This shows that Bennett is not a reputable historian, because Butler had -every- reason to lie. He was seeking office. The story made him look good; it made him look like an intimate of President Lincoln's which he certainly was not.
Walt
[Walt 255] There is no proof that Butler and Lincoln even met, and no way to corroborate Butler's story which, amazingly, he didn't bother to publish until 1892.
As you note in 255, Butler's Book was published in 1892. Could you please provide your documentation regarding Butler running for office in 1892?
More from Butler:
Benjamin F. Butler, Autobiography and Reminiscences (1892)
In the spring of 1863, I had another conversation with President Lincoln upon the subject of the employment of negroes. The question was, whether all the negro troops then enlisted and organized should be collected together and made a part of the Army of the Potomac and thus reinforce it.
We then talked of a favourite project he had of getting rid of the negroes by colonization, and he asked me what I thought of it. I told him that it was simply impossible; that the negroes would not go away, for they loved their homes as much as the rest of us, and all efforts at colonization would not make a substantial impression upon the number of negroes in the country.
Reverting to the subject of arming the negroes, I said to him that it might be possible to start with a sufficient army of white troops, and, avoiding a march which might deplete their ranks by death and sickness, to take in ships and land them somewhere on the Southern coast. These troops could then come up through the Confederacy, gathering up negroes, who could be armed at first with arms that they could handle, so as to defend themselves and aid the rest of the army in case of rebel charges upon it. In this way we could establish ourselves down there with an army that would be a terror to the whole South.
Our conversation then turned upon another subject which had been frequently a source of discussion between us, and that was the effect of his clemency in not having deserters speedily and universally punished by death.
I called his attention to the fact that the great bounties then being offered were such a temptation for a man to desert in order to get home and enlist in another corps where he would be safe from punishment, that the army was being continually depleted at the front even if replenished at the rear.
He answered with a sorrowful face, which always came over him when he discussed this topic: "But I can't do that, General." "Well, then," I replied, "I would throw the responsibility upon the general-in-chief and relieve myself of of it personally."
With a still deeper shade of sorrow he answered: "The responsibility would be mine, all the same."
[Walt 255] There is no proof that Butler and Lincoln even met, and no way to corroborate Butler's story which, amazingly, he didn't bother to publish until 1892.
[nolu chan 269] As you note in 255, Butler's Book was published in 1892. Could you please provide your documentation regarding Butler running for office in 1892?
You have claimed that Lerone Bennett, Jr., is NOT a reputable historian BECAUSE (your claim) "Butler had every reason to lie. He was seeking office."
You have provided no support for your claim that it would have somehow helped Butler to lie about Lincoln and colonization.
You claim that Butler was seeking office. You document the fact that Butler's Book was published in 1892. It appears that, in reality, Butler had not sought any political office in about 8 years. If you have anything whatever to support your claim that Butler was seeking any political office in 1892, please present it.
It appears that you have attempted to denigrate the reputation of Lerone Bennett, Jr., by using make-believe "facts." If there is any support whatever for your claim, please provide the evidence.
Robert C. Kennedy, HarpWeek
Sources consulted: Dictionary of American Biography;
Harper’s Weekly Encyclopedia of United States History; and>br> Mark Boatner, The Civil War Dictionary
Benjamin Franklin Butler
(5 November 1818 - 11 January 1893)
Source: Harper's Weekly
Active in the Democratic party, he served one term as state representative in 1853, one term as state senator in 1858, and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1859. The following year, he supported John Breckinridge, the Southern Democrat, for president and again ran unsuccessfully for governor, this time on the ticket of the Breckinridge faction.
* * *
After the war, Butler returned to Congress as a Republican, serving from 1867 to 1875 and from 1877 to 1879. He enthusiastically backed the Radical Reconstruction policies of the Congressional Republicans. A vociferous, unrelenting critic of President Johnson, he authored the tenth article of impeachment aimed at the President’s verbal attacks on Congress. At the suggestion of the ailing Thaddeus Stevens, Butler became the lead House prosecutor at Johnson’s removal trial in the Senate. The Massachusetts Congressman’s poor performance, however, has often been cited as a factor in Johnson’s acquittal.
Butler was an almost perennial candidate for governor of Massachusetts, running unsuccessfully in 1871, 1873, 1874, 1878, and 1879, before being elected in 1882. In his final bid for office, he was the Presidential nominee of the Greenback-Labor and Anti-Monopoly parties in 1884, polling less than 2% of the popular vote. Butler died in Washington, D.C.
[Walt 255] There is no proof that Butler and Lincoln even met, and no way to corroborate Butler's story which, amazingly, he didn't bother to publish until 1892.
[nolu chan 269] As you note in 255, Butler's Book was published in 1892. Could you please provide your documentation regarding Butler running for office in 1892?
You have claimed that Lerone Bennett, Jr., is NOT a reputable historian BECAUSE (your claim) "Butler had every reason to lie. He was seeking office."
You have provided no support for your claim that it would have somehow helped Butler to lie about Lincoln and colonization.
You claim that Butler was seeking office. You document the fact that Butler's Book was published in 1892. It appears that, in reality, Butler had not sought any political office in about 8 years. If you have anything whatever to support your claim that Butler was seeking any political office in 1892, please present it.
It appears that you have attempted to denigrate the reputation of Lerone Bennett, Jr., by using make-believe "facts." If there is any support whatever for your claim, please provide the evidence.
Active in the Democratic party, he served one term as state representative in 1853, one term as state senator in 1858, and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1859. The following year, he supported John Breckinridge, the Southern Democrat, for president and again ran unsuccessfully for governor, this time on the ticket of the Breckinridge faction.
* * *
After the war, Butler returned to Congress as a Republican, serving from 1867 to 1875 and from 1877 to 1879. He enthusiastically backed the Radical Reconstruction policies of the Congressional Republicans. A vociferous, unrelenting critic of President Johnson, he authored the tenth article of impeachment aimed at the President’s verbal attacks on Congress. At the suggestion of the ailing Thaddeus Stevens, Butler became the lead House prosecutor at Johnson’s removal trial in the Senate. The Massachusetts Congressman’s poor performance, however, has often been cited as a factor in Johnson’s acquittal.
Butler was an almost perennial candidate for governor of Massachusetts, running unsuccessfully in 1871, 1873, 1874, 1878, and 1879, before being elected in 1882. In his final bid for office, he was the Presidential nominee of the Greenback-Labor and Anti-Monopoly parties in 1884, polling less than 2% of the popular vote. Butler died in Washington, D.C.
[nolu chan 247] Scores of historians have spent countless hours trying to discredit Butler and his story. But since it is impossible to prove a negative, and since, as other historians have pointed out, Butler's account is "full and circumstantial" and there was no reason for him to lie...[Wlat 253] This shows that Bennett is not a reputable historian, because Butler had -every- reason to lie. He was seeking office. The story made him look good; it made him look like an intimate of President Lincoln's which he certainly was not.
I am still waiting, Wlat. YOU assert that YOU show that Bennett is not a reputable historian by YOUR unsupported assertion that Butler was seeking office in 1892 and, therefore, had every reason to lie.
WHERE IS YOUR EVIDENCE THAT BUTLER WAS SEEKING OFFICE IN 1892?
Your citing fiction as fact only proves that you are not to be taken seriously.