A TITANIC LIFE: THE STORY OF BRO. ARCHIBALD BUTT By Alan L. Gordon Deputy Grand Master
RWB Alan L. Gordon
B
rother Archibald Butt was a Major in the United States Army and an influential aide to Presidents and Brothers Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. An while his association with the Craft and US Presidents during his time in Washington, DC might be slightly remarkable, the manner of his death is even more so. Because he was one of the over 1,500 people who died during the sinking of the HMS Titanic. Brother Butt was born in Augusta, Georgia to a military family. Both his grandfather and great-grandfather served in the American Revolutionary War. In addition, he had an uncle who served with the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Brother Butt was a journalist in his early adult life, which garnered him the attention of several political figures. This attention earned him an appointment as First
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Secretary to the American Ambassador to Mexico where he wrote articles for several magazines. During the Spanish American War, Brother Butt served in a variety of places and later earned a commission as a Captain in the United States Army. After service as Depot Quartermaster in Havana, he was ordered to return to Washington to serve as an aide to President Theodore Roosevelt. While there, Brother Butt became close friend with the President. His organizational skills helped to convert chaotic White House receptions into orderly efficient events. In early, 1912, Brother Butt was caught up between the broken friendships between Roosevelt and Taft at a time when Roosevelt was forming his Bull Moose Party and planning a run for a third term as present, a move that ultimately resulted in the election of Woodrow Wilson to the presidency. During this time, Brother Butt requested a leave of absence from his White House duties. On March 1, 1912, Brother Butt and his housemate, Francis Millet, left for a 6-week vacation in Europe. Butt booked passage on the RMS Titanic to return to the United States. He boarded the ship at Southampton, in England on April 10, 1912; Millet boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, later that same day. Butt was playing cards on the night of April 14 in the first-class smoking room when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank two and one half hours later. There are several accounts of Brother Butt’s actions during those two-and-a-half-hours, though none can be verified. One account had the ship’s captain, Edward J. Smith, telling Butt that the ship was doomed, after which Butt began to act like a ship’s officer supervising the loading and lowering of lifeboats. The New York Times also claimed that Butt herded women and children into lifeboats.
Archibald Butt (Right) speaks to President Taft at a Wright Bros. demonstration.
Another account said that Butt, gun in his hand, prevented panicked male passengers from storming the lifeboats. Yet another version said Butt yanked a man out of one of the lifeboats so that a woman could board. In this story, Butt declared, “Sorry, women will be attended to first or I’ll break every damned bone in your body! One account tells of Butt preventing desperate steerage passengers from breaking into the first class areas in an attempt to escape the sinking ship. Walter Lord’s book A Night to Remember disagrees with claims that Butt acted like an officer. Lord says Butt most likely observed the ship›s evacuation quietly. For instance, many newspapers repeated a story allegedly told by Marie Young. This tale says that Butt helped her into Lifeboat No. 8, tucked a blanket about her, and said, “Goodbye, Miss Young. Luck is with you. Will you kindly remember me to all the folks back home?”, but Young later wrote to President Taft denying she ever told such a story. Even Butt’s final moments remain in dispute. Dr. Washington Dodge says he saw John Jacob Astor and Butt standing near the bridge as the ship went down. Dodge›s account is highly unlikely, as his lifeboat was more than a half-mile away from the ship at the time it sank. Other eyewitnesses say they saw him standing calmly on deck, or sideby-side with Astor waving goodbye. Several
