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» For other people named John Butler, see the John Butler disambiguation page.
John Butler (1728-1796) was a
Loyalist who led an irregular unit known as
Butler's Rangers on the northern frontier in the
American Revolutionary War. He led
Seneca and
Cayuga forces in the
Saratoga Campaign. He later raised and commanded a regiment of
rangers. He is described as a fat man of medium stature.
Background
John was born to Walter Butler and Deborah Ely in
New London,
Connecticut in 1728. His family soon moved to the frontier in the
Mohawk Valley near modern
Fonda, New York. In 1752, he married Catherine Bradt, and the couple raised five children. He knew several Indian languages and was employed as an interpreter.
In 1755, he was made Captain in the Indian department and saw service in the
French and Indian War. He saw action at
Fort Ticonderoga,
Battle of Fort Frontenac,
Battle of Fort Niagara, and
Montreal. At
Battle of Fort Niagara he was second in command of the Indians.
After the war he came home, and built his estate up to 26,000 acres (105 km²) at Butlersburg, near Caughnawaga. He was second only to
Sir William Johnson as a wealthy frontier land owner. He was a judge in the
Tryon County court. he was appointed Lt. Colonel of
Guy Johnson's regiment of
Tryon County militia. Butler worked under
Sir William Johnson in the Indian department. Butler was one of the two members representing
Tryon County in the
Province of New York assembly.
Revolutionary War
Butler returned to service as a Loyalist when the
American Revolution turned to war in 1775. In May, 1775 left for Canada in the company of
Daniel Claus,
Walter Butler,
Hon Yost Schuyler and
Joseph Brant. On July 7th, they reached
Fort Oswego and in August Montreal. He was involved in the defense of Montreal against an attack lead by
Ethan Allen. In November, Carleton sent him to
Fort Niagara with instructions to keep the Indians neutral.
His oldest son
Walter Butler served with him, but his wife and other children were detained by the American rebels.
In March, 1777 he sent a party of about one hundred Indians to Montreal to force the Americans out of Quebec. In May, Butler received instructions to employ a body of the
Six nations in an attack on New York. On June 5 he received instructions to send as many Indians as he could to
Fort Oswego for an attack on
Fort Stanwix as a part of the
Saratoga Campaign. He was put second in command of the Indians after
Daniel Claus.
He led this same band of Indians along with a small number of Loyalists in a successful ambush in the
Battle of Oriskany. He traveled to Quebec to settle his accounts. As a result, after this expedition he was commissioned as a
lieutenant colonel and given authority to raise his own
regiment, which became known as
Butler's Rangers, initially with a strength of eight
companies. He traveled back to
Fort Niagara and the first company was completed in December.
In the June of 1778, Butler led 20 of his rangers and
Iroquois allies in the battle of
Wyoming Valley (now
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania). He defeated
Zebulon Butler, took
Forty Fort. The Patriots were virtually annihilated and around 1,000 homes in the area were burned. Later, the battle was referred to as
Wyoming Valley Massacre because some of the victorious Loyalists and Iroquois executed and scalped the remaining prisoners and fleeing Patriots. Later that year after the burning of
Tioga, his son Captain
Walter Butler led two companies of rangers and 300 Iroquois allies in a raid which was later referred to as the
Cherry Valley massacre. The name of Butler was thereafter anathema to the rebels.
His unit of rangers was spread through frontier outposts from Niagara to
Illinois. Butler himself commanded from
Fort Niagara. In 1779, he
lost a fight against the
Sullivan Expedition, and withdrew to
Fort Niagara.
Post-war years
At the end of the Revolution, Butler once again turned to farming in the Niagara region. He became one of the leaders of
Upper Canada, later called
Ontario. He was a Deputy Superintendent for the Indian Department, a Justice of the Peace, and the local militia commander. He was also prominent in establishing the
Anglican Church and
Masonic Order in Ontario.
Butler died at
Niagara on
May 12,
1796. His wife had died earlier. He was survived by three sons and a daughter.
Legacy
In 2006, Lt-Col Butler was honoured by the Canadian Government with a life-sized bronze bust located at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. He was a key player in the founding of British North America.
Further Information
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