114
Gen. Ben. F. Butler.
Tribune having supported him used a
favorite sentence of his: I hold that Seces-
sion is treason and treason deserves death
&c &c. He was handsomely dressed in his
Major General s costume and looked a bul-
ky man, of loose figure, his countenance
being resolute, peculiar, not prepossessing, his
hair what remained of it reddish. The declen-
sion of one eyclid was very noticeable. I did-
n t regret the chance of seeing the man; one
of the few really remarkable ones produced
by the war. I believe he ruled the most in-
fernal city ever known on the American conti-
nent magnificently as it needed ruling
but I find it difficult to credit his honestty.
A. G. Hills introduced me to the General and
to others present, whose names I have forgot-
ten. Gen. Hamilton, Shaw and Herbert were
there the first a great friend of Butler s,
who had received him kindly after his es-
cape from Texas. Out with A. G. after,
to a wood-carvers shop where I saw three
effigies of negroes, intended to represent a
man, woman and child. It was designed
to carry these in procession by the colored
folks on the 1st of January when the Eman-
cipation proclamation of the President was
to come in force with chains upon them,| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Twenty-One: page one hundred and twenty-five |
| Description: | Describes General Butler. |
| Date: | 1862-12-22 |
| Subject: | African Americans; Butler, Benjamin F.; Civil War; Emancipation; Emancipation Proclamation; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Hamilton, Andrew Jackson; Herbert, J.R.; Hills, A.G.; New York tribune.; Shaw, Charles P.; Slaves |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New Orleans, Louisiana] |
| Scan Date: | 2010-11-18 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Twenty-One |
| Description: | Includes Gunn's descriptions of his experiences as a war correspondent for ""The New York Tribune"" at New Orleans, Louisiana, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; boarding house living; a visit to the Rawlings family; a fight with Mr. Blankman at his boarding house; his journey on the North Star with the Banks expedition; the re-occupation of Baton Rouge by Union forces; a visit to a sugar plantation in Louisiana; and Fanny Fern's daughter Grace Thomson's death. |
| Subject: | African Americans; Boardinghouses; Bohemians; Civil War; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Military; Publishers and publishing; Transportation; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; New Orleans, Louisiana; Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2010 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
