General Butler in New Orleans. History of the Administration of the Department of the Gulf in the Year 1862: With an Account of the Capture of New Orleans, and a Sketch of the Previous Career of the General, Civil and Military

Benjamin Franklin Butler descends from a long line of soldiers and fighting men. As a small, sickly boy, he discovered in himself a great love of books and reading which fostered a love of learning that led him to college. He was "a youth of keen vision, fiery, inquisitive, fearless; nothing yet developed in him but ardent curiosity to know, and perfect memory to retain." He graduated with a keen desire to practice law. He taught school, read law, occasionally practiced law and joined the City Guard where he rose quickly through the ranks. At the age of 22 he was admitted to the bar and built a lucrative practice. He was also interested in politics and was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, once to the assembly and once to the senate. He strongly believed that the Union should be preserved with sympathy and understanding from both the North and the South. As a result he was elected a delegate to the democratic convention held at Charleston in April, 1860. At this point the story begins.