R. Busteed. M.C. Butler, D. Butterfield, W.L. Cabell, G. Cadwalader
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:30 pm
BG Richard Busteed (b. 1822, d. 1898). Busteed was born in Cavan, Ireland, on February 16, 1822. His father, an ardent British emancipationist, moved the family several times, eventually ending up in New York City. Richard followed his father’s moves, working with him on newspapers, and as a Methodist minister. In 1840, after a trip to Ireland for his health, Busteed took up the practice of law, being accepted to the bar in 1846, and becoming a well-known defense attorney. From 1855 to 1859, he was corporate counsel for the city of New York. A supporter of Douglas in the election, he became a firm Union man after the attack on Fort Sumter. Busteed was appointed a Brigadier General of Volunteers by President Lincoln on August 7, 1862. After serving in New York and Washington, he took command of a brigade at Yorktown in December 1862. His pre-war positions on abolition and his support of Lincoln’s administration had gained him enemies, however, and before his commission came up before the Senate for confirmation, he submitted his resignation to President Lincoln on March 10, 1863. This action was taken despite the fact that five colonels of his brigade had sent a letter to the Senate indicating how discipline in their regiments had improved under his command. After leaving the army, Busteed was appointed a United States district judge in Alabama, where he served with distinction during reconstruction, despite some controversy with military authorities, till 1874, when he resigned and returned to the private practice of law in New York. He died in New York City on September 14, 1898.
MG Matthew Calbraith Butler (b. 1836, d. 1909).Butler was born near Greenville, SC on March 8, 1836. His family was quite prominent, his grandfather and father, and cousin were congressmen, his uncle a senator. Butler grew up in Edgefield, SC, and studied law, practicing law in Edgefield. In 1860, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, but resigned in 1861 with the outbreak of war. He was soon thereafter commissioned a captain in Hampton’s Legion. In August of 1862 he was promoted to Colonel, commanding the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry. As colonel, he was involved in the battles of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Monocacy Bridge, and the Chambersburg raid. In 1863 he lost a foot in the Battle of Brandy Station. Upon recovering from his wound, he was promoted to brigadier general, succeeding Wade Hampton III, and led cavalry in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Trevilian Station. He was promoted to major general in September of 1864. In early 1865 during the Carolinas campaign he led the rear guard of William J. Hardee’s army. Butler finished the war as a division commander under Wade Hampton, surrendering his command to Union troops at Bennett Place on April 26, 1865. After the war, Butler re-entered politics, being elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1866. Subsequently he was appointed to the US Senate in 1877, serving three terms, till 1894. He then practiced law privately in Washington DC till 1898, when he served with US forces during the Spanish-American War. After the US victory, he supervised the evacuation of Spanish troops from Cuba, before returning to Edgefield, and private law practice. Butler died in Columbia, South Carolina, on April 14th, 1909, and is buried in Edgefield.
MG Daniel Butterfield (b. 1831, d. 1901). Daniel Butterfield was born in Utica, NY on October 31, 1831. He was a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, NY, and worked before the war as a businessman, notably for American Express, a company his father had founded. In April 1861, on the outbreak of war, he joined the army in Washington as a first sergeant of militia, which he had been active in before the war. Within two weeks he was commissioned a colonel in what would become the 12th New York Infantry. In July of 1861 he commanded a brigade, and was promoted to brigadier general in September. Butterfield served with Porter’s Division of the Army of the Potomac during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign. In the Seven Days Battles, at Gaines Mill, Butterfield was wounded, while exhibiting courage that would eventually gain him a Congressional Medal of Honor (in 1892.) During his time on the peninsula, Butterfield also experimented with bugle calls, and is (with some controversy) credited with inventing the bugle call “Taps.” He continued to lead a brigade during the battles of Second Bull Run and Antietam, then became a division commander. He was promoted to major general of volunteers in November 1862, and briefly commanded V Corps, notably during the bloody attack on Marye’s Heights at the battle of Fredericksburg. Not long after that battle, he became chief of staff for the Army of the Potomac under General Joe Hooker. Butterfield was disliked by other officers in the army, and was partially responsible for the “bar and brothel” atmosphere at the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac under Hooker. However, he was also instrumental in the great improvements to supply and logistics, including health, of that Army. When General Meade took command of the army just prior to Gettysburg, he retained Butterfield as chief of staff. Wounded on July 3, Butterfield left the Army of the Potomac, and that fall, joined Hooker as chief of staff of what would become XX Corps in the Army of the Cumberland. Receiving command of the 3rd Division, Butterfield served in the Atlanta Campaign, but illness forced him to leave the field before its completion. He finished the war with quiet duties, first in Vicksburg, Mississipi, and then as recruiter and commander of harbor defenses, New York City. After the war, Butterfield remained in the army till 1870. He became Assistant Treasurer during the Grant Administration, and was directly involved in the “Black Friday” gold panic of 1869. Butterfield died in Cold Spring, NY, on July 17, 1901. He is buried in West Point, NY, despite never attending the US Military Academy, and has one of the most elaborate memorial monuments there.
