Matthew Calbraith Butler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromSouth Carolina | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1895 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas J. Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Tillman |
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives fromEdgefield County | |
| In office November 27, 1865 – December 21, 1866 | |
| In office November 26, 1860 – December 21, 1861 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1836-03-08)March 8, 1836 |
| Died | April 14, 1909(1909-04-14) (aged 73) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America United States of America |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army United States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 (CSA) 1898–1899 (USA) |
| Rank |  Major General (CSA) Major General (USA) |
| Unit | Hampton's Legion |
| Commands | 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Butler's Cavalry Brigade Butler's Cavalry Division |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Spanish–American War |
Matthew Calbraith Butler (March 8, 1836 – April 14, 1909) was a Confederate soldier, anAmerican military commander, attorney and politician, and slaveholder fromSouth Carolina.[1] He served as amajor general in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War,reconstruction era three-termUnited States Senator, and amajor general in theUnited States Army during theSpanish–American War.
Butler was born at Eagle's Crag nearGreenville, South Carolina, to a large and prominent family of politicians and military men.[2] His grandfather wasU.S. CongressmanWilliam Butler.[2] His mother, Jane Tweedy Perry of Rhode Island, was the sister of CommodoreOliver Hazard Perry andMatthew Calbraith Perry, for whom Matthew Calbraith Butler is named. His father,William Butler Jr., was a Congressman beginning in 1841.[3]
His uncleAndrew Butler was aU.S. Senator from South Carolina and unclePierce Mason Butler wasGovernor of South Carolina.[3] One of Matthew Butler's first cousins was CongressmanPreston Brooks, who assaulted SenatorCharles Sumner in 1856 on the floor of the U.S. Senate with a cane. He said it was because Sumner had insulted Senator Andrew Butler, at whose home Matthew lived as a young man.[4] Two of Butler's first cousins twice removed wereJames Bonham (killed at theBattle of the Alamo) and Confederate GeneralMilledge Luke Bonham.[5]
In 1848 Butler went with his father toArkansas but returned in 1851 to live with his uncle, who resided inEdgefield, South Carolina. He received his initial education in the city's Edgefield Academy, and then attended theSouth Carolina College, where he was a member of theDelta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, graduating in 1856. He studied law, was admitted to the state'sbar association in 1857, and began practicing as a lawyer in Edgefield.[6] He was elected to theSouth Carolina House of Representatives in 1860, but resigned in 1861 when the American Civil War began.[7]
On February 25, 1858, Butler married Maria Calhoun Pickens. She was the daughter ofFrancis Wilkinson Pickens, who was elected as governor of the state.[8]
During the Civil War, Butler served in the cavalry in the ConfederateArmy of Northern Virginia, serving inHampton's Legion, attaining the rank of captain on June 12, 1861, and then Major on July 21, 1861. When the legion's cavalry battalion was consolidated with the 4th South Carolina Battalion and became the2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment on August 22, 1862, Butler was elected its colonel. Participating in many major actions with Hampton's Legion and the 2nd SC Cavalry, Butler lost his right foot to artillery shell atBattle of Brandy Station.[9] He attained the rank of brigadier general in February 1864 and was referred to as "General Butler" in the postwar period.
Butler led a brigade inWade Hampton's division of theCavalry Corps. When Hampton took command of that corps, Butler became division commander. Late in the war, he transferred to theCarolinas together with Lt. Gen. Hampton, leading a division at theBattle of Bentonville. General Butler was wounded again in that action.
Financially ruined as a result of the war, Butler resumed his career as a lawyer in Edgefield. He was elected to theSouth Carolina House of Representatives beginning in 1866.[6] He became a member of theDemocratic Party and ran unsuccessfully forlieutenant governor in 1870 during the Reconstruction era.[2] He was a member of the pro-blackUnion Reform party.[10]
In July 1876, Butler defended two white farmers in court in their complaint of being denied free passage on Main Street ofHamburg, South Carolina, when the local chapter of the black militia, part of the National Guard, was parading on Independence Day. In court, Butler demanded that militia members turn over their arms to him, which they refused. Hundreds of white paramilitary members came to town and attacked the armory, where the militia company had taken refuge. They killed two freedmen on the street, including the town marshal, and later murdered five freedmen they had taken prisoner. One white man had been killed in early gunfire[11][12] (seeHamburg massacre).
In 1877, after Federal troops had been withdrawn under a national Democratic compromise,Reconstruction ended. The Democratic Partyregained control of the state in the 1876 elections. The South Carolina state legislature elected Butler to the United States Senate.[13] During Senate hearings on his election, Butler was accused by Edgefield African-American leaderHarrison N. Bouey of threatening to kill him and other local men.[14] Butler served in the U.S. Senate for three terms, from 1877 to 1895, but lost for re-election in the South Carolina legislature toBenjamin Tillman, who was popular after serving as governor.[15] In 1890 while serving in the Senate, Butler introduced a bill to provide federal aid to African Americans who would emigrate to Africa to promote segregation, sparking a national debate.[16]
While in the Senate, Butler served on theSenate Foreign Relations, Territories,Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, Interstate Commerce,Civil Service and Retrenchment committees.[2]
Butler practiced law inWashington, D.C., until 1898, when he was appointedmajor general of U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish–American War. He was one of a handful of former Confederate officers (along withFitzhugh Lee,Thomas L. Rosser, andJoseph Wheeler) to serve in the U.S. Army during that war.[13] After the American victory that year, he supervised the evacuation ofSpanish troops fromCuba.[17] He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on April 15, 1899.[18] In 1899 General Butler joined the Pennsylvania Commandery of theMilitary Order of Foreign Wars.
In 1903, Butler was elected vice president of theSouthern Historical Society. In 1904 he relocated toMexico, where he served as president of a mining company. Having been a widower for years since his wife Maria died, in 1906 he married Nannie Whitman.
They returned to Washington, DC. Butler died there in 1909 while semi-retired. His body was returned to Edgefield, South Carolina, where he was buried in the city's Willow Brook Cemetery.[6]
The Matthew C. Butler Camp #12 of the South Carolina Society of theMilitary Order of the Stars and Bars is named in his honor.[citation needed]
| U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from South Carolina 1877–1895 Served alongside:John J. Patterson,Wade Hampton, III,John L. M. Irby | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825) | | |
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| Commerce (1825–1947) | ||
| Interstate Commerce (1887–1947) | ||
| Interstate and Foreign Commerce/Commerce (1947–1977) | ||
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation (1977–present) | ||
| Post Office and Post Roads (1816–1947) | | |
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| Civil Service and Retrenchment (1873–1921) | ||
| Civil Service (1921–1947) | ||
| Post Office and Civil Service (1947–1977) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
