Details
GRANT, ULYSSES S. President. Autograph letter signed ("U.S. Grant") as Lieutenant General TO GENERAL BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, City Point, Virginia, 30 December 1864. 1 page, oblong 8vo, marked "Cipher" at top left corner.
GRANT TO "BEAST" BUTLER, A WEEK BEFORE BUTLER IS RELIEVED OF COMMAND
A terse telegraphic order from Grant: "I see no objection to opening the Canal at once. On the contrary think it advisable to push it."
"Beast" Butler (1818-1893), commanding the Union Army of the James, had earned his sobriquet by his famous "woman order" regarding the women of New Orleans when he commanded the Union occupation army. Given a field command due to his political influence, Butler's army was to operate South of the James River in conjunction with Grant's push on Richmond with the Army of the Potomac. The present message refers to the canal Butler planned to blast to allow Federal vessels to bypass a curve of the James River at Dutch Gap, Virginia. On January 1, Butler had a large charge of gunpowder set off. Typically, it achieved nothing and the project was abandoned. On the same date as this message, Lincoln suggested to his Cabinet that Butler, having failed at Petersburg and Fort Fisher, be relieved of his duties.
GRANT TO "BEAST" BUTLER, A WEEK BEFORE BUTLER IS RELIEVED OF COMMAND
A terse telegraphic order from Grant: "I see no objection to opening the Canal at once. On the contrary think it advisable to push it."
"Beast" Butler (1818-1893), commanding the Union Army of the James, had earned his sobriquet by his famous "woman order" regarding the women of New Orleans when he commanded the Union occupation army. Given a field command due to his political influence, Butler's army was to operate South of the James River in conjunction with Grant's push on Richmond with the Army of the Potomac. The present message refers to the canal Butler planned to blast to allow Federal vessels to bypass a curve of the James River at Dutch Gap, Virginia. On January 1, Butler had a large charge of gunpowder set off. Typically, it achieved nothing and the project was abandoned. On the same date as this message, Lincoln suggested to his Cabinet that Butler, having failed at Petersburg and Fort Fisher, be relieved of his duties.