Johnson in Johnson’s impeachment trial.
Butler was born in Deerfield, N.H. He served in the Massachusetts house of representatives in 1853 and in the state senate in 1859. In 1882, he successfully ran as the Democratic Party’s candidate for governor of Massachusetts. He served as governor from 1883 to 1884. Butler was the Anti-Monopoly and Greenback parties’ candidate for President in 1884.
