Henry H Butler

Henry  H. Butler 87, venerable graduate of Washburn College, Topeka, Kansas, and ex-school teacher, was born a slave to Mr. George Sullivan on his 300 acre plantation in Farouier Co., Virginia. Henry and a number of other slaves were transported to Arkansas in 1863, and Henry escaped and joined the Union Army. He now lives at 1308 E. Bessie St., Fort Wort', Texas.
 My name is Henry H. Buttler and I am past 87 years of age. That figure may not be accurate, out you must realize that there were no authentic records made of slave births. I estimate my age on the work I was doing at the commencement or the Civil War and the fact that I was large enough to be accepted as a soldier in the Union Army, in the year of 1864. I was born on the plantation of George Sullivan , in Farquier Co., Virginia. The plantation was situated in the valley at the base of Pull Mountain, and presented a beautiful picture. The plantation consisted of about 30 acres, with about 30 slaves, though this number varied and sometimes reached 50. Mr. Sullivan owned my mother and her children, but my father was owned by Mr. John Rector , whose place was adjacent to ours. The slave quarters consisted of a group of one-room log cabins, with no flooring, and very crude furnishings. There were bunks and benches and a table and the fireplace provided the means for cooking and heating. The food was wholesome and of sufficient quantity. In that period about all the food was produced and processed on the plantation, which eliminated any reason for failure to provide ample food. The meat was home cured and the ham and bacon had a superior flavor.  On the Sullivan place there existed consideration for human feelings but on the Rector place neither the master nor the overseer seemed to understand that slaves were human beings. One old slave called Jin , on the Rector place, disobeyed some rule and early one mornin' they ordered him to strip. They tied him to the whipping post and from morning until noon, at intervals, the lean was applied to his back. I, myself, saw and heard many of the lashes and his cries for mercy. One mornin a number or slaves were ordered to lay a fence row on the Rector place. The overseer said, 'This row must be laid to the Branch and left in time to roll those logs out in the back woods.' It was sundown when we laid the last rail but the overseer put us to rolling logs without any supper and it was eleven when we completed the task. Old Pete , the ox driver, became so exhausted that he fell asleep without unyoking the oven. For that, he was given 100 lashes . The slaves were allowed to marry but were compelled to first obtain permission from the master. The main factor involved in securing the master's consent was his desire to rear negroes with perfect physics. On neither plantation was there any thought or compassion when a sale or trace was in question. I have seen the separation of husband and wife, child and mother, and the extreme grief of those involved, and the lash administered to a grieving slave for neglecting their work. All this made the marriages a farce. In 1863 Mr. Sullivan transported about 40 or us slaves to Arkansas, locating us on a farm near Pine Bluff, so we would not be taken by the Federal soldiers. The general faithfulness or the slave was noticeable then, as they had a chance to desert and go to free states. But I think I was the only one that deserted Mr. Sullivan . I went to Federal Headquarters at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and was received into the army. We campaigned in Arkansas and nearby territory. The major battle I fought in was that of Pine Bluff, which lasted one day and part of one night. After I was mustered out of the army, I set out to get an education and entered a grade school at Pine Bluff. I worked after school at any job I could secure and managed to enter Washburn College, in Topeka, Kansas. After I graduated I followed steam engineering for four years, but later, I went to Fort Worth and spent 22 years in educational work among my people. I exerted my best efforts to advance my race. I married Lucin Brown in 1880 and we and three children, all of whom are dead. There is just my wife and me left of the family, and we have a $75.00 per month Union soldier's pension.
 

 Henry H. Buttler , 87, venerable graduate of Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas, and ex-school teacher of the Sherman and Ft. Worth, Texas colored school systems, was born a slave to Mr. George Sullivan on his 300 acre plantation located at the base of Bull Mountain in Farquier Co., Va. Mr. Sullivan owned about 30 slaves including Henry's bother, sister, and mother. His father was owned by Mr. John Rector , who was related by marriage to the Sullivans and owned the adjacent plantation with a similar set of slaves that were constantly intermingling with the Sullivan slave workers. Henry and a number of slaves were transported to Arkansas by their master in 1863 to prevent their capture by the Federal soldiers in the Civil War. After his arrival in Arkansas, Henry escaped and joined the Federal Army and fought in The Battle of Pine Bluff and a number of other battles. In 1880, he married Lucia Brown and they were blessed with three children who are now dead. They now reside at 1308 E. Bessie St., Ft. Worth, Tex. Their sole support now is a Union Soldier's pension received monthly from the U. S. Government for the past 30 years. His story:

