Description: "Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges in this lively narrative as a man whose journey took him from childhood destitution to wealth and profound influence in state and national halls of power. Prize-winning biographer Elizabeth Leonard chronicles Butler's successful career in the law defending the rights of the Lowell Mill girls and other workers, his achievements as one of Abraham Lincoln's premier civilian generals, and his role in developing wartime policy in support of slavery's fugitives as the nation advanced toward emancipation"--
Brief description: Elizabeth D. Leonard's previous books include Lincoln's Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky, winner of the Lincoln Prize.
Review Quotes: "Prize-winning historian Leonard brings her considerable skill in research and writing to this biography--the fullest and most balanced one yet--of the controversial Civil War-era military and political leader Benjamin Butler. . . . Leonard sets the record straight on Butler and provides an object lesson on the ways his personality and principles combined to effect public good."--Library Journal