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Governor John A. Andrew sent Butler with a force of Massachusetts troops to reopen communication between the Union states and Washington, D.C. By his energetic and careful work Butler achieved his purpose without fighting, and he was soon afterwards appointed major general of U.S. Volunteers.
Assigned command of Fort Monroe, Butler declined to return to their owners fugitive slaves who had come within his lines, on the ground that, as laborers for fortifications, and so on, they were contraband of war, thus originating the phrase contraband as applied to African-Americans.
In the spring of 1864 Butler was placed at the head of the Army of the James and ordered to attack in the direction of Richmond from the east, destroying rail links and distracting Robert E. Lee, in conjunction with attacks from the north by Ulysses S. Grant.
Major-General Benjamin Franklin Butler, in command of the Army of the James, was a former lawyer and Democratic politician.
Butler was described as "plug-ugly" by some, overbearing by most, and a few people would even admit that the General was resourceful, flexible and had a quick mind.
Butler did not suffer disobedience well however, and his harsh and bizarre methods of dealing with insubordination were legendary.
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