Later Years
Butler turned down the governorship of the Nebraska Territory in 1855.
Politically, Butler was a moderate. Although a slaveholder, he was opposed to the extension of slavery and favored gradual legal emancipation. He stood firmly for the preservation of the Union and was a Union Democrat during the Civil War.
He was present at the peace conference of 1861, a gathering of political leaders that met in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to avert the impending American Civil War. Butler returned to his home in Carrolton where he remained until his death. He died in 1880 aged 89 of natural causes. His remains were interred in the Butler family cemetery.
Butler County, Iowa, and Butler County, Missouri, were named for General Butler, as well as General Butler State Resort Park near Carrollton, Kentucky. Butler Township, County of Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, is also named for him.
Read more about this topic: William Orlando Butler
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