LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. D GEN. BENJAMIN E. BUTLEft'S TRUE RECORD. 'Cj? !?>"•"' BUTLER CLUBS TIJLL rX sum TED WITH TUX LZIT-E OF- Tiin?tT ^ By T. A. BLA^D, WITH FINE STEEL PORTRAIT, During the remainder of Ibe present caimf>aigi^ at tho reduced rule of 2S cents Single Copy. ®15 l)y (lie Ilnndrcd, Ovor COO parfca. ICmo. Pnper. Snmp)o cofry by n-kail on roccipt of pric». lEE & SHEPARD, PiiWisliers, Boston. THE RECORD OF BENJAMIN F, BUTLER. '* Ir prirate character were a good grouncl of indorsement, tiie Criends of Gen. BiiUcr would have a strong candidate, for we be- lieve his private life is above reproach, and unusually pure." So said, in September, 1879, "The Boston Post," & paper politicall}' intensely hostile to Gen. Butler. His public career covers a period of o% cr a quarter of a century. During that period his utterances upon the great public questions of our momentous history have been frank, and bold almost to "" !acit3'. He has, at critical times iu our country's life, occupied prominent positions in the State and National Legislatures, ia the field, and in military' administration. His public life has been in sight of all men, and has made bitter enemies as well as enthusi- astic friends. That malignant enmity should ransack the dictionaiy to find ff-ords savage enough to be thrown at Gen. Butler, is not surpris- ing. Every great man has tliis c>:pcricnce. Washington, — a patriot is almost luuniliatcd when he reads the shameless abuse poured out upon this illustrious man by American citizens. Jack- son, — his political op[ionents Mere frantic iu their furious calum- nies against the hero of New Orleans. No epithets were too vil6 to be hurled at Abraham Lincoln, even up to the day when he fell by the assassin's bullet. Why has Gen. BuUcr been so savagely ranligncd? The spirit of part}' is, of course, the main reason. But there are some special reasons. He has been tiie uncompromising advocate of equal rights ? and so he has oH'onilcd the oligarch}' who assume superior dignity and anthorily in Massachusetts. He has boldly defended the poor, the oppressed, the friendless ; and so he has drawn upon himself the wrath of despotic corporations and their purchased allies. He has been loo great to be trammelled b}' party mles, or to be submissive to party rings ; and so he has earned the bitter hostility of party managers. Nevertheless it seems strange that everi party enmity or mon- eyed greed should seek to obscure one of the briglitcst names in American history. The xieople need onl}' to remember facts. It needs only a reasonably candid look at the public record of this eminent citizen, both in relation to the State and to the Union, to see how despicable are the cavils against the grandl}- patri- otic and unselfish service of Benjamin F. Butler. And the best answer to the mean assaults of anonymous writers, inspired bj' their hold on public office, is a brief recapitulation of the public record of this great man. Benjamin F. Butler was born Nov. 5, 1818, in Deerfield, N.H. His mother was of the sturdy' race from the North of Ireland. His father's mother was daughter of that eminent soldier of the- Revolution, Col. Joseph Cille}' ; and his father's father was a captain in the same glorious arm}'. His father, Capt. John Butler, ccnimanded a company of dragoons in the war of 1812, and served with the heroic Andrew Jackson. Benjamin F. Butler came from an Honest, brave, and patriotic stock. Ilis father died in 1819, away from home, while commanding a vessel to the "West Indies. The widow was left with scantj' means, and with two sons, one of whom, Benjamin F., was then but five months old. The brave New-England mother shrank from no responsibility. Eventually she removed to Lowell, Mass., and opened a boarding-house. It was successful, and she was able to help in sending the studious bo}', who was passionately fond of books, to Waterville College (now Colby University), where he graduated in 1838. He was then twent}- years old. Not strong in health, he at once went on a fishing- voyage of four months, lived on sailors' fare, and did sailors' work, and returned with that robust constitution which Strict temperance in all his habits has preserved. It is well known that no man can do more work or endure more fatigue than Benjamin F. Butler. He entered at once on the stud}- of law. He was not nursed in the lap of luxur3\ Too poor to go on without help, and too self- reliant to accept it, he worked his own way b}- teaching school in Lowell, in turn with study of law. When twenty-two years old he was admitted to the bar, and began first in Lowell that brilliant career which has made him famous. 2Tan7/ of his early clients were factoiy-girls. It was hard, then, for a factor^'-girl to obtain justice against the great corporations, inasmuch as she could not pay the fees demanded b}' law^'ers. Few lawyers dared even to- undertake their tases. One lawj'cr did, and the corporations- crushed him. "Wealth, political power, and tyrannj* were allied- Benjamin F. Butler undertook such cases ; if necessarj', without fee or reward. He did it as he has since done for soldiers and sailors. It maj' be said of Gen. Butler, that in the whole. course of his practice he has never charged or received, from any soldier or sailor, or the widow, mother, or orphan of any soldier or sailor, one cent in the shape of a fee for services as attorney or agent in obtaining pensions, bounty, or back pay. And Gen. Butler has- collected many thousands of such Claims for the veterans