Dated “Head Qtr Dept. of New England / November 22,1861.” One page, in ink, 5” x 8. Exhibits fold-marks, Else Fine. Text:

“Brig. Genl Phelps having been relieved from service under the Command of Department of Virgina will assume command of the troop on board the Steam transport “Constitution” and proceed with them under the orders given Col. Jones now in command. / Benj. F. Butler / Maj Genl Comdg.”

Benjamin Butler was on of the more controversial “political” generals of the Civil War. A state of Massachusetts Brigadier general, he was promoted to Major General of Volunteers after bringing Massachusetts regiments through Baltimore in relief of Washington through April 1861. Shortly after he devised the phrase “Contraband of War,” which the Lincoln found convenient in retaining escaped slaves in contravention of the Fugitive Slave act still in effect.

Although a perpetual failure at battlefield command, due to political considerations, Butler was promoted ever upward throughout the war, becoming the Federal military governor of Louisiana in 1862, a position in which he engaged in considerable graft, while outraging New Orleans residents as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis who proclaimed him an outlaw subject to hanging when caught. He was finally relieved and sent home in disgrace sent home by U.S. Grant after botching a major assault on Wilmington’s Ft. Fisher in December 1864.

Following the war slippery Ben reverted to politics, a “War” Democrat shifting allegiance to the Radical Republicans, serving in the House of Representatives, assisting in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Jackson. During the 1870s he reverted to his Democratic allegiance, running for the Governorship of New Jersey numerous times, finally winning in 1882. Losing the Democratic presidential nomination, he ran independently against Grover Cleveland and lost. In all quite a rascal, Ben Butler. At his death in 1893, he left an estate of 7 million dollars, the bulk of which accrued as a result of Civil War graft and peculation.

This particular letter, concerning a routine administrative matter, features Butler just prior to embarking for New Orleans where he become notorious for ordering New Orleans ladies disrespectful of Union soldiery to be treated as “women of the town” plying their trade.

Solid Ben Butler collectible. In protective sleeve.  [jp][ph:L]

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