VP Beast Butler?

[Don1946]

Herb, What were Butler's major failings as a military commander? I know he led the capture of New Orleans, which was a major blow to the Confederacy. I hold no brief for Butler as a general, but most of us would need more evidence before judging him as inept.

A massive citizen's army pulled a lot of prominent civilians into military roles they had no business in. There were a lot of politics involved in these appointments, and it resulted in any number of inept military leaders shooting themselves, and others, in the foot, to be sure. Enlisted men, themselves civilians pulled into unfamiliar roles as soldiers, spent a good deal of time grumbling about their officers; that just goes with the job.

I was trying to interrogate the evidence that has led some, then and now, to such a harsh judgment of "Beast" Butler. I was suggesting that it traces back to Butler's policies on slaves as contraband and on civilian woman as potential enemy agents. The woman order probably qualifies as a big blast in the foot, but Butler's role in turning the war against slavery earns my respect. After the war, he played a major role in enacting the Civil Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act. He was also elected to four terms in the House of Representatives. I suspect his negative reputation in the South probably helped him in Massachusetts.