of the war, and for the surviving relatives of those who died in the service of their countr}'. What Republican candidate can show such a record of unostentatious generosity? Ask old soldiers who have had work done b}^ a now celebrated firm in Boston, in which is a Re- publican candidate, " what was their share in the returns? " The pluck and success of Benjamin F. Butler disturbed the mill-owners and their allies. The rings of favor, friends, and inheritance, wealth and aristocratic position, ceased to despise him. Overtures were made to him, which he in turn despised. He believed in justice. He was of the people. He encountered from that time the malignant hostility' of certain classes. It showed itself at the bar, in business, in social life. It tried to baffle and crush him in the war, although to do so was to side with treason ! Since the war, it has transferred its hatred ta political life. It is the same spirit of caste, overbearing wealthy and tyranny, which began to abuse Benjamin F. Butler, when, a 3'oung man, the}" found he could not be used to buttress the for- tunes of the then ruling oligarchy. Bat he succeeded at the bar. By intense industry, laborious- stud}', and the advantages of his commanding and versatile intel- lect, he became a necessity ; and rich clients came, from whom he commanded rich fees. It is needless to suggest his eminence as a lawyer. By his o\ni: efforts he has succeeded in life. Not an instance is found where a single dollar of his property has come by any unlawful means, either from persons or the State. The fact that he is above all temptation to private greed, with the fact of his legal habit of inind in seeing instinctively even the hidden motives and actions G of men, his power of detecting eminently respectable shams at sight, and his intensity' of resolute power, makes the rings auj commissions dread his election as Governor of Massachusetts. rOLITICAL. Gen. Butler's political principles were Democratic. They were his b}" inheritance and by instinct. His theories were modedcd substantially on those of Jcflersou, and not on those of the old Foderalists. He believed that All men are equal before the law. This principle and its opposite have always been at war in Massachusetts, under various party names. Gen. Butler believes in no privileged classes. A late anon^-mous campaign assault upon Butler, circulated by the Republican State Committee, quolcs and indorses " The Atlantic Monthly." But it forgets to quote a very imprudent statement of that same " Monthly," viz., — "It-is the traditional right of certain hereditary families to control the poUtics of Massachusetts!" No wonder that the " Monthl}'," and those who indorse it, do not like Benjamin F. Butler ! When Butler began his profession, Massachusetts was a TVTiig State, Middlesex was a AVhig count}', and Lowell was a 'Whig cit3\ The Whig party appeared to be impregnable. That very year it swept the whole couutrj- like a whirhviud. Had Butler been an office-seeker, he had only to join tlie dominant parly. A }oung man of his intellectual and executive ability Avas a prize. For an office-seeker, the Whig part}- was tiie '^lacc. It had iu Lrassaclui- sctls, not only the numbers, but v:ic4h- the wealth and the sociiil position. The young lawj-cr passed it all b}', and apparently ruined all his chances, when he took his place with the hopeless minorit}-, and adhered to its desperate fortunes, lie did it bo- cause he was then, as now, True to his convictions^ at whatever sacrifice. The labor-reform question^ however, early became prominent. Gen. Butler's sympathies were with the Avcak. The struggle with the corporations, begun in 1850, was to lessen the thirteen hours' daily work wickedly ex- torted from the opcratires in mills. In that stimggle, Mr. Butler was in 1852 a candiilate for the legislature, on that ticket. The lordly dictation of the mill-managers took an open form. A few^ dajs before election, a notice was posted in the various mills in the following language : — "Any man who Totes the Ben Butler ten-hour ticket will be discharged." Butler spoke at an immense meeting of the citizens. In words of burning eloquence he denounced this shameless interference with liberty, lie said, — ** I do not counsel reTolution or yiolent measures ; for I do not, I can not, believe tliat the notice posted in llie mills was authorized. Some ignorant underling has done this with the Lope of propitiating the favor of distant masters; misjudging them, misjudging vou. The owners of the mills are surely too wise, too just, or at least too prudent, to authorize a measure which absolutely extinguishes government, which invites, justifies, and necessitates anarchy. For tyranny less odious than this, men of Massachu- setts, our fathers cast off tht-ir allegiance to the king, and plunged into ihd bloody chaos of revolution ; and the directors must know that the sons stand re:nly to do as their sires have done before tlicm. But if it shtmld i)rove true that this infamous notice tva^ authorized, if men are to he (h'])rived even of the enjoyment of the primeval curse, 'By the sweat of tliy face Shalt thou eat thy bread,' for exercising the light of an Americau citizen to vole as their consciences dictate, then, woe to Lowell I" lie calmed the excited audience, and closed with saying, — **]^ry friends, go home, obey the laws, do no act of violence; and, when election-day come5>, vote as your judgment shall dictate, without icgard to personal consequences. "Wait till overt acts of treason to liberty aud law