My name is Henry H. Buttler , and I am past 87 years of age. That figure may not be accurate, but it is approximately correct. You must realize that there were no authentic records made of slave births. Therefore, one is compelled to approximate such events. I estimate my age on the work I was doing at the commencement of the Civil War, and the fact that I was large enough to be accepted as a soldier, in the Union Army, in the year of 1864. I was born on the plantation of George Sullivan in Fauquier County, Virginia. The plantation was situated in the valley at the base of Bull Mountain. A place with the mountain as a background that presented a beautiful picture, especially in the spring of the year. The plantation consisted of about 300 acres, with about 30 slaves as workers. The number of slaves varied due to the Master's trading activities. Sometimes the number would reach fifty. Master Sullivan owned my mother and her children, two boys and one girl. My father was owned by Mr. John Rector , who also owned thirty slaves and was an extensive trader. "Adjacent to the Sullivan's plantation was located the Rector's place of about the same size. The two families were related by marriage and they cooperated in the cultivation of their lands to a great extent. Therefore, there existed a constant exchange of workers and great intimacy among the slaves as well as the two families.

  The slaves, of course, as customary, were housed in quarters especially constructed for that purpose. The quarters consisted of a group of one-room log cabins, usually one for each family,
 and as you may assume, not pretentious. The cabins contained no flooring. The Master contended that a dirt floor served the negro better than wood. I have heard that same contention in regards to mules, but I have never understood the reason for such application to the negro. The furnishings for the cabins were very crude. There were bunks for sleeping purposes, benches for seats, and a general purpose table. The fire place provided the means for cooking and heating when necessary. The food was wholesome and of sufficient quantity. The fact is, in that period, about all the food consumed was produced and processed on the plantations, which eliminated any reason for failure to provide ample food, except the happening of some unavoidable event. I believe, as a whole, the food we ate in those days was more wholesome and tasty than that which we have at our disposal today. All our meat was home cured, the ham and bacon certainly was superior in flavor, the cornmeal and flour likewise. The clothing was plain home spun, but warm and durable, and we were always provided with the necessary amount. In the matter of maintaining discipline, there existed a vast difference in the methods employed on the two plantations. On the Sullivan place, there existed consideration for human feelings, and the treatment accorded was such as a human should receive. On the Rector place, neither the Master nor the overseer seemed to understand that slaves were human beings. I shall relate an instance of punishment administered to one old slave we called Jim. He had committed some infraction of a rule, or an order given. It was early one morning that they ordered him to strip. They tied him to the whipping post and from morning until noon, at intervals, the lash was applied to his back. I, myself, saw and heard many of the lashes as they connected with Jim's back. Yes, and I heard his cries for mercy. He would repeat over and over, "Have mercy, oh Marster, have mercy on me. I shall relate another instance where I was concerned. One morning, a number of us were ordered to lay a fence row on the Rector place. Others were ordered to cut and supply us with the rails. The overseer drove up and said, "This row must be laid to the branch and leave in sufficient time to roll those logs that are cut in the back woods." Well, it was sun down when we laid the last rail. True to his word, the overseer put us to rolling logs without any supper. It was eleven o'clock when we completed the task. Old Pete, who was the ox driver, had been engaged in hauling rails and then assisting us with the log rolling, became so exhausted by the time we had finished, that he fell asleep without unyoking the oxen. For that infraction of a rule, he was given 100 lashes. I could relate numerous other incidents of extreme cruelty, but the above should give a sufficient idea of the inconsiderate treatment accorded the slaves on the Rector place. "In regards to the domestic relations existing among the slaves, that is a question that requires considerable explanation to be understood properly. I shall attempt to answer it briefly, and of course covering only the Sullivan and Rector plantations. The slaves were allowed to marry, but were compelled to first obtain permission from the Master, and he would not consent unless he considered it a proper mating. The position taken by the Master was not wholly due to a disregard for the negro's feelings, nor a disregard for the sacred bonds of matrimony. The main factor involved was the desire on the part of the Master to rear negroes with perfect physiques. However, on neither plantation was there any thought or compassion in evidence when the matter of a sale or trade was in question. I have witnessed the separation of husband and wife, child and mother. I have witnessed the extreme grief of the parties involved because of such separations, and then witnessed the lash administered to the grieving party because they were neglecting their work. All of which made the marriage a farce, and more so because there was a purported ceremony performed by an alleged preacher, a white man who owned an adjoining plantation. Allow me to digress here just a moment to talk about that preacher. He preached a sermon each Sunday to the slaves of the neighborhood. The place of congregation was the Sullivan plantation. He was very inconsiderate in the treatment of his own slaves, therefore his brotherly talk was not taken seriously by most of the colored folks. One one occasion, a listener laughed at the minister's remarks during a discourse on kindness. The purported minister administered twenty-five lashes to the unfortunate negro. Now back to where we were. After the commencement of the Civil War, conditions changed to some extent on each plantation. There were several appropriations of food made by the army, which created a scarcity and some privation until the following crop was harvested. With this one exception, things went on as usual. In 1863, Master Sullivan transported about forty of us slaves to Arkansas, locating us on a farm near Pine Bluff. It was done for the purpose of avoiding the possibility of us slaves being taken by the Federal soldiers. The general faithfulness of the slave was well illustrated during that time as there was an opportunity for deserting the Master and going to the free states. I believe that I was the only one of that crowd of negroes that took advantage of the opportunity.

