were contraband of war, thus originating the phrase "contraband" as applied
to the negroes. In the conduct of tactical operations Butler was almost
uniformly unsuccessful, and his first action at Big Bethel, Va., was a
humiliating defeat for the National arms. Later in 1861 he commanded an
expeditionary force, which, in conjunction with the navy, took Forts
Hatteras and Clark, N.C. In 1862 he commanded the force which occupied New
Orleans. In the administration of that city he showed great firmness and
severity. New Orleans was unusually healthy and orderly during the Butler
regime. Many of his acts, however, gave great offence, particularly the
seizure of $800,000 which had been deposited in the office of the Dutch
consul, and an order, issued after some provocation, on May 15th, that if
any woman should "insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the
United States, she shall be regarded and shall be held liable to be treated
as a woman of the town plying her avocation." This order provoked protests
both in the North and the South, and also abroad, particularly in England
and France, and it was doubtless the cause of his removal in December 1862.
On the 1st of June he had executed one W.B. Mumford, who had torn down a
United States flag placed by Farragut on the United States mint; and for
this execution he was denounced (Dec. 1862) by President Davis as "a felon
deserving capital punishment," who if captured should be reserved for
execution. In the campaign of 1864 he was placed at the head of the Army of
the James, which he commanded creditably in several battles. But his
mismanagement of the expedition against Fort Fisher, N.C., led to his
recall by General Grant in December.

He was a Republican representative in Congress from 1867 to 1879, except in
1875-1877. In Congress he was conspicuous as a Radical Republican in
Reconstruction legislation, and was one of the managers selected by the
House to conduct the impeachment, before the Senate, of President Johnson,
opening the case and taking the most prominent part in it on his side; he
exercised a marked influence over President Grant and was regarded as his
spokesman in the House, and he was one of the foremost advocates of the
payment in "greenbacks" of the government bonds. In 1871 he was a defeated
candidate for governor of Massachusetts, and also in 1879 when he ran on
the Democratic and Greenback tickets, but in 1882 he was elected by the
Democrats wh