Page "Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)" Paragraph 4

Butler supported Davis as he believed that only a moderate Southerner could keep the Democratic party from dividing in 1860.

Although he sympathized with the South, Butler stated that " I was always a friend of southern rights but an enemy of southern wrongs ", and sought to serve in the Union army.

His military career prior to the Civil War began with him as a third lieutenant in the Massachusetts Militia in 1839 ; he was promoted to brigadier general of the militia in 1855.

These ranks were closely associated with his political positions and Butler received little practical military experience to prepare him for the coming conflict.