 
"Before I continue about my deserting, I shall mention an incident which further illustrates how faithful the average negro was to his Master. You recall Pete, the old negro that received a lashing that lasted from morning until noon. Well, he was given a letter with instructions to deliver it to General Price's headquarters, south of Pine Bluff. He could have gone to the Federal headquarters at Fort Smith and would have been freed. Naturally one would think in retaliation for the cruel treatment he had received, that he would do so, but he was faithful and delivered the letter as ordered.
 "Now I shall return to my deserting Master Sullivan. I availed myself of the opportunity and went to the Federal headquarters at Fort Smith, Arkansas. I was received and mustered into the army. That was in the early part of 1864. I remained until the close of the war and was mustered out of service at Pine Bluff.
 "During my service with the army, we campaigned in Arkansas and the adjacent territory. We fought small battles and skirmishes up and down the White River. The major battle that I was engaged in was the battle of Pine Bluff, which lasted one day and a part of one night.
 "The battle of Pine Bluff was a desperately fought battle while it lasted. I shall give you my impression received as a fighting soldier. We were expecting a battle early on a Sunday morning in November 1864. Our anticipations were realized when orders came to fall in formation for battle. It was a little before sunrise, and by sunrise fighting had commenced. Both armies kept advancing slowly in the face of terrific firing until we met. Then it was largely hand to hand fighting. The men fought with bayonets, pistols, knives, clubs, and in the absence of any other implement, the fist was resorted to. Each side fought with an energy and determination that manifested a desire to exterminate their antagonist. The battle waged back and forth; first one side would give a little ground, then regain it, then the other side would do likewise. Neither side seemed to be able to deliver the decisive blow. About the middle of the afternoon, men began to drop from exhaustion. They would rest a while, then return to the front line. More and more men began to fall because of fatigue. With the number killed and wounded, our line began to weaken. The Confederates indicated the same condition and it appeared that it was a question of endurance, and up to the last man before victory for either side could be determined.
 "When it seemed to be a hopeless struggle, there appeared on the field, a large number of women who had organized themselves into squads. They were carrying small platforms, two to a platform, upon which was coffee, sandwiches and other eatables. These women went among the men feeding the soldiers the food and at the same time, they kept up a constant encouraging talk, as follows: "Stand up to them, men. Be real men. Be whole men. Don't give up. Fight them, men. We are behind you. Show your stuff. Fight them to the last man, you have them whipped. Just stay in there and fight, just a little longer."
 "Those women kept us fighting on into the night, and then the Confederates began to give ground, which continued into a general retreat. They had no sandwich squad. If anyone should ask you who won the battle of Pine Bluff, tell them that Henry Buttler said that it was the women's sandwich squad that joined the Union forces, armed with food and encouraging words.
 "I was mustered out of the army in 1865 in the city of Pine Bluff. I immediately set out to obtain an education. A determination I possessed, partly because of my own volition and partly because of what my father had told me. That was to educate myself if I had the opportunity.
 "I entered the grade school at Pine Bluff, and worked after school hours at any job I could secure. I succeeded in graduating from the high school. Then I entered the Washburn College located at Topeka, Kansas. I majored in English, my purpose was to become a teacher and assist my race to improve their station and to become more useful men and women. I succeeded in college and completed my work. Completing my college work, I followed steam engineering for a period of four years. In 1875, I went to Sherman, Texas and taught school there for six months. Then I went to Fort Worth, and spent twenty-two years in educational work among my people. I exerted my best efforts to advance my race.
 "I was married in 1880 to Lucia Brown. We were blessed with three children, but unfortunately they are all dead. There is just my wife and me left of the Buttler family. Our sole support now is a $75.00 per month Union soldier's pension that I have been receiving from the Federal Government for the past thirty years.