shall come from the other side." Tlie notice was witlulrawn. Cutler was trinmphantlj' elected. The eleven-hour bill became a law. At this late date, twenty- six years after, it is alleged that Gen. Butler was faithless, inas- much as his name is not recorded on its passage. In fact, to his eflbrls much was due, and the passage of the bill Avas certain, when Butler, then a military olllccr, was necessarily absent on military duty on the day of the passage of the bill. Tlic confi- dence of the suffering advocates of labor-reform in Gen. Butler was henceforth unhesitating. On somewhat similar issues, and b}' similar votes, lie was chosen to the Senate in 1859, having also been a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1853, where he was chairman of ver}' important committees. A late attack undertakes to represent him as oppressing the laborer. It gives assumed tables of dividends and wages in the Middlesex Mill, in which Gen. Butler is an owner. By that 8 table it would appear that th^^iill Las been paying, during the last ten j'oars, from nine to seventeen per cent annually. If this bo so, — yet the writer happened to forget what has been repeatedly printed, that the stock had been scaled down from one thousand to one hundred dollars a share ; that is, stock on which one thousand dollars were actually paid in cash is now reckoned at a par of only one hundred, and had gone as low as to fifty dollars per share, by losses. A dividend of ten per cent on the present par of a hundred dollars is only one per cent on Avhat the shares actually origiuall}" cost ! This assault purports to contrast wages paid a year ago b}' the Middlesex Mill with wages paid bj- the Talbot Mill, which Mill, the recent anonymous document sent out b}- the ring-managers says, for an evident purpose, is in Lowell ! The writer omits several facts : First, that mills in the country, without advantages as to schools, churches, and cheap markets, alwaj's must pay higher to get o[)crativcs. Secondlj', the writer seems to be ignorant that the question came up three 3'ears ago, whether to run the Middlesex Mill at a loss. If it stopped, it must turn the operatives out to hun- ger and cold, but it could sell its raw material for profit enough to declare a ten per cent dividend. The directors decided to Iceep on. The}' made no dividend., and sunk seventy-five tliousand dollars besides, rather than deprive their operatives of a chance to get their bread ! Such is the record of Gen. Butler as a Director. Still further. The assailant has gone back a year to take just the time v.hcn, in anticipation of a disastrous business, wages had been reduced. Gen. Butler had more faith; and, although not at home, advised against the reduction. But the assailant natu- rally sup2)resses the fact, that, last Christmas, the business having proved unexpectedly favorable, the mill added to every operative six months in its employ, five i^er cent of wages, over and above all his pa}-, as a present ! More than ail : in the whole twenty years in which Gen, Butler has been connected with that mill, there has been no strike, no friction, no difliculty of an}- kind, and, of course, no defalcations. The bunting-mills and the cartridge-mills, in both of which he is a large owner, pay the highest loages paid in Loioell! Gen. Butler was a member of the Democratic party. lie was delegate to every one of its national conventions from 1844 to 1860. In 1859 he received the large vote of over 50,000 as its candidate for governor, but when, of course, election was hopeless. On the 22d of May, 185G, Gen. Butler was in War-hingtcn. on "his way as delegate to one of these Democratic National Conven- tions, of that year. On that clay, Preston S. Brooks made his cowardly and brutal assault on Senator Sumner, Instantly, al- though a political opix>nent, Gen. Butler openly and unsparingly condemned the outrage, and at once called upon Mr. Sumner to express his warm sympath}'. The wounds had not then even been dressed. Mr. Sumner received him most cordially, and they were- always afterwards in the most pleasant relations, until the sena- tor's severe denunciation of President Grant, when Gen. Butler sided with the President. But, on the evening of the same day in which Gen. Butler had openl}' gone to the side of the great Massachusetts senator, and in the very hotel where Gen. Butler was indignantly denouncing the crime, some Massachusetts gentlemen gave a dinner to Preston S. Brooks; and at the dinner, "The Boston Traveller" of Sept. 17, 1879, tells us, was a gentleman now an honored Republican Representative in Congress from Massachusetts ! The position of the Northern Democrats was peculiar. Not believing in slavery, yet they believed that the Constitution left such questions to the several States. Right or wrong, this was their conviction, and they adhered to the Constitution as they understood it. When the groat questions which led to the war were before the countiy, the}- were willing to go as far as possible in concessions to the South, because they knew the temper of the South. While some Northern men were ridiculing the idea that the South would fight, such men as Butler knew the South better, and knew that it meant " fight." They saw the horrible prospect before the countr}', and the}- could see nothing but blackness. Their prophecies were correct. But when the Southern States had themselves bi'oken all the guaranties of the Constitution, the way was clear. Northern Constitutional Democrats were un- trammelled, and they had no hesitation in