Beast!

This is coolbert:

"I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, and in their name, do pronounce and declare the said Benjamin F. Butler to be a felon, deserving of capital punishment. I do order that he be no longer considered or treated simply as a public enemy of the Confederate States of America, but as an outlaw and common enemy of mankind, and that in the event of his capture the officer in command of the capturing force do cause him to be immediately executed by hanging"

Thanks here to the Chicago Tribune almanac for the tip.

On this date in 1862, Union troops during the American Civil War began the occupation of New Orleans.

An occupation that was to last for fifteen years. NOT ending until 1877!!

A military occupation that during the war years, the time of actual combat, was presided over by a “Yankee” military governor.

Such a man was Benjamin “Beast" Butler.

Detested throughout the rebellious south states and even in foreign nations for his draconian pronouncements and policies.

"During the American Civil War, his administration of occupied New Orleans, his policies regarding slaves as contraband, his ineffectual leadership in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, and the fiasco of Fort Fisher rank him as one of the most controversial political generals of the war. He was widely reviled for years after the war by Southern whites, who gave him the nickname "Beast Butler."

WAS UNDER AN ORDER OF SUMMARY EXECUTION IF CAPTURED BY REBEL FORCES!! [“Beast” never was captured. Survived the war and in the aftermath of rebel surrender, lead a most successful and prosperous existence.]

A man, a general officer, very unsuccessful, however, on the battlefield. WAS A MAN WHO ACHIEVED GENERAL RANK AS A POLITICAL APPOINTMENT, NOT MERITORIOUS, THE MAN BEING RELATIVELY INCOMPETENT AS A SOLDIER AND BATTLEFIELD COMMANDER!!

Was, however, a skilled attorney, negotiator, politician, and a man who often acted in a high-handed manner, establishing precedent where he felt it was deemed necessary, regardless of controversy!

“Beast”!

coolbert.