John Butler (1728 – 1796) was an American-born military officer, landowner, interpreter, merchant and colonial official in the
British Indian Department
The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...
. During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, he was a
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
who led a light infantry unit known as
Butler's Rangers
Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. Th ...
on the northern frontier of New York. Born in Connecticut, he moved to New York with his family, where he learned several
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...
and worked as an interpreter in the fur trade. He was well-equipped to work with
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
* Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
* Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...
and other Iroquois Confederacy warriors who became allies of the British during the rebellion.
During the War, Butler led
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
and
Cayuga forces in the
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...
in New York. He later raised and commanded a regiment of rangers, which included affiliated Mohawk and other Iroquois nations' warriors. They conducted raids in central New York west of Albany, including what became known among the rebels as the
Cherry Valley massacre
The Cherry Valley massacre was an attack by British and Iroquois forces on a fort and the town of Cherry Valley in central New York on November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific ...
. After the war Butler resettled in
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
, where he was given a grant of land by the Crown for his services. Butler continued his leadership in the developing province, helping to found the
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...
and
Masonic Order
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and serving in public office.
Early life
John Butler was born to Walter Butler and Deborah Dennison, née Ely, in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
in 1728. In 1742, his father moved the family to
Fort Hunter
Fort Hunter is a hamlet in the Town of Florida in Montgomery County, New York, United States, west of the capital at Albany, on the south bank of the Mohawk River and on the northeast bank of Schoharie Creek.
The hamlet developed around a fort of ...
on the frontier in the
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...
near the modern village of
Fonda, New York
Fonda is a village in and the county seat of Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 795 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Douw Fonda, a Dutch-American settler who was killed and scalped in 1780, during a Mohawk ...
. In 1752, John Butler married Catharine (Catalyntje) Bradt, of Dutch ancestry. The couple raised five children (two others died in infancy). Having learned several Iroquois and other Indigenous languages, Butler was employed as an interpreter, especially in the lucrative
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
.
French and Indian War
In 1755, John Butler was appointed to the rank of captain in the
British Indian Department
The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...
. He served in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
under
Sir William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...
. In 1758, he saw action with
James Abercromby at
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...
and
John Bradstreet
Major General John Bradstreet, born Jean-Baptiste Bradstreet (21 December 1714 – 25 September 1774) was a British Army officer during King George's War, the French and Indian War, and Pontiac's War. He was born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia ...
at the
Battle of Fort Frontenac
The Battle of Fort Frontenac took place on August 26–28, 1758 during the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War in the United States) between France and Great Britain. The location of the battle was Fort Frontenac, a ...
. In 1759, he was made second in command of the Indians with Johnson at the
Battle of Fort Niagara
The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Oh ...
, where he played a crucial role in flanking the French reinforcements. In 1760, he continued as a second in command of the Indians in
Jeffery Amherst
Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...
's force at
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
.
Pre-American Revolution years
After the war Butler returned to the Mohawk Valley in New York. He acquired more land, building an estate of at Butlersbury near the major Mohawk village of
Caughnawaga. He was second only to
Sir William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...
, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, as a wealthy frontier land owner, and worked under Johnson for the British Indian Department. Butler was also appointed a judge in the
Tryon County court and was commissioned Lt.-Colonel of
Guy Johnson
Guy Johnson ( 1740 – 5 March 1788) was an Irish military officer and diplomat. He served on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War, having migrated to the Province of New York as a young man and worked with his uncle, Sir Wi ...
's regiment of
Tryon County militia
The creation of the Tryon County, New York militia was authorized on March 8, 1772, when the Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organized militia in each county in the colony. By 1776 (at the start of the American War of ...
. Butler was elected as one of the two members representing Tryon County in the
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
assembly.
American Revolutionary War
![Butler's Rangers Lefferts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Butler%27s_Rangers_Lefferts.jpg)
John Butler returned to service, as a Loyalist, when the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
turned to war in 1775. In May 1775, he left for Canada in the company of
Daniel Claus
Christian Daniel Claus (17271787) was a Deputy Agent in the British Indian Department and a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution.
He was born September 13, 1727, at Bönnigheim, Württemberg the son of Adam Frederic Claus and his ...
,
Walter Butler,
Hon Yost Schuyler Johannes Justus (Hon Yost) Schuyler (January 1, 1744 – 1810) was a Tory with patriot roots, who was used by American General Benedict Arnold to repel the British and Indian forces of Colonel Barry St. Leger and Joseph Brant from their siege of ...
and
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...
, a Mohawk leader. On July 7, they reached
Fort Oswego
Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British forces in 1756 during the French and Indian War. The fort was established in 1727 on the orders o ...
and in August, Montreal. Butler participated in the defense of Montreal against an attack led by
Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...
. In November, Carleton sent him to
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...
with instructions to keep the Indians neutral. His oldest son, Walter Butler served with him, but his wife and other children were detained by the American rebels.
In March 1776, John Butler sent a party of about 100 allied Indians to Montreal to force the Americans out of Quebec. In May, Butler received instructions to use a warrior party of the
Six Nations in an attack on New York. On June 5 he received instructions to send as many Indians as he could to Fort Oswego for an attack on
Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...
as a part of the Saratoga campaign. He was put second in command of the Indians, primarily warriors of bands of four nations of the Iroquois, under
Daniel Claus
Christian Daniel Claus (17271787) was a Deputy Agent in the British Indian Department and a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution.