BG William Lewis Cabell (b. 1827, d. 1911). William Lewis Cabell was born near Danville, Virginia on January 1, 1827. His family was a military one, several brothers served with the Confederate arms. Cabell graduated from West Point in 1850, being assigned first to the 7th Infantry regiment. In 1855, he was promoted to first lieutenant and became a regimental quartermaster. On the outbreak of war, he offered his services to governor of Arkansas, then in April 1861 he was called to Richmond, Virginia, and assisted with the establishment of the various logistics departments of the Confederate States Army. Later that year he was assigned to the staff of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, where he remained, as Quartermaster under both Beauregard and Johnston, till reassigned in January 1862. After leaving Virginia, Cabell was promoted to brigadier general, and given command of a force centered on Jacksonport, Alabama. After the Battle of Pea Ridge, when all Confederate troops were withdrawn from Alabama, Cabell was given command of a Texas brigade, and fought in several engagements around Corinth. He then took command of an Arkansas brigade, which he led through the Confederate defeats at Iuka and Second Corinth. He was wounded Battle of Hatchie’s Bridge, and was disabled till February 1863, when he took command of all Confederate troops in northwestern Arkansas. There he successfully recruited and outfitted one of the largest cavalry brigades west of the Mississipi. He led this brigade in over twenty engagements including the Battle of Poison Spring, and the Battle of Mark’s Mill, where he led two brigades. Cabell was captured by Union forces during Price’s Raid, in October 1864, and spent the rest of the war a prisoner. After the war, Cabell returned to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he worked as a civil engineer while studying law at night. He was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1868, and practiced law till 1872, till he and his family moved to Texas. In 1874 he was elected mayor of Dallas, Texas. He served four terms, at various times, in that office. After leaving office he became a vice-president of a railroad company, until 1885, when he was appointed a US Marshal, which post he occupied till 1889. He offered his services to the United States during the Spanish-American war, and remained a major figure in Confederate veterans affairs throughout his life. Cabell died in Dallas, Texas, on February 21, 1911, and was buried there after a large military funeral.
MG George Cadwalader (b. 1806, d. 1979). George Cadwalader was born in Philadelphia, PA on May 16, 1806. He studied for the law, and was admitted to the bar. He was active in the state militia, as well, coming to prominence when, as a brigadier general of Pennsylvanis militia, he led the suppression of ‘anti-foreign’ riots in 1844. In the Mexican War, he was appointed a brigadier in the national army, and took command of a brigade. His services at the battle of Chapultepec were rewarded with the brevet rank of Major General. After the conclusion of the Mexican War, he went back into private business, at which he was quite successful. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was made a major general in the Pennsylvania militia. He took command of a division in General Robert Patterson’s campaign into the Shenandoah. After the conclusion of that campaign, which didn’t amount to much, he was made a major general of volunteers in April 1862, and took command of the post at Corinth, Mississipi. He served on various military and advisory committees till August 1863, when he took command of the Philadelphia area military district. There he oversaw the transport of many thousands to troops to the battlefields in Virginia, and to the administration of the many hospitals for the wounded in that city. Cadwalader resigned from the service in July 1865, After his resignation, he returned to private life, and remained in Philadelphia the rest of his life, dying there February 3, 1879. He is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground, in Philadelphia.
MG Matthew Calbraith Butler (b. 1836, d. 1909).Butler was born near Greenville, SC on March 8, 1836. His family was quite prominent, his grandfather and father, and cousin were congressmen, his uncle a senator. Butler grew up in Edgefield, SC, and studied law, practicing law in Edgefield. In 1860, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, but resigned in 1861 with the outbreak of war. He was soon thereafter commissioned a captain in Hampton’s Legion. In August of 1862 he was promoted to Colonel, commanding the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry. As colonel, he was involved in the battles of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Monocacy Bridge, and the Chambersburg raid. In 1863 he lost a foot in the Battle of Brandy Station. Upon recovering from his wound, he was promoted to brigadier general, succeeding Wade Hampton III, and led cavalry in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Trevilian Station. He was promoted to major general in September of 1864. In early 1865 during the Carolinas campaign he led the rear guard of William J. Hardee’s army. Butler finished the war as a division commander under Wade Hampton, surrendering his command to Union troops at Bennett Place on April 26, 1865. After the war, Butler re-entered politics, being elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1866. Subsequently he was appointed to the US Senate in 1877, serving three terms, till 1894. He then practiced law privately in Washington DC till 1898, when he served with US forces during the Spanish-American War. After the US victory, he supervised the evacuation of Spanish troops from Cuba, before returning to Edgefield, and private law practice. Butler died in Columbia, South Carolina, on April 14th, 1909, and is buried in Edgefield.
