Gen. Butler's Relationship with Black Troops

When it comes to Civil War generals, few have received less admiration than Benjamin Butler. And while recent reassessments that take into account his overall leadership and adaptability are starting to slowly change things toward his favor, he is still readily known by his derogatory nicknames like "Beast" and "Spoons."

Butler's early war refusal to return runaway enslaved people to their owner at Fort Monroe, and his seemingly eager incorporation of African American soldiers in his Army of the James appears to have earned him a favorable position among the USCTs under his command. 

Recently I located a couple of incidents involving Butler from an apparently objective source that probably helped further his good standing with Black soldiers. In the April 1865 edition of Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, a British publication, the author of an essay titled "A Visit to General Butler and the Army of the James," happened to make his visit to Butler's command at the time of the Battle of New Market Heights. Behind the lines, the author and Butler encountered USCTs making their way to the rear after being wounded in the fight. He wrote:

"Soon after we began to fall in with the wounded of the coloured division which had been the first to attack 'Johnny' that morning. The General stopped by as he passed them, and inquired kindly, whether they were much hurt, praising those who had carried their rifles with them off the field. [The soldiers] replied with a smile of mixed pleasure and pride; indeed, unlike the white troops, who are apt to forget this part of discipline, they rarely fail to salute Butler with hand and smile seeming to recognize him as a friend." It says a lot about a commander, who was in the middle of a major engagement to take time out to interact with his men in such a way. Such actions were likely remembered as well by the soldiers as by the author of the article.

In addition, at the end of the article, the author made mention of another incident that shows Butler's concern for Black troops. "[Butler] showed also the greatest indignation when a medical officer was reported to him for being 'disgracefully, brutally, and insultingly drunk' when in charge of a hundred and fifty wounded. On finding that (owing to the rapid advancement of the ambulances) thirty wounded negroes had been left of nearly twenty-four hours without any medical aid, he sent for the responsible medical persons and reprimanded them severely for their neglect of the coloured men."

Finally, add to these eye-witness accounts the fact that Butler went to the trouble to have the so-called "Butler Medal" stuck in order to give to United States Colored Troops soldiers for their heroism and the evidence is fairly strong that he genuinely believed in their effectiveness as soldiers. What is even more heartening is the fact that he backed up his positive sentiment with positive actions. 

Butler image courtesy of the Library of Congress.