their love for the flag. In the Democratic Convention of 1860, Gen. Butler was a delegate. In obedience to the wishes of his constituents, seven times he voted for Stephen A. Douglas. It was evident that his nomination was entirely impossible, and Gen. Butler, of course, was then free to vote as he deemed best. In his address to his constituents, after his return, he said, — "With the facts before me, and impressing upon me the conviction that the nomination of Judge Douglas could not be made with any hope of safety to the Democratic party, what was I to do? Yielding to your pref- erences- I voted seven time's for Judge Douglas, although msy judgment 10 told mc that my votes were wors<4Rn useless, as tliey gave him an apiicar- ance of strength in the coiivcnl,ion which I folL ho had not in the i>arty. "I tlicn h)oked ahout me, with a view to throwing my vote where, at least, it wouKI not mislead any one. I saw a statcsinau of national fame, •who had led his regiment to victory at Buena Vista, a Democrat witli whom I disagreed in some things, but wiUi whom I could act in most; loving his country first, his section next, but just to ail, so that, through Lis endeavors in the Senate of the United States, Massaclitisetts obtained from the G(Uieral Government several hundred thousand dollars, her just dues deferred for forty years, — a feat which none of her own sons had ever been able to accomplish. Ccsidcs, Ills friends were not pressing his name before the convention, so that be was not a party to the personal strife then going on. I thought such a man worthj' of the poor compliment of a voto from ^lassachiisetts : thei-eforc I threw my voto for Jefferson Davis of Mis- sissippi. I make no apology for that vote. I believe it was guided by an iutelligeut view of the sit^uatiou." TliC result was tlic division of the Democratic party, and the election of Abraham Lincoln. In December, ISGO, Gcti. Liitlcr met the Democratic leaders who were at Washington for consultation. Gen. Butler, on visit- ing his Southern friends, found that most of them regarded sjgcs- sion as an accomi)lished fact. Butler, Brcckcuridge, and a few otlicrs in vain tried to stem the torrent. "'What docs this mean?' asked Butler of a proinincut Southern man, Boon after his arrival in Washington. " ' It means simply what it appears to mean. The Union is dead. The exjieiiment is finished. The attempt of two communities having no interest in common, abhorring one another, to make believe (hey are one nation, haa ceased forever. We shall establish a sountl, Itomogcneoiis governmenf, witli no discordant clemculs. We shall have room for our Northeru fricuda. Come with us.' "'Have you counted the cost? Do you really think you can break ap this Union ? Do yoit think so yourself?' ♦"I do.' " ' You are, then, prepared for civil war ? You mean to brin; tliis matter to the issue of arms ?' " 'Oh, there will be no war! the North won't fi^jUL' "'Tlie North (c/if fight.' •"The North won't fight.' "'The North will fight.' " 'The North can't fight, Wc have friends enough at the North to pro- vent it,.' " ' You have friends at the North as long as you remain true t,o tlic Con- Btitutiou ami the Union. Ijut, let tne tell you, the moment it is seen that you moan to break up the country, that moment the North is a unit .igainst you. I can answer at least for Massachusetts. She is good for ten thuusaxid men to march at once against armed secession.' *" AlasKathtisetts is not Ku<-h a fool. If your State should wnid ten thousaiiil n)en to preserve tlie Union against Southern secession, she wouM Lave to fight twice ten thousand of her own citixcns at home, who will oppose such a policy.' 11 ** * No, sir: wlien we come from Massachusetts to figlit for the Union, we shall not leave a single traitor beluntl, unless he is hanging on a tree.' " ' Well, we shall see.' " ' You will see. I know something of the North, and a good deal about New E!i;i;land. We are pretty quiet there now, because we don't believe you mean to carry out your threats. Cut let me tell you this: as sure as you aliempt to break up this Union, the Nonh will resist the attempt, to its last uL-in and its last dollar. You are as certain to fail as there is a God in heaven. One thing j'ou may do: you may ruin the Southern States, and extinguish your institution of slavery. From the moment the first gnn is fired upon the American flag, your slaves will not be worth five years purchase.' " ' Tbe North won't fight.' " ' The North xuill fight.' " ' Do you mean to say that you y urself would fight in such a cause? ' ♦* ' 1 would,' said Gen. Butler, •' u 1, by the grace of God, I will.' " With all that was done by others, it is perfectly 17011 known that had not such Northern Democrats as were represented b}- Benjamin F. Butler, John A. Logan, John A. Dix, and Daniel S. Diclcinson, east their strength into the side of the Union, with the great rank and lile the part}' furnished, the Union must have perished. Gen. Butler at once consulted witli Senator Tf ilson, and returned to Massachusetts. He earnestly advised Gov. Andrew to have the militia in readiness. Gov. Andrew could hardly believe that war was impending, but adopted vigorous measures. Gen. Butler nrged that overcoats be purcliased ; and this was the origin of the famous order ; that all men not ready to go, be discharged, and others eniisled ; and thus the State was ready. Massacliusetts has not yet forgotten the 15th of April, 1861. Fort Sumter liad fallen. At a quarter before five that afternoon, tlie order from