March 24, 2004
Smedley Darlington Butler: Maverick Major General
American Military University
HM261, Military Biography
by James Landrith
Smedley Darlington Butler: Maverick Major General
American Military University
HM261, Military Biography
by James Landrith
Smedley Darlington Butler was born on July 30, 1881 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Butler was the son of a U.S. Representative Thomas S. Butler, who was also chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs. Butler was raised a Quaker in keeping with his heritage and religious beliefs of both his father and mother (Who’s Who).
Butler began his military career at a young age. The young Butler joined the service after the sinking of the Maine on February 16, 1898. Through his father’s connections, he was first able to secure a billet as a Navy Apprentice. While in that billet, he took an officer’s exam and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on May 20, 1898 at the age of 17 and shipped out with the North Atlantic Squadron, Marine Battalion to fight in the Spanish-American War. On February 16, 1899, Second Lieutenant Butler received an honorable discharge and was sent home.
After an almost two month hiatus, Smedley D. Butler was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps as a first lieutenant on April 8, 1899. That same month, Butler was assigned to the Marine Battalion at Manila in the Philippine Islands during the Philippine Insurrection. From June 14, 1900 to October 1900, Butler participated in military operations in China during the Boxer Rebellion.
Near Tientsin, China, the young first lieutenant was wounded in a battle with the Yihe Quan. Along with another officer and four enlisted troops, Butler retrieved a wounded British soldier from hostile territory. For these actions, Butler earned himself a brevet promotion to captain on July 23, 1900. He likely would have received a Medal of Honor like the enlisted troops involved in the rescue, but at the time, officers were not eligible for the honor. Sick from his wound, an absessed tooth and typhoid fever, Butler was shipped back to the U.S. in January 1901 as a newly promoted captain at the ripe old age of 19.
After returning to the United States, Captain Butler held many billets in and also spent some time aboard Naval vessels. A pivotal point in Butler’s development as a maverick occurred as a result his assignment to the island of Culebra near Puerto Rico. During this assignment, the men under his command were ill-equipped and suffered under the heat and environmental conditions of the island. Captain Butler appealed to the Department of the Navy to resolve the situation, but to no avail. This situation persisted until Butler’s father intervened and chastised the Department of the Navy for their inaction (Leach). This was to be one of many moments that helped forge his persona as a loose cannon.
Next, Butler was sent to Honduras in 1903 to protect American business interests. In 1905, he returned to the Philippines. While at Subic Bay, Butler was once again confronted with the Navy’s inability to keep the Marines supplied. Following a controversial move in which Butler resupplied his troops via a Philippine native’s boat, he was again sent back to the United States for a brief period of rest.
On May 13, 1908, Captain Butler was promoted to major. He next took command of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, stationed on the isthmus of Panama in December 1909 to provide security for the crew building the Panama Canal. In addition, he spent time in Nicaragua on various short term assignments, including combat actions at Coyotepe in 1912 (Leach and Naval Warfare).
The next significant combat action for Major Butler took place in Vera Cruz, Mexico on April 21 and 22. For Major Butler’s role in the combat actions at Vera Cruz, he earned his first of two Medals of Honor. The official citation read:
For distinguished conduct in battle, engagement of Vera Cruz, 22 April 1914, Maj. Butler was eminent and conspicuous in command of his battalion. He exhibited courage and skill in leading his men through the action of the 22d and in the final occupation of the city (MOH Citation).
In keeping with the hectic pace of his career, Major Butler was sent to Haiti the following year. For his actions in seizing and holding Fort Riviere, Haiti, Major Butler received his second Medal of Honor. Butler first assaulted the fort with a group of one hundred Marines. Next, along with two other Marines, Butler managed to keep control of the Fort while continuing to take fire from a hostile group of Caco combatants. On August 1, 1916, Butler was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He continued his work on Haiti, systematically destroying criminal gangs and restoring law and order through the nation. In addition, he worked with Haitian leaders to establish new military forces to allow the island nation to defend itself (Leach).
World War I was the next stop for Lieutenant Colonel Butler. For this conflict, Butler was not sent to battle, instead, he commanded the 13th Marine Regiment and later commanded the 5th Marine Brigade, both in France. On July 1, 1918, Butler was temporarily promoted to colonel and on October 7, 1918, he was temporarily promoted to brigadier general and was assigned as base commander of Camp Pontanezen.
Upon his return from Europe in 1919, Butler was tapped to command the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia. He was finally permanently promoted to colonel on March 9, 1919 and one year later, he was permanently promoted to brigadier general on June 4, 1920 (Naval Warfare).
Butler remained at Quantico until 1924, when he was granted a temporary leave to assist the Philadelphia city government revitalize their law enforcement efforts. While in the director of public safety billet in Philadelphia, Butler used his position to enforce the nation’s controversial alcohol prohibition laws. By 1925, Butler had overstayed his welcome and was released from his position as director of public safety due to his zealous enforcement efforts (Leach).
In 1926, while commanding the barracks in San Diego, California, Butler was once again called upon to lead Marines into harms way. Back in China, Butler was engaged in nation building efforts and protecting American business interests. After his return from China, Butler received his final promotion, this time to major general on July 5, 1929. He retired from military service in October 1931, but not before causing an international incident by publicly criticizing the Benito Mussolini government of Italy (Naval Warfare).
Following his retirement, Butler hit the lecture circuit, giving many controversial speeches. During his lectures, he coined the phrase “war is a racket and wrote a controversial pamphlet condemning interventionist wars.” In addition, Butler also appeared before Congress in 1934 to testify that he had been approached by several powerful business leaders and urged to lead a military coup against the Roosevelt administration (Leach).
Major General Butler received many honors and commendations throughout his adventurous career. The first such honor, a sword commemorating his service during the Boxer Rebellion, was received at age 20 from the citizens of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Along with Sergeant Major Dan Daly, Major General Butler shares the distinction of being only one of two Marines to have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice. He was the recipient of his first Medal of Honor for his actions in Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1914. The next year, Butler was awarded a second Medal of Honor for his seizure of Fort Riviere, Haiti from the Caco bandits in 1915. In addition to both Medals of Honor, he received the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, French Order of the Black Star and the Haitian equivalent of the Medal of Honor.
The life of Smedley Darlington Butler came to a close on June 21, 1940 in the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia. Two years later, the career of the major general was commemorated through the naming of a destroyer, the USS Butler.
Leach, Joseph K. “Smedley Butler Marine Corps Legend.” Grunts.net. 1999. <http://www.grunts.net/legends/butler.html>.
MOH Citation for Smedley Butler. HomeOfHeroes.com. 15 Mar. 2004. <http://homeofherores.com/moh/citations_1900_wars/mx_butler_smedley.html>
“Butler, Smedley Darlington (1881-1940)” Naval Warfare: An International Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 2002.
Who’s Who in Marine Corps History. United States Marine Corps History and Museums Division. 20 Mar. 2004. <http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Historical/Whos_Who/Butler_SD.htm>.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}