Matthew Calbraith Butler

He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and commenced practice in Edgefield (SC). In 1858 he was married to Maria, daughter of Gov. F. W. Pickens and was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1860.

He entered NC military service as Captain of a company of cavalry in Hampton's legion in 1861, was promoted Major after First Manassas, and commanded the Cavalry of the Legion. He was appointed Colonel of the 2nd SC Cavalry Regiment in August, 1862.

He commanded the regiment in Maryland.

Butler was wounded in the battle at Brandy Station (July 1863) and lost his foot as a result. He was promoted to Brigadier-General in September 1863, and returned to duty for the battles outside of Richmond in 1864, then went South to in defense to Sherman's advance into South Carolina. By the end of the War he was a Major General in command of a Division.

He was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, 1870; U.S. Senator from South Carolina, 1877-95. He then practiced law in Washington, D.C. During the Spanish-American War (1898) was appointed Major General of United States Volunteers, and was one of the commissioners appointed to supervise the evacuation of Cuba by the Spanish forces in 1898. He then returned to Edgefield, S.C. and resumed the practice of law until his death.

Sources: Biographies at the US Congress, and in the Confederate Military History, Vol. 5, pg. 379 - extracted online.

See also his US Congressional Biography, source for most of the above information.

3/8/1836; Greenville, SC

4/14/1909; Columbia, SC; burial in Willow Brook Cemetery, Edgefield, SC