MG Daniel Butterfield (b. 1831, d. 1901). Daniel Butterfield was born in Utica, NY on October 31, 1831. He was a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, NY, and worked before the war as a businessman, notably for American Express, a company his father had founded. In April 1861, on the outbreak of war, he joined the army in Washington as a first sergeant of militia, which he had been active in before the war. Within two weeks he was commissioned a colonel in what would become the 12th New York Infantry. In July of 1861 he commanded a brigade, and was promoted to brigadier general in September. Butterfield served with Porter’s Division of the Army of the Potomac during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign. In the Seven Days Battles, at Gaines Mill, Butterfield was wounded, while exhibiting courage that would eventually gain him a Congressional Medal of Honor (in 1892.) During his time on the peninsula, Butterfield also experimented with bugle calls, and is (with some controversy) credited with inventing the bugle call “Taps.” He continued to lead a brigade during the battles of Second Bull Run and Antietam, then became a division commander. He was promoted to major general of volunteers in November 1862, and briefly commanded V Corps, notably during the bloody attack on Marye’s Heights at the battle of Fredericksburg. Not long after that battle, he became chief of staff for the Army of the Potomac under General Joe Hooker. Butterfield was disliked by other officers in the army, and was partially responsible for the “bar and brothel” atmosphere at the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac under Hooker. However, he was also instrumental in the great improvements to supply and logistics, including health, of that Army. When General Meade took command of the army just prior to Gettysburg, he retained Butterfield as chief of staff. Wounded on July 3, Butterfield left the Army of the Potomac, and that fall, joined Hooker as chief of staff of what would become XX Corps in the Army of the Cumberland. Receiving command of the 3rd Division, Butterfield served in the Atlanta Campaign, but illness forced him to leave the field before its completion. He finished the war with quiet duties, first in Vicksburg, Mississipi, and then as recruiter and commander of harbor defenses, New York City. After the war, Butterfield remained in the army till 1870. He became Assistant Treasurer during the Grant Administration, and was directly involved in the “Black Friday” gold panic of 1869. Butterfield died in Cold Spring, NY, on July 17, 1901. He is buried in West Point, NY, despite never attending the US Military Academy, and has one of the most elaborate memorial monuments there.
BG William Lewis Cabell (b. 1827, d. 1911). William Lewis Cabell was born near Danville, Virginia on January 1, 1827. His family was a military one, several brothers served with the Confederate arms. Cabell graduated from West Point in 1850, being assigned first to the 7th Infantry regiment. In 1855, he was promoted to first lieutenant and became a regimental quartermaster. On the outbreak of war, he offered his services to governor of Arkansas, then in April 1861 he was called to Richmond, Virginia, and assisted with the establishment of the various logistics departments of the Confederate States Army. Later that year he was assigned to the staff of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, where he remained, as Quartermaster under both Beauregard and Johnston, till reassigned in January 1862. After leaving Virginia, Cabell was promoted to brigadier general, and given command of a force centered on Jacksonport, Alabama. After the Battle of Pea Ridge, when all Confederate troops were withdrawn from Alabama, Cabell was given command of a Texas brigade, and fought in several engagements around Corinth. He then took command of an Arkansas brigade, which he led through the Confederate defeats at Iuka and Second Corinth. He was wounded Battle of Hatchie’s Bridge, and was disabled till February 1863, when he took command of all Confederate troops in northwestern Arkansas. There he successfully recruited and outfitted one of the largest cavalry brigades west of the Mississipi. He led this brigade in over twenty engagements including the Battle of Poison Spring, and the Battle of Mark’s Mill, where he led two brigades. Cabell was captured by Union forces during Price’s Raid, in October 1864, and spent the rest of the war a prisoner. After the war, Cabell returned to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he worked as a civil engineer while studying law at night. He was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1868, and practiced law till 1872, till he and his family moved to Texas. In 1874 he was elected mayor of Dallas, Texas. He served four terms, at various times, in that office. After leaving office he became a vice-president of a railroad company, until 1885, when he was appointed a US Marshal, which post he occupied till 1889. He offered his services to the United States during the Spanish-American war, and remained a major figure in Confederate veterans affairs throughout his life. Cabell died in Dallas, Texas, on February 21, 1911, and was buried there after a large military funeral.
MG George Cadwalader (b. 1806, d. 1979). George Cadwalader was born in Philadelphia, PA on May 16, 1806. He studied for the law, and was admitted to the bar. He was active in the state militia, as well, coming to prominence when, as a brigadier general of Pennsylvanis militia, he led the suppression of ‘anti-foreign’ riots in 1844. In the Mexican War, he was appointed a brigadier in the national army, and took command of a brigade. His services at the battle of Chapultepec were rewarded with the brevet rank of Major General. After the conclusion of the Mexican War, he went back into private business, at which he was quite successful. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was made a major general in the Pennsylvania militia. He took command of a division in General Robert Patterson’s campaign into the Shenandoah. After the conclusion of that campaign, which didn’t amount to much, he was made a major general of volunteers in April 1862, and took command of the post at Corinth, Mississipi. He served on various military and advisory committees till August 1863, when he took command of the Philadelphia area military district. There he oversaw the transport of many thousands to troops to the battlefields in Virginia, and to the administration of the many hospitals for the wounded in that city. Cadwalader resigned from the service in July 1865, After his resignation, he returned to private life, and remained in Philadelphia the rest of his life, dying there February 3, 1879. He is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground, in Philadelphia.