Edmond Butler was born in 1827 in Ireland. He eventually immigrated to America and settled in Brooklyn, New York. He worked as a newspaper editor, and by 1860, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. He married Katherine Flannigan, and they had at least six children: Edmund, born around 1860; Charles, born around 1863; Harry, born around 1867; Horace, born around 1872; Bertie, born around 1875; and Thomas, born around 1878.

 

 In October 1861, he received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 5^th United States Infantry. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant in May 1862, and he served as acting assistant quartermaster in Albuquerque, New Mexico from September 1863 until August 1864. He was promoted to captain in May 1864, and army officials transferred him to Los Pinos, New Mexico, in August 1864. He remained there until March 1865, when he was transferred to Franklin, Texas.

 

He remained in the army after the war, and he took part in campaigns against the Navajo, Pawnee, and Lakota Sioux. In the early 1880s, he was stationed in Montan and Minnesota, and he guarded construction parties building the Northern Pacific Railroad. His wife died in 1888. He retired on March 9, 1891, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1894, he received the Medal of Honor for “gallantry in action” against Native Americans at Wolf Mountain, Montana, on January 8, 1877. He died in Paris, France, on August 22, 1895.

 

Image: Edmond Butler (courtesy Wikicommons)

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