When our scheduled speaker became ill at the last minute, attendees at the March meeting were treated to a surprise speaker… Ed Root.
Our Brigade Commander explains, “Ed gave a great speech on Ben Butler and New Orleans. He described his life before the war. Butler was born in New Hampshire and was a successful lawyer and later, Governor. He joined the army early in the civil war. He was the administrator overseeing New Orleans after its fall to the Union in 1862. This brought him enormous dislike from the southern population. He died in 1893.
“We at the round table would like to thank Mr. Root for his last minute step in on this great topic of Ben Butler while in New Orleans.”
A Ben Butler souvenir from New Orleans