General Richard Butler
RICHARD BUTLER, after whom this county was named, was born in Ireland. With his brothers, he came to America before 1760, and was for a long time in the Indian trade. Just before the outbreak of the American War he was settled in Pennsylvania, where his courage and knowledge of character made him a man of influence. It was a matter of great importance to persuade the Indians not to take up arms against us, and as agent and interpreter he went to Fort Pitt, in April, 1776, hoping to dissuade the Six Nations from entering the field as our antagonists. They were the most powerful of all the Indian tribes, and had been able to maintain their independence against both the French and English. With the latter, however, they had formed an alliance at the close of the war that added Canada to the British dominions, and, while not unfriendly to the Americans, it was feared that the solicitations of English agents would finally turn them from neutrals into enemies. Mr. Butler met the Indians in formal conference, and during their meetings delivered three speeches, two to Kiosola, the leading Indian chief, and one to the Delawares, who were in a sense subsidiary to the Iroquois. His efforts were for the time successful; Kiosola declared himself in favor of the Americans, and every thing promised prosperously, but the current of feeling was too strong for the chief, and he and the Six Nations finally drifted into an alliance with the English, a movement which proved in the end fatal to the confederated tribes.
Butler was made a lieutenant-colonel of the Pennsylvania line at the beginning of the war, and in the Spring of 1777 was lieutenant-colonel of Morgan's rifle corps, which was present at the battle of Saratoga, and distinguished himself by his conduct on several occasions. He was in the battle of Monmouth. While with a detachment commanded by General Lafayette, near Williamsburg, Virginia, on the 26th of January, 1781, he attacked Colonel Simcoe's rangers, gaining the advantage. He held the rank of colonel of the Ninth Pennsylvania regiment at the close of the war, and acted as a commissioner in settling affairs with the Indians at about that time. He took up his residence in Carlisle, where with General Irvine and General Armstrong, and a few others, an agreeable society was formed. In conjunction with these officers, he quelled a mutiny at Fort Pitt.
In 1784 he was one of the United States commissioners at a treaty held at Fort Stanwix, New York. His fellow commissioners were Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut, and Arthur Lee, of Virginia. It does not appear that they had any particular knowledge of the Indian character, and the bulk of the business fell upon General Butler. New York State sent a commissioner, Peter Schuyler, to protect her interests, as the chief portion of the lands which were indisputably in the possession of the Six Nations were within her limits, and for all west of New York a treaty some twenty years old was in existence. The United States commissioners adopted a very high and lofty tone to the Indians, and but for the conciliatory policy adopted by New York in her treatment it is probable an Indian warfare would haAre broken out, retarding the settlement of Western New York, as, at the same time, Indian troubles did the territory northwest of the Ohio. The Indians advocated their side at this meeting with much ability.
General Butler subsequently attended at Fort McIntosh, and in September, 1785, left his home in Carlisle to proceed to the Miami, where it was thought desirable a treaty should be made. He kept a journal, which is full of interesting matter. From it we learn that the journey was down the river, and occupied considerable time. James Monroe, afterward President, and then a Member of Congress, accompanied him a considerable part of the way. Three months after starting, at the mouth of the Great Miami, a treaty was concluded between the American commissioners—General Parsons, General Butler, and General Clark—and several tribes of Indians. The honors were with General Butler, who delivered the principal address to the Indians. Tradition has imparted to this scene some startling particulars not to be found corroborated in history.
In 1791 he joined the expedition of St. Clair, together with a brother, Colonel Butler. He was appointed second in command, and was charged with the arrangements necessary for the recruiting service. He established a rendezvous at Baltimore, and several points in Pennsylvania. Those enlisted east of the mountains assembled at Carlisle, where they were disciplined and prepared to march for the West. He joined the army at Fort Hamilton, on the 27th of September, and the army was set in motion on the 4th of October, being led by General Butler. They crossed the river by wading. At Fort Hamilton, General St. Clair issued an order prohibiting more than two or three women for each company from proceeding with the army. This, however, was disregarded, and when the men commenced crossing the river they also plunged into the stream, but the water being deep, their progress was considerably obstructed by their clothes. Many of them got out of the water on the artillery carriages, and rode over astride of the cannon.
We have elsewhere given an account of the march to the fatal field where St. Clair's army was destroyed. General Butler had been active and vigilant, and when the attack came, on the 4th of November, fought bravely. He and General St. Clair were continually going up and down the lines. As one of them went up one line, the other was going down the other line. About an hour after the charge made by Major Thomas Butler's troops, General Richard Butler was mortally wounded, when passing on the left of that battalion. Four soldiers put him in a blanket, and carried him back to have his wounds dressed by a surgeon. They placed him in a sitting posture on the blanket, leaning against a tree. He was vomiting blood at the time. Almost immediately afterward, while the surgeon was examining General Butler's wounds, a single Indian, who had penetrated the ranks of the regiment, darted forward, and tomahawked and scalped the general before his attendants were aware and could interfere.
Such was the end of life to this brave soldier. He came of a patriotic family, three of his brothers having been in the service of the United States, fighting nobly for us. His son has caused his journal to be published; and the other descendants of the family have filled high stations in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
From A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County Ohio, With Illustrations and Sketches of its Representative Men and Pioneers, Western Biographical Publishing Company, Cincinnati Ohio, 1882.