Gov. Andrew to Gen. Butler, then in couit trying a case, to liaA'e the old Sixth mustered on Boston Common forthwith. All nigiit the summons passed to the scattered men, and the brave Col. Jones reported on Boston Common the next daj' at eleven o'clock. Gov. Andrew and Gen. Butler stood together to address tlic troops. That da}- came an order from "Washington for a full brigade and a brigadier-general. It was procured b}- Gen. Butler's efforts. Gen. Butler had enlisted in the glorious old Sixth as a private when he was twent3'-two j'ears of age. lie had risen by successive promotions to be brigadier-general, but he was only third in rank. Burning for service, lie obtained the appointment to lead this brigade to Washington ; and he left, with the Eighth Kegiment, the next day. He left nearly five hundred uutiuished l;\w-cases behind him, for four j'ears' service ! Massachusetts men have not forgotten the events of that march. Gen. Butler's men were feasted in New York, were continuously 12 cheered across New Jersey, a^^ arrived in Philadelphia on the memorable Nineteenth of April, to learn of the bloodshed in the Sixth in Baltimore, and that the bridges were destroj'ed. Gen. Butler's orders were to go to Washington. lie determined on his plan, and laid it before his ollicers, but said, " I take the whole responsibility upon myself." lie took his troops to Havre de Grace, seized the " Maiyland," steamed sixtj'-fuur miles to Annapolis, met witli onl3^ hostile words from the State government, -saved the old ship "Constitution." He found a small, rust}', damaged locomotive. Charles Iloinans looked at it, and said, " Our shop made that engine, general. I guess I can put her in order, and run her." Gen. Butter rebuilt the railroad which had been damaged b}' rebels ; in this as in other service, being the leader of soldiers as earnest, as patriotic, and as devoted as himself. He would have gone to "Washington, but the " Department of Annapolis" was at once created, Gen. Butler in command. Troops passed through, thousands in a da}'. Spies were arrested, and the Legislature watched. lu tlie inex[>eriL'nce of commanding officers, even the immense endurance of Gen. But- ler was tasked to meet the exigencies of everj' detail. Baltimore was still in the hands of the rebels, and tlu'ir forces were increasing. On the 29th of April, Lieut.-Gen. Winfield Scott communicated his plan for capturing Baltimore. It was as fol- lows : — " I suppose that a column from tlais place [Washingtou] of three tliou- saud men, another from New York of three thousand men, a third from Perryville or Elkton, by land or water, of three thousand men, and a fourth from Annapolis, by water, of three thousand men, might suffice." " Col. Mansfield has satisfied me that we want at least ten thousand additional troops here to give security to the Capitol." "With that addition we will b*jable, I think, to make the detachment for Baltimore." Gen. Butler got tired of waiting for the grand campaign of twelve thousand men. He carefully investigated the stale of affairs, and found that a bold stroke was feasible. Baltimore was in his department. He loaded trains with troops ; deceived the spio^ by feint of moving towards Harper's Ferry ; entered Balti- more in a fearful thunder-storm, by night ; occupied Federal Hill ; and when morning dawned th*^ astonished city found Gen. Butler in peaceable control, and The ola flag flying. But Gen. Scott was indignant that Butler, with nine hundred 13 men and two guns, had done what he insisted would take twelve thousand men ! Instead of thanking him, he wrote : — " Sir, your hazardous occupation of Baltimore was made without my knowledge, and, of course, without my approbation. It is a godsend that it was without conflict of arms." The fact was, that Geu. Butler thought that war might be rather "hazardous," and that fighting traitors might possibl}^ run the chance of " conflict of arms I" The indignant lieutenant-general insisted on his removal from command, and. the withdrawal of the troops. Gen. Butler went to Washington to receive a repri- mand, and did so ; but President Lincoln at once made him major- general of volunteers. It was the first appointment made, although others were afterwards falsely made to antedate his. "I always said," wrote Secretar^'-of-War Cameron, " that, if you had been left at Baltimore, the Rebellion would have been of short duration." Another instance of his forethought and .of the -evil which might have been avoided was this : Manassas Junc- tion, he suggested to the genei'al-in-chief, and not Arlington Heights, was the place where Washington should be defended. He offered to march with two thousand men, destro}' the railroad- <;onnections with the South, and fortify the position. There were then no rebels there. Gen. Scott negatived the proposal. The Committee on the Conduct of the War afterwards said that this omission was " the great error of the campaign." President Lincoln appreciated his gallant senice, and appointed him to command Fortress Monroe. He stopped in Washington long enough to make a brief address, in answer to the popular demand. Its kej'-note was, — "To us our country is first, because it is our country; and our State is next and second, because she is part of our country, and is our State. Our oath of allegiance to our country, and our ©ath of allegiance to our State, are int©rwreatbed harmoniously, and can never come in conflict, nor clash. He who does his duty to the Union does his duty to the State ; and he who does his duty to the State