Benjamin F. Butler acknowledged the crowd at Union Station

The crowd gave three cheers for the “democratic man who was not afraid to support the government.”  It is unclear if this was the “heartiest kind of cheer” or part of the crowd’s subsequent request for a speech.

1. On April 20, 1861, Butler, leading the Massachusetts 8^th Volunteer Militia, landed his force at Annapolis, MD, and occupied the US Naval Academy.
2. On April 27, 1861, Butlers troops restored rail service between Annapolis and Washington, DC.
3. On May 13, 1861, Butler and his troops occupied Baltimore, MD.
4. In August, Butler commanded an expeditionary force that secured Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark, both in North Carolina.

Butler was on his way to Massachusetts from New York in order to recruit more soldiers.

1. Butler is not so much travel-worn, or browned by exposure, as one would expect. He is just the right size to stand excitement, turmoil, and danger; and his sturdy frame and active brain bid fair to do great things for the Union, in days to come.”
2. “Would that all democrats were made of such stuff as he is! Would that he had held a cabinet office under Buchanan at Washington, in place of some who di; and then all this trouble would not have come upon us.”