Afternoon, Everyone!
Today, I didn’t write the post
you see before you, instead it was one of my amazing uncles who happens to be a
history teacher here in Georgia. I hope you will enjoy his post just as much as
I did!
Enjoy!
Georgia’s
Link to the Sinking of the Titanic
On April
16, 1912, a disaster of unthinkable proportions exploded onto the headlines of
the world’s newspapers. One day earlier the “unsinkable” Titanic, the greatest ocean liner on the planet on its maiden
voyage, struck an iceberg in the frigid waters of the north Atlantic. With a
gash in its hull below the water line, the ship sank in less than 3 hours and
took the lives of more than 1500 souls.
Only 705 survived.
Among
the thousands reeling in shock and shattered by personal loss were the President
of the United States, William Howard Taft, and his arch political rival, former
president Theodore Roosevelt. They were
grieving the death of the man who had served both presidents as trusted aide
and loyal friend, Georgia-native Major Archibald Butt.
In the
mysterious twisting of Georgia history, the fierce Taft-Roosevelt feud had in a
strange way put Major Butt on the Titanic
and, in an equally strange way, that feud would also put Woodrow Wilson -- another
man with strong Georgia connections -- in the White House.
Archibald
Butt was born in Augusta, Georgia, a few months after the end of the Civil
War. When he was 14, the death of his
father left his family in financial straits, and the teenager went to work. A
few years later, however, through the aid of the family pastor, Butt was able
to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. After graduating,
he began a career as a journalist and writer, and within a few years, he had
moved to Washington, DC, to cover politics for several southern newspapers,
including the Atlanta Constitution,
the Augusta Chronicle, and the Savannah Morning News.
His
Washington connections led to a diplomatic post in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico
City. When the Spanish-American War erupted in 1898, Butt volunteered for military
service; he received an officer’s commission and an assignment with the
Quartermaster’s Corps. Sent to the
Philippines where he worked with U.S. Governor-General William Howard Taft, Butt
proved to be enterprising and efficient, with remarkable gifts in organization
and administration. It was through his
relationship with Taft that Butt was introduced later to President Theodore
Roosevelt, who tapped the Georgian to serve as his military aide.
Their
professional association developed into a strong friendship, with Butt often at
Roosevelt’s side during the president’s frequent hikes and hunting trips. In 1908,
after Roosevelt declined to run for re-election, Taft won the presidency and asked
Butt to continue his duties as aide and scheduler. Butt agreed, and his friendship
with Taft – and the new president’s reliance on his aide – grew equally strong.
Partisan
storm clouds soon developed, however. Although Taft had been Roosevelt’s hand-picked
successor, the former president became disillusioned with Taft’s more
conservative policies. By 1912 the rift had developed into a full-blown
political feud. Roosevelt led the GOP’s progressive wing in a rebellion against
Taft’s party leadership and challenged Taft for the Republican presidential
nomination.
Intensely
loyal, Butt found walking the tightrope between his two friends an exhausting
ordeal, and his health suffered. At Taft’s insistence, Butt accepted a leave of
absence and sailed to Europe for a six-week respite from the political war. And
so it was when this continental holiday came to an end that Major Butt found
himself on the maiden voyage of the Titanic,
heading back into the maelstrom.
Despite numerous
warnings of icebergs in the vicinity, the ship streaked full speed westward
across the waters. Shortly after 11 pm on April 15, the fateful collision
rattled the ship’s chandeliers, and the drama of survival began. In eyewitness accounts, survivors portrayed
Major Butt during those tragic two-and-a-half hours as a calm and commanding
presence, forcefully intervening to prevent panic and to protect the priority
placement of women and children in the lifeboats.
Although
in the first reports of the disaster there was no official word on Major Butt’s
fate, when President Taft saw how great the loss of life was, he knew instinctively
his friend was among the dead. It was inconceivable to the President that a man
of Butt’s character might have saved himself before first seeing to the safety
of everyone else.
Taft was
devastated. At one eulogy, he described Butt as being like a son and a brother,
but in attempting to speak at a second service a few days later, the President broke
down and was unable to complete his remarks, turning from the lectern in tears.
The loss
of this loyal friend and able public servant was felt in Washington, DC, and in
Augusta, Georgia. Although Major Butt’s body was never recovered, officials in
Washington arranged for two memorials, a cenotaph in Arlington National
Cemetery and a fountain near the White House on the Ellipse. And in Augusta on the
second anniversary of the Titanic’s
sinking and Butt’s death, former president Taft spoke at the dedication of the
Butt Memorial Bridge, which spans the Augusta Canal at 15th Street.
It is the only memorial in Georgia which commemorates the Titanic tragedy.
The
other twisting thread of this story ties the dispute which prompted Major
Butt’s journey to Europe -- the Taft-Roosevelt schism – to an even greater
historical consequence. In the 1912 presidential election, GOP voters split
between the incumbent Taft and Roosevelt and his Progressive “Bull Moose” Party.
The rift opened a door for Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson, who won an
electoral majority. Another president
with numerous Georgia connections, Wilson had spent his boyhood during the
Civil War in Augusta, Georgia. (His childhood home there is now a museum and a
National Historic Landmark.) In addition, Wilson’s first wife was a native of
Savannah, and he began his professional career as an attorney in Atlanta. Perhaps
his ties to the state will make another edition of Georgia History’s Mysteries.
The
eventful life and heroic death of Major Archibald Butt highlight the intriguing
historical connections between one of the world’s greatest maritime tragedies, one
of America’s classic presidential power struggles, and one of Georgia’s most
remarkable citizens.
~ Steve M. – History Teacher
Links:
Thank you, Uncle Steve, for this wonderful and informative
post! I have been looking for Georgia connections with Titanic forever!
And thank you, readers, once again for reading my blog and
helping to encourage Georgia’s History and the Girl Scouts! If there are any
Georgia sites or people you would like to know more about please let me know in the
comments below!
Thanks again to everyone!
MJ
Did you get the birthplace of the first professional African
American Baseball player?
Answer: Cairo.
Jackie Robinson born January 31, 1919 in Cairo, GA, was the
first African American to play professional baseball and is the only player in
history to wear the number 42.
Next Weeks Georgia History’s Mysteries!
Named for the "Fighting Quaker" who was a major general in
the Continental Army!
PS
I hope had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did and I am thankful for all of you!