does bis duty to the Union." Such were the grand sentences which embodied his intense patriotism, and burned in the hearts of the patriotic people. At Fortress Monroe was a dilapidated fort ; no supplies ; not •even water less than a mile. He had to create all. He had per- mission to buy horses, and when bought they were taken away. It was his merit that Disappointments never ehilled Ids patriotism. He saw the importance of occupying Newport News, and he occu- .pied it. At Great Bethel his plans met with a reverse. The plans 14 were right ; but the utter in^p^cricncc of the ofTiccr Rent in conv mand, as well as the inexi)oricncc of subonlinatos, occasioned a Tcpulsc, Avhich. aUhongh it wns onl}' a skiniiish, seemed a great disaster to the countr}'. The ollieer was one sent out by Gov. Andrew especially to be put. in command, and Gen. Butler was not on the field. This reverse led Gen. Butler to originate a sug- gestion to the Secretary of War, which was afterwards adopted, and proved to be of incalculable value to the service. It was to have at dllforent posts " a board api)ointed, composed of three or five, to whom the competencj', enicienc}', and proi)riet3' of conduct of a given officer might be submitted ; and that upon the report of that board, approved bj' the commander and the department, the officer be dropped without the disgrace attending the senienc;© of a court-martial." To Gen. Butler belongs the proposal of th« plan which weeded out incompetent officers East and "NVest. At Fortress Monroe, also, Gen. ]]utler solved for the adminis- tration the greatest question of the war : "What was to be done with fugitive slaves? The occasion came when some slaves, who were to be sent by their master to work on rebel fortifications, sought refuge with Gen. Butler. lie saw that it was an outrage upon humanity and on patriotism to give these fugitives back to their master; while, on the other hand, the administration was constitutionally careful not to hurt slaver}'. Gen. Butler blended the lawyer and the soldier ; and t-he answer came to him as a flash of inspiration : " If they had been Col. Mallory's horses, or Col. Mallory's spades, or Col. Mallory's percussion-caps, ho would have seized them and used them. "Why not property more valu- able for the purposes of the Rebellion than any other?" They were Contraband of war I That magic phrase relieved the minds which still worried over the guaranties of the' Constitution in favor of rebels. Said Theodore "Winthrop,' " An epigram abolished slaver}' in the United States." That epigram was Gen. Benjamin F. Butler's. At Fortress Monroe Gen. Iiiiller suppressed the liquor-trafllo. He saw its evils. AVith his usual spirit, Avhich would asic nothing of a private soldier which he Avould not ask of himself, he said in his order : — " The general comninnding . . . will not exempt liimsclf from the opers^- tion of this order, but will not use it [wine or liquor) in his own quarter*, ae he wouM discourage its use iii the quarters of any other officer." The practical reply to Gen. Butler's "contraband" letter was his removal from oommand, which followed a few days after! 15 Gen, "Wool BTipcrscdctl liim ; but Gen. BuU«r was appointed to command all the troops outside of the forticss. As such, vith Gen. AVool's assent he commanded an expedition wliicli ho pro- jected, and which reduced the forts at IlatLcras Inlet. TUc rebel commander olT'ercd to submit upon certain specified terms. Gen. Cutler demanded and received Unconditional surrender. It was a brilliant success ; and tftis success cheered the disheart- ened North, and gave Fort Warren, lit Uostoa Harbor, twelve hundred prisoners of war. SPECIAL SERTICB. Rccmiling was at a stand-still. Gen. En tier recalled the gov- ernment to his scheme of expelling the rebels from the Viiginia peninsula. The authorities favored it. For this purpose Gen. Butler needed troops. The President authorized him to go to New England, and "Raise, organize, Jimi, uiiifonn, .in Gen. Lovell, rebel commander, evacuated New Orleans, and on Oic first day of May, 18G2, Gen. Benjamin F. Butlcp Took possession of J!^eio Orleans. YTc do not need to re-write the famili-ir history of the ocCTtpa- lion of New Orleans. Tiie difficulties which tlie indomitable com- mander had to meet and conquer were incessant and endlessly diverse. From that da}' on which Gen. Butler occupied the Cus- tom I louse, marching thither through an insulting, scowling, and dangerous mob, to the da^- when he left the cit}' as tranquil and orderly as aii^- city of the United States, the labors were iacossaufc and perplexing. J.Je ['oiunX a city defiant. The eloquent Soulc said tliat his first concern was for the ti-auquillit}' of Ihe citA', which could not bo maintained as long as the ti'oops remained in it, and urged their immediate removal. The peoi^lo were not conquered, aiul coidd not be expected (o bclinve as a eonquercil people. " Your soldiers can have no neace while they remain in our midst." Geu. Ihiller replied, "1 did not expect to hear a threat from Mr. Soulo on ihis occasion. I have been long accustomed to hear threats from Southern gentlemen in political conventions; but let me assiu'c gentlemen jjresent, that the time for tactics of that sort has passed, never to return. Kew Orleans is a conquered city. If not, wliv are we here? Have 30a opened your arms, and Ijid us welcome? "Would you, or would 3'ou not, expel us if yow couhl? New Orleans has been conquered by tho forces of tho United 19 States ; and, by the lairs of all nations, is