William O. Butler

Early life

Butler, the son of Mildred Hawkins and Gen. Percival Butler, was born in Jessamine County, Kentucky (then Fayette County), and graduated from Transylvania University in 1812. He began the study of law with Robert Wickliffe, but his education was interrupted by the War of 1812.

War of 1812

When the War of 1812 began, Butler volunteered as a private, and took part in the Battle of the River Raisin. During the battle, Butler and fellow soldiers defended themselves behind a fencerow, and Butler volunteered to conduct a hit-and-run operation to destroy the barn to deprive the British of cover in the barn. Braving heavy gunfire, Butler raced to the barn and set it ablaze before safely returned to the American lines. Later, the whole American force were defeated and captured, including Butler.

After the British captured Butler and sent him to Fort Niagara where he remained until the British freed him on parole. He returned to Kentucky only to join the American forces that met the British and Indians at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. Butler and his men were sent to New Orleans to assist Andrew Jackson in the city's defense. He distinguished himself during the Battle of New Orleans. Among the men under his command was future Florida governor Richard Keith Call, who would remain lifelong friends with Butler.

Political career

After the end of the War of 1812, Butler returned to Kentucky, resumed his legal studies, and attained admission to the bar. From 1817 to 1844, he practiced law in Carrollton. Butler served in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1817 and 1818. From 1839 to 1843, he served as a congressman. In 1844, he received a unanimous nomination of the Democratic Party for governor. Described as the most formidable candidate that the Democrats had ever nominated for governor, Butler's race against Whig candidate William Owsley was close. Owsley won with 59,680 votes to Butler's 55,056.

Mexican–American War

When the Mexican War broke out, Butler again joined the army. On June 29, 1846, he was appointed major general of volunteers and commanded the 1st Volunteer Division in the Army of Occupation. He served as second-in-command to Zachary Taylor during the Battle of Monterrey, in which he was wounded. On February 18, 1848, he superseded General Winfield Scott as the commanding general of the American army in Mexico City. He left the service on August 18, 1848, after he had been selected as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Election of 1848

In 1848, Butler was the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States. At the 1848 Democratic National Convention, delegate Francis P. Blair was a leader of the movement to put Butler on the ticket with Lewis Cass, and Butler won the nomination on the first ballot over John A. Quitman and William R. King. In the general election, the ticket of Cass and Butler was defeated by Whig candidates Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. Butler was the first non-incumbent Democratic vice presidential candidate to lose election.

Later years

As Cass's running mate, Butler was regarded by many Democrats as a possible nominee in 1852. While there was a boom for his candidacy, his chances were undermined by George N. Sanders, the editor of the Democratic Review, who, as a supporter of rival candidate Stephen A. Douglas and someone with a personal vendetta against Butler, attacked him in the pages of his publication. Sanders's attacks cost Butler the support of a united state party organization that he needed in order to appear at the convention as a viable candidate. Butler turned down the governorship of the Nebraska Territory when it was offered to him by President Franklin Pierce in 1854.

Politically, Butler was a moderate. Although a slaveholder, he was opposed to the extension of slavery and favored gradual legal emancipation. He stood firmly for the preservation of the Union and was a Union Democrat during the Civil War.

He was present at the peace conference of 1861, a gathering of political leaders that met in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to avert the impending American Civil War.

Butler also authored a volume of poetry entitled The Boatman's Horn, and Other Poems.

Death and burial

Butler died in Carrollton, Kentucky, on August 6, 1880, at age 89. He was interred in the Butler family cemetery in Carrollton.

Legacy

The Gen. William O. Butler House, his home in Carrollton, Kentucky, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Places named for General Butler:

• Butler County, Iowa
• Butler County, Missouri
• Butler County, Nebraska
• Butler, Missouri (in Bates County)
• General Butler State Resort Park near Carrollton, Kentucky.
• Butler Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
• Butler, Georgia

References

References

1. Floral City Images. (2010). "Battle of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin".
2. "1812: War with America" by Jon Latimer page.118.
3. [http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/general-butler/history.aspx William Orlando Butler] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-06-04 at Kentucky State Parks)
4. Wallner, Peter A.. (2004). "Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son". Plaidswede Publishing.
5. (1896). "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume VI". James T. White and Company.
6. James C. Olson. (1966). "History of Nebraska (New Edition)". University of Nebraska Press.
7. Matthews, Gary R.. (2014). "More American Than Southern: Kentucky, Slavery, and the War for an American Ideology, 1828-1861". University of Tennessee Press.
8. Kleber, John E.. (1992). "The Kentucky Encyclopedia". University Press of Kentucky.
9. (1861). "Report of the Kentucky Commissioners to the Late Peace Conference". Jno. B. Major, State Printer.
10. Gilman, Daniel Coit. (1907). "The New International Encyclopædia, Volume 3". Dodd, Mead and Company.
11. Eaton, David Wolfe. (1916). "How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named". The State Historical Society of Missouri.
12. Krakow, Kenneth K.. (1975). "Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins". Winship Press.