Matthew Calbraith Butler (March 8, 1836April 14, 1909) was a Confederate soldier, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

military commander and attorney and politician from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He served as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, postbellum three-term

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

, and a

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

Early life and career

Butler was born at Eagle's Crag near

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the county seat, seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenvil ...

, to a large and prominent family of politicians and military men.Boyd, p. 67. His grandfather was U.S. Congressman William Butler. His mother, Jane Tweedy Perry of Rhode Island, was the sister of Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

and Matthew Calbraith Perry, for whom Matthew Calbraith Butler is named. His father, William Butler, Jr., was a Congressman beginning in 1841.Hess, p. 649. His uncle

Andrew Butler Andrew Pickens Butler (November 18, 1796May 25, 1857) was a United States senator from South Carolina who authored the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Biography Butler was a son of William Butler and Behethland ...

was a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

from South Carolina and uncle Pierce Mason Butler was

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making yea ...

. One of Matthew Butler's first cousins was Congressman

Preston Brooks Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving from 1853 until his resignation in July 1856 and again from August 1856 until his ...

, who assaulted Senator

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...

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.Martin, p. 8. Two of Butler's first cousins twice removed were

James Bonham James Butler Bonham (February 20, 1807 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. He was a second cousin of William B. Travis and was a messenger of the Battle of the Al ...

(killed at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

) and Confederate General Milledge Luke Bonham.Burton, pp. 66–67. In 1848 Butler went with his father to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

but returned in 1851 to live with his uncle, who resided in Edgefield, South Carolina. He received his initial education in the city's Edgefield Academy, and then attended the South Carolina College, where he was a member of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

fraternity, graduating in 1856. He studied law, was admitted to the state's

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to se ...

in 1857, and began practicing as a lawyer in Edgefield.Wakelyn, p. 119. He was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

in 1860, but resigned in 1861 when the American Civil War began.Martin, pp. 11–12.

Marriage and family

On February 25, 1858, Butler married Maria Calhoun Pickens. She was the daughter of

Francis Wilkinson Pickens Francis Wilkinson Pickens (1805/1807January 25, 1869) was a political Democrat and Governor of South Carolina when that state became the first to secede from the United States. A cousin of US Senator John C. Calhoun, Pickens was born into the ...

, who was elected as governor of the state.Wittenberg, p. 19.

Civil War years

During the Civil War, Butler served in the cavalry in the Confederate

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

, serving in

Hampton's Legion Hampton's Legion was an American Civil War military unit of the Confederate States of America, organized and partially financed by wealthy South Carolina planter Wade Hampton III. Initially composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery battali ...

, 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 the 2nd 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 rifle fire at

Battle of Brandy Station The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863, aroun ...

. 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 in

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People *Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman *Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 *W ...

's division of the Cavalry Corps. When Hampton took command of that corps, Butler became division commander. Late in the war, he transferred to the

Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nor ...

together with Lt. Gen. Hampton, leading a division at the

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj ...

. General Butler was wounded again in that action.

Postbellum

Financially ruined as a result of the war, Butler resumed his career as a lawyer in Edgefield. He was elected to the

beginning in 1866. He became a member of the Democratic Party and ran unsuccessfully for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1870 during the Reconstruction era. He was a member of the pro-black Union Reform party. In July 1876, Butler defended two white farmers in court in their complaint of being denied free passage on Main Street of Hamburg, 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 gunfireEhren K. Foley, "Sites of Violence: Hamburg Massacre"
, ''South Carolina during Reconstruction'' website, 2010-2012, accessed 27 October 2014Trefousse, p. 100. (see Hamburg massacre). In 1877, after Federal troops had been withdrawn under a national Democratic compromise,

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

ended. The Democratic Party regained control of the state in the 1876 elections. The South Carolina state legislature elected Butler to the United States Senate.Welsh, p. 32. During Senate hearings on his election, Butler was accused by Edgefield African-American leader Harrison N. Bouey of threatening to kill him and other local men. Butler served in the U.S. Senate for three terms, from 1877 to 1895, but lost for re-election in the South Carolina legislature to

Benjamin Tillman Benjamin Ryan Tillman (August 11, 1847 – July 3, 1918) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator from 1895 until his death in 1918. A whi ...

, who was popular after serving as governor.United States Congress, p. 66. 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. While in the Senate, Butler served on the Senate Foreign Relations, Territories, Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, Interstate Commerce,

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and Retrenchment committees. Butler practiced law in Washington, D.C., until 1898, when he was appointed

of U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish–American War. He was one of a handful of former Confederate officers (along with

Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 28, 1905) was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish–American War. He was the son of Sydney S ...

, Thomas L. Rosser, and

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in ...

) to serve in the U.S. Army during that war. After the American victory that year, he supervised the evacuation of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

troops from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

.Porter, p. 44. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on April 15, 1899.Warner, p. 41. In 1899 General Butler joined the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. In 1903, Butler was elected vice president of the

Southern Historical Society The Southern Historical Society was an American organization founded to preserve archival materials related to the government of the Confederate States of America and to document the history of the Civil War.Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, 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. The Matthew C. Butler Camp #12 of the South Carolina Society of the

Military Order of the Stars and Bars The Military Order of the Stars and Bars (MOSB) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States based in Woodbridge, Virginia. It is a lineage society founded in 1938 for men who are descended from military com ...

is named in his honor.

Notes

References

* Boyd, James Penny; ''Vital Questions of the Day: Or Historic and Economic Reviews of the Issues of Labor ... Tariff Legislation ...'', Publisher's union, (1894) * Burton, Orville Vernon; ''My Father's House Are Many Mansions: Family and Community in Edgefield, South Carolina'', UNC Press, (1987) . * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Emerson, W. Eric; ''Sons of Privilege: The Charleston Light Dragoons in the Civil War'', University of South Carolina Press, (2005) . * Hess, Stephen; ''America's Political Dynasties'', Transaction Publishers, (1997) . * Madigan, Patrick F.; ''A Biographical Index of American Public Men'', BiblioBazaar, (2008) . * Martin, Samuel J., ''Southern Hero, Matthew Calbraith Butler'', Stackpole Books, (2001) . * Porter, Robert Percival; ''Industrial Cuba: Being a Study of Present Commercial and Industrial Conditions, with Suggestions as to the Opportunities Presented in the Island for American Capital, Enterprise, and Labour'', G. P. Putnam's Sons, (1899). * Wakelyn, Jon L., ''Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy'', Greenwood Press, 1977, . * Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals in Gray: The Lives of the Confederate Commanders'', Louisiana State University Press, 1959, * Welsh, Jack D.; ''Medical Histories of Confederate Generals'', Kent State University Press, (1999) . * Wittenberg, Eric J., Rhea, Gordon C.; ''"Glory Enough for All:" Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station'', University of Nebraska Press, (2007) . *

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

; ''Official Congressional Directory'' (1882).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Matthew 1836 births 1909 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Confederate States Army major generals United States Army generals People from Greenville County, South Carolina People of South Carolina in the American Civil War South Carolina Democrats Democratic Party United States senators from South Carolina Butler-Belmont family American people of English descent Perry family 19th-century American politicians University of South Carolina alumni Southern Historical Society