subject to tlic will of the conquerors. Nevcrtbcloss I have proposed to leave the muni- cipal guverninent to the free exorcise of all its powers, and I am answered hy a threat. Gladly will I take every soldier out of the cil}' the vor^' da^', the very hour, it is demonstrated to me that the city government can and loill protect me from insult and danger," An interview in the St. Charles Hotel, between the mayor and the general, had scarce begun when an aide came iu to saj^ that Gen. Williams feared he would not be able to control the mob. Gen. Butler replied, — "Give mj' compliments to Gen. Williams, and tell him, if he finds he cannot control the mob, to open upon them with artillery." The mayor and liis friends sprang to their feet. *' Don't do that," exclaimed Maj'or Monroe. *' AVhy not, gentlemen? The mob must be controlled. We eauH have a disturbance in the street." " Shall 1 go out, and speak to the people? " asked the mayor. *' Any thing 3'ou please, gentlemen." But before long he could ride, with a single orderly, from one end of the city to the other, while the whole military force in the city was but two hundred and (ift}' men. lie found the city conl rolled for j-ears by a merciless mob. He left it a cit}- of peace and quiet. lie did not hesitate to order the execution of the death-pcualtj'' on the man who tore down the American Hag, tried and convicted ; and he hesitated no more to order the same execution on Northern men who took the night for robbery. Even insulting women were silenced into decencj'. The city was cursed with a worthless currenc)*. His sagacious and decisive measures gave it a currenc}' equal to that iu any State of the Union. The city had been the chosen field of yellow- fever. Its filth was proverbial. He had it cleansed, purified, quarantined, and not a case of the dreaded fever was known. lie establislied courts of justice, whose decisions were acknowl- edged ^vith respect. He instituted a sj'stem of successful free labor on the planta- tions. The first barrel of sugar made b}' the blacks under this syrstcm, he sent to President Lincoln. "The fnct," said he, " that it will have no flavor of the cruel and degrading whip, will not, I know, render it less sweet to vour taste." He reported to the government as follows : — *' WLeii 1 took possession of New Orlean3 I found tlie city nearly ori the verj(o of siarviitioii; the poor being utterly without, means of procuring wliab food Lliere was to bo bad. I endeavored to aid the city govornment 20 in the work of feeding the poor^pt I soon found that the very distribu- tion of food was a means faithl^Rly used to encourage the llebellion. I was obliged, therefore, to take the whole matter into my own hands. It had become a subject of alarming importance and gravity. It became •necessary to provide, from some source, the funds to procure the food. They could not be raised by city taxation in the ordinary form. These taxes were in arrears to more than one million of dollars. Besides, it would be unjust to tax the loyal citizens and honestly neutral foreigners to provide for a state of things brought about by the rebels and disloyal ■foreigners, who had conspired together to overthrow the authority of the United States, and establish the very result which was to be met. "Further, in order to have a contribution effective, it must be upon those who have wealth to meet it. There seem to be no such fit subjects for such taxation as the cotton-brokers who had brought the distress upon the city by paralyzing commerce, and the subscribers to the rebel loan. " With these convictions I issued General Order No. 55, which will ex- plain itself, and have raised nearly the amount of the tax therein set ■forth. But for what purpose ? Not a dollar has gone in any way to the use of the United States. I am now employing a thousand poor laborers, as natter of charity, upon the streets and wharves of the city, from this fund. I am distributing food to preserve from starvation nine thousand seven hundred and seven families, containing thirty-two thousand four •hundred souls, daily; and this at an expense of seventy thousand dollars .per month. I am sustaining, at an expense of two thousand dollars per month, five asylums for widows and orphans. I am aiding the charity hospital to the extemt of five thousand dollars per month." The tax was laid on men w^ho had subscribed over a million of -dollars to help the Rebellion. lie took their own old subscription- paper, and assessed them, each in exact proportion ! During all the time, he had the vexatious enmity of the foreign consuls ; a great mass of native secession within, and an armed •enemy outside, his pickets. He met an attack of Breckenridge at Baton Rouge, and was victorious. He watched Port Iludsoa anxiousl}', and asked in vain for but two thousand men to stop the growing works which afterwards required tens of thousands. He armed the blacks, and equipped three regi^aents, commission- ing officers of their own color, whom the government deprived of their commissions before it sent the brave men against Port Hud- son- Calumny followed him. Bland's vivid " Life of Gen. Butler" records his answer to one silly charge : — "On moving into the residence of Gen. Twiggs, I found no plate; but a few days later one of the general's former servants informed me that a box of valuables was buried beneath the floor of a cellar. This I ordered dug up. I found with this box three elegant swords which had been presented to Gen. Twiggs in recognition of his public services in the Mexican war, •with a lot of silver plate. The swords I forwarded to the Tresidcnt, with a ■recommendation that one of them be liung in tiie Patent Office, one in West Puiut Academy, and the other be presented to some officer of the army fur -distinguished services. 