“When I wanted a thing done well, I had a Butler do it.”
~ Marquis de Lafayette
Thomas Butler (1720-abt.1789) was a gunsmith from County Wicklow in Ireland and a descendant of the Barons of Dunboyne. He immigrated to America and settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where he began making Pennsylvania long rifles in 1748.
In 1777, the Second Continental Congress named him Chief Armorer responsible for manufacturing and repairing weapons for battles with the British.
Thomas had five sons that joined the Continental Army and fought in critical battles of the American Revolution, most of the time in the same unit or adjacent units:
- General Richard Butler (1743-1791)
- Colonel William Butler (1744-1789)
- Colonel Thomas Butler (1748-1805)
- Captain Percival Butler (1760-1821)
- Captain Edward Butler (1762-1803)
The brothers distinguished themselves in battle and all became senior officers. Collectively, the brothers were known as “The Fighting Butlers.”
At an officer dinner celebrating a victory, George Washington raised his glass and made a toast: “The Butlers and their five sons!”
Marquis de Lafayette said, “When I wanted a thing done well, I had a Butler do it.”
Primary Sources:
- Nye, Logan. “These 4 brothers were heroes of the American Revolution.” We Are The Mighty, April 29, 2020.
- Hemard, Ned. “A Butler Did It – New Orleans Nostalgia.” New Orleans Bar Assoc.
- Linn, John Blair. “The Butler Family of the Pennsylvania Line.“ The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol.7, no. 1, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1883, pp. 1-6.