He was born September 13, 1727, at Bönnigheim, Württemberg the son of Adam Frederic Claus and his ...
.
John Butler led the Indians and a small number of Loyalists, in a successful
ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...
, of rebel militia and
Oneida
Oneida may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Oneida language
* Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York
* Oneida Na ...
warriors in the
Battle of Oriskany
The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the bloodiest battles in the conflict between the Americans and Great Britain. On August 6, 1777, a party of Loy ...
. As a result, after this expedition he was commissioned a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and given authority to raise his own
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
, which became known as Butler's Rangers, initially with a strength of eight
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
. He traveled back to Fort Niagara, and completed recruiting the first company in December.
In July 1778, John Butler led his rangers and Iroquois allies at the
Battle of Wyoming
The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militiamen and a mixed force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois raiders. The clash took place in the Wyom ...
, in which he defeated
Zebulon Butler and took
Forty Fort
Forty Fort was a stronghold built by settlers from Westmoreland County, Connecticut, on the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolutionary War, both Connecticut and Pennsylvania claimed this territory, as ...
. The Patriots suffered heavy losses, and after the battle Butler's Rangers burned many of the colonists' homes in the area. Later, the battle was referred to as the Wyoming Valley massacre because some of the victorious Loyalists and Iroquois were said to have executed and scalped prisoners and fleeing enemy soldiers.
John Butler's unit of rangers was spread, through frontier outposts, from Niagara to
Illinois County, Virginia
Illinois County, Virginia, was a political and geographic region, part of the British Province of Quebec, claimed during the American Revolutionary War on July 4, 1778 by George Rogers Clark of the Virginia Militia, as a result of the Illinois ...
. Butler commanded his rangers from his headquarters of Fort Niagara. In 1779, he was defeated, by the
Sullivan Expedition
The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...
, at the
Battle of Newtown
The Battle of Newtown (August 29, 1779) was a major battle of the Sullivan Expedition, an armed offensive led by General John Sullivan that was ordered by the Continental Congress to end the threat of the Iroquois who had sided with the British ...
, and withdrew to Fort Niagara.
Post-war years and death
![Butler's Barracks NOTL 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Butler%27s_Barracks_NOTL_1.JPG)
At the end of the Revolution, John Butler was given a land grant in the Niagara region by the Crown for his services during the war and as compensation for his property in New York having been confiscated. He developed it for agriculture. He became one of the political leaders of
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
, later called Ontario. He was appointed as a Deputy Superintendent for the Indian Department, a Justice of the Peace, and the local militia commander. He was also prominent in establishing the Anglican Church and Masonic Order in Ontario. Butler worked with his superior in the Indian Department
Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet
Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the America ...
in the Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787–1788 in acquiring lands east of the
Toronto Purchase
The Toronto Purchase was the sale of lands in the Toronto area from the Mississaugas of New Credit to the British crown. An initial, disputed, agreement was made in 1787, in exchange for various items. The agreement was revisited in 1805, intend ...
of 1787.
Butler died, at his home, at age 68 in
Niagara,
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
,
British Canada
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, now Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, on May 12, 1796. His wife had died three years before. Butler was survived by their three sons and daughter. John Butler is interred in the family burial ground in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Legacy
![John Butler bust](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/John_Butler_bust.jpg)
*Col. John Butler School in Niagara-On-The-Lake was named after him, as are numerous other public and private establishments, including a Best Western Hotel, a sports bar, a street leading to the family burial ground on land that was his former property, and the
Butler's Barracks established after the War of 1812. The latter has been designated as a
National Historic Site.
*In 2006, a life-sized bronze bust of Butler was installed at the
Valiants Memorial
The Valiants Memorial (french: Monument aux Valeureux) is a military monument located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It commemorates fourteen key figures from the military history of Canada. Dedicated by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on 5 November ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. Alongside
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
* Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
* Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...
leader
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...
, he is considered a key player in the founding of British North America and late eighteenth-century Canada.
*In 2010, a bust was installed on top of a memorial
cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
at the site of his homestead on Balmoral Drive in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
References
Further reading
* Cruikshank, Ernest, ''The Story of Butler's Rangers and the Settlement of Niagara'', 1893
* American novelist
Joseph Altsheler
Joseph Alexander Altsheler (April 29, 1862 – June 5, 1919) was an American newspaper reporter, editor and author of popular juvenile historical fiction. He was a prolific writer, and produced fifty novels and at least fifty-three short stori ...
referred to John Butler as "Indian Butler" in his 1911 novel about the Wyoming Massacre, ''The Scouts of the Valley, a Story of Wyoming and the Chemung.'' He referred to Butler as a turncoat and villain, who sided with the Iroquois against the white settlers. It is available online at the Gutenberg Projec
''The Scouts of the Valley, a story of Wyoming and the Chemung''
* Olshan, Judd David, "Butlers of the Mohawk Valley: Family Traditions and the Establishment of British Empire in Colonial New York" (2015). ''Dissertations - ALL''. 399.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/399
External links
The Butler papersBrock University Library Digital Repository
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John
1728 births
1796 deaths
British Indian Department
Politicians from New London, Connecticut
American pioneers
Canadian Anglicans
Colonial American Indian agents
Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War
American emigrants to Canada
People of the Province of New York
People of New York (state) in the American Revolution
People of colonial Connecticut