21 " The President adopted my recommendation, and laid it before Congress, wliere it rests still. The swords were still at the White House after Mi\ Johnson became President ; but at my request I was permitted to deposit them in a treasury-vault for safe keeping. The silver plate I ordered put back on to the sideboard, and during my residence there I used it as I did 'other ware and furniture ; and on surrendering the command to my suc- cessor, Gen. Banks, I turned it over to him, takinrj the receipt of his quarter- master for it. I hear that it subsequently disappeared in some mysterious way; but I have no means of knowing who got it." In December, 1862, he was recalled. No reason was given; but it is known that it was done at the dictation of France to our State Department. On leaving, he issued an address to the citizens of New Orleans, which includes the following : — " I shall speak in no bitterness, because I am not conscious of a single personal animosity. Commanding the Army of the Gulf, I found you cap- tured, but not surrendered; conquered, but not orderly; relieved from the presence of an army, but incapable of taking care of yourselves. I restored order, punished crime, opened commerce, brought provisions to your starv- ing people, reformed your currency, and gave you quiet protection, such as you had not enjoyed for many years. "While doing this, my soldiers were subjected to obloquy, reproach, and insult. "And MOW, speaking to you, who know the truth, I here declare that whoever has quietly remained about his business, affording neither aid nor comfort to the enemies of the United States, has never been interfered with by the soldiers of the United States. " I do not feel that I have erred in too much harshness, for that harsh- ness has erer been exhibited to disloyal enemies to my country, and not to loyal friends. To be sure, I might have regaled you with the amenities of British civilization, and yet been within the supposed rules of civilized warfare. You might have been smoked to death in caverns, as were the Covenanters of Scotland by the command of a general of the royal house of England ; or roasted, like the inhabitants of Algiers during the French cam- paign ; your wives and daughters might have been given over to the rav- isher, as were the unfortunate dames of Spain in the Peninsular war ; or you might have been scalped and tomahawked, as our mothers were at Wyoming by the savage allies of Great Britain in our own Revolution ; your property could have been turned over to indiscriminate ' loot,' like the pal- ace of the emperor of China; works of art which adorned your buildings tjiight have been sent away, like the paintings of the Vatican ; your sons might have been blown from the mouths of cannon, like the Sepoys at Delhi ; and yet all this would have been within the rules of civilized warfare as practised by the most polished and the most hypocritical nations of Europe. " But I have not so conducted. On the contraiy, the worst punishment inflicted, except for criminal acts |)unishable by every law, has been banish- ment with labor to a barren island, where I encamped my own soldiers before marching here. " It is true, I have levied upon th« wealthy rebels, and paid out nearly hsAi a million of dollars to feed forty thousand of the etarving poor of all aationa assembled here, made so by this war. 22 " I saiT tliMt this TJohclIion v.•^^m^,'■.lr of the aristocrats nijiin^t the mtddHiyg men, — of ilio rich :ij;ainst llie poor; a war of the laml-owner agivinst the laborer; iliat it was a stnigy;Ie for llie retention of power in the haiiil.s of the few a^jaiiist tlie many; and I found no conchision to it, save in the subjuga^ lion of llie few, and the diM-ntlnalmont of the many. I thcrofore I'cit ao hesitation in taking the substance of the wealthy, who had caused tlie wat, to feed the innocent poor, who had suffered by the war. And I shiU now leave you with the proud consciousness that 1 carry with me the blessings of the humble and loyal, under the roof of the cottage anj>e nor interest, save the good of those whom headdresses; and let me here rt'peat, with all the solenmity of an appeal to heaven to bear me witness, that such are the views forced upon me by experience." • Upon the retirement of Mi^or Uell from the l>cneh of the provost eoort, the lawyers «nd other* wtio had ati<-Df rebels; of dealing with an extremely factious, (reachcrons, and rascally gang of for- eigners, sympathizers with the liebellioH, and claiming the protection of their respective governments as a cloak for schemes of treason. "The historian will decide that Gen. Cutler's success in grappling with these unparalleled dlUlcuIties was such as to entitle him to the highest rank among statesmen." " Men loved him," 803-3 Abbott's Ilistory, " ia propoitiou to their loyalty and truth." ** The Boston Transcript " inquired "Whether the remarkable onslaught in certain qnarters upon Jfajor- Gen. Cutler is not owing to the political change that h.is come over him, and Ills fidelity to Democratic principles against an insurgent aristocracy?" Its language also seems like a prediction of present times : — " The conflict is really between aristocracy ami democracy; the few who would lord it as a non-producing oligarchy, living upon the unrt'