| Matthew Calbraith Butler | |
|---|---|
| United States Senator from South Carolina |
|
| In office March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1895 |
|
| Preceded by | Thomas J. Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Tillman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1836 Greenville, South Carolina |
| Died | April 14, 1909 (aged 73) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Maria, Nannie |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Confederate States Army United States Army |
| Years of service | 1861 - 1865 (CSA) 1898 - 1899 (USA) |
| Rank | Major General (CSA) Major General (USA) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Spanish-American War |
Matthew Calbraith Butler (March 8, 1836 – April 14, 1909) was an American military commander and politician from South Carolina. He served as a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, postbellum three-term United States Senator, and a major generalin the United States Army during the Spanish-American War.
Contents |
Butler was born at Eagle's Crag near Greenville, South Carolina, to a large and prominent family of politicians and military men.[1]His grandfather was U.S. Congressman William Butler.[1] His mother, Julie, worked as a maid serving various members of congress between 1842 and 1853. His father, William Butler, Jr., was also a Congressman beginning in 1841.[2] His uncle Andrew Butler, was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina and uncle Pierce Mason Butlerwas Governor of South Carolina.[2] One of Matthew Butler's first cousins was Congressman Preston Brooks, who assaulted Senator Charles Sumnerin 1856 on the floor of the U.S. Senate with a gutta-percha cane because Sumner had insulted Senator Andrew Butler, at whose home Matthew lived as a young man.[3]
Butler was the nephew of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry, and the son-in-law of South Carolina Governor Francis Wilkinson Pickens.[4] Two of Butler's first cousins twice removed were James Bonham (killed at the Battle of the Alamo) and Confederate General Milledge Luke Bonham.[5]
In 1848 Butler went with his father to Arkansas, 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, graduating in 1856. He then studied law, was admitted to the state's bar association in 1857, and then began practicing as a lawyer in Edgefield.[6] On February 25, 1858, Butler married Maria Calhoun Pickens, the daughter of Francis Pickens. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1860, but resigned in 1861 when the American Civil War began.[7]
Financially ruined as a result of the war, Butler resumed his career as a lawyer in Edgefield and served in the South Carolina House of Representatives beginning in 1866.[6] He became a member of the Democratic Party and ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1870.[1] In 1877, as Reconstruction ended and the Democratic Party regained control of the state, he was elected by the South Carolina state legislature to the United States Senate.[8] He also played a role in the Hamburg Massacre.[9] He served in the U.S. Senate for three terms, from 1877 to 1895, but lost the Democratic primary in 1894 to Benjamin Tillman.[10] He served on theSenate Foreign Relations, Territories, Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, Interstate Commerce, Civil Service and Retrenchment committees.[1]
Butler then practiced law in Washington, D.C., until 1898, when he was appointed major general of U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish-American War, one of a handful of former Confederate officers to serve in the U.S. Army during that campaign.[8] After the American victory that year, he supervised the evacuation of Spanish troops from Cuba.[11] He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on April 15, 1899.[12]
In 1903, Butler was elected vice president of the Southern Historical Society, and in 1904 he relocated to Mexico, where he served as president of a mining company. Two years later he married Nannie Whitman, after his wife Maria had died years before. Butler died in 1909 while semi-retired in Washington, D.C. His body was returned to Edgefield, South Carolina, where he was buried in the city's Willow Brook Cemetery.[6]
The Matthew C. Butler Camp #12 of the South Carolina Society of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars is named in his honor.
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas J. Robertson |
United States Senator (Class 2) from South Carolina 1877–1895 Served alongside: John J. Patterson, Wade Hampton, III, John L. M. Irby |
Succeeded by Benjamin Tillman |
|
||||||||||