ben butler was a senator from massachusetts. he vacillated between being a democrat and republican. he's probably most well known for debacles during the civil war, he was known as spoon's butler, he was the military administrator for new orleans after it was captured by the union. he issued -- i can't remember the name of the order, but it was that all southern women who disrespected union soldiers should be treated as prostitutes. there were rumors he stole family silver. his picture was paint d on the inside of chamber pots in the south. he and sam really hated one another, partly because of butler's vacillation from being a democrat to being a republican. sam was a supporter of andrew johnson. didn't feel that he should be impeached and had aided that in every way he could and ben butler was counting on johnson being impeached. the two of them traded barbs their entire lives. >> you mentioned james garfield, but i also wonder if he had any encounters with either ulysses grant or twan and what they were like. >> could i talk about sam's relationship with other figures in the peri