Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

In August my Eighteenth Corps held Grant's lines around Petersburg while his army attacked the enemy through the mine.

September 29, the whole Army of the James, save the garrison, attacked Richmond directly, carrying Fort Harrison and the outer line of works around Richmond, which were ever afterwards held.

October 3, my Nineteenth Corps sent to defend Washington under the orders of Grant.

This does not include several minor expeditions of small bodies of troops which were from time to time sent from my intrenched camp. And added to all this is the fact that from the 15th of June, 1863, until the surrender of the army of Lee, April 12, 1865, General Grant had during the whole time his headquarters always in the “bottle,” guarded by troops of the Army of the James which garrisoned the “bottle” How did he get out, as he never went through the nozzle, which was tightly corked.

I am convinced that it was Badeau who wrote the report wherein this phrase was used so much to my detriment, because Grant, who was an honest and truthful man, so far as I know, never could have written it with the knowledge he had; and I am the more thoroughly so persuaded because in the “Military history of General Grant,” written by Badeau, and in the “Personal Memoirs of General Grant,” of which Badeau claims the substantial authorship, the same identical words, “corked as in a bottle,” are used upon the subject.

Grant, who had seen the mischief that the untruthful criticism had done me, says:--

I found afterwards that this was mentioned in the notes of General Badeau's book [Military History of General Grant which, when they were shown to me, I asked to have stricken out; yet it was retained there, though against my wishes.¹

I make this statement here because, although I have often made it before, it has never been in my power until now to place it where it will correct history.²