Archibald Butt Archibald Willingham DeGraffenreid Clarendon Butt ( September 26 , 1865 – April 15 , 1912 ) was an American journalist and United States Army officer . After a short career as a newspaper reporter , he served two years as the First Secretary of the American embassy in Mexico . He was commissioned in the United States Volunteers in 1900 and served in the Quartermaster Corps during the Philippine Insurrection . He gained notice for his work in logistics and animal husbandry , and received a commission in the regular United States Army in 1901 . After brief postings in Washington , D . C . , and Cuba , he was appointed military aide to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft . He died in the sinking of the . Early life . Archibald Butt was born in September 1865 in Augusta , Georgia , to Joshua Willingham and Pamela Robertson ( née Boggs ) Butt . His grandfather , Archibald Butt , served in the American Revolutionary War . His great - grandfather , Josiah Butt , was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army during the same conflict . He was the nephew of General William R . Boggs of the Confederate States Army ( CSA ) . He had two older brothers ( Edward and Lewis ) , a younger brother ( John ) , and a sister ( Clara ) , and the family was poor . Butt attended various local schools while growing up , including Summerville Academy . Butt ' s father died when Butt was 14 years old , and Butt went to work to support his mother , sister , and younger brother . Pamela Butt wished for her son to enter the clergy . With the financial help of the Reverend Edwin G . Weed ( who later became the Episcopal Bishop of Florida ) , Butt attended the University of the South in Sewanee , Tennessee . His mother worked as a librarian at the university , where she lived rent - free in an apartment in the library . While in college , he became interested in journalism and eventually was named editor of the college newspaper . Butt became acquainted with John Breckinridge Castleman , a former CSA major and guerrilla fighter during the American Civil War and who was , by 1883 , Adjutant General of the Kentucky Militia . He joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity , and graduated in 1888 . After taking graduate level courses in Greek and Latin , Butt traveled to Louisville , Kentucky , to meet with Castleman . While in that city , he met Henry Watterson , founder of the " Louisville Courier - Journal " . Watterson hired him as a reporter , and Butt remained in Louisville for three years . Butt left the " Courier - Journal " and worked for the " Macon Telegraph " for a year before moving to Washington , D . C . Butt covered national affairs for several Southern newspapers , including the " Atlanta Constitution " , " Augusta Chronicle " , " Nashville Banner " , and " Savannah Morning News " . Butt was a popular figure in D . C . social circles , and made numerous important acquaintances during his time in the capital . When former Senator Matt Ransom was appointed United States Ambassador to Mexico in August 1895 , he asked Butt to be the embassy ' s First Secretary . Butt wrote several articles for American magazines and published several novels while in Mexico . He returned to the United States in 1897 after Ransom ' s term as ambassador ended . Military service . On January 2 , 1900 , Butt was commissioned as a captain in the United States Volunteers ( an all - volunteer group which was not part of the regular United States Army but was under the regular Army ' s control ) . He had long admired the military , and no one in his immediate family was serving in the armed forces at the time the Spanish - American War broke out . Although Butt ' s literary career was taking off , his family ' s long involvement with the military and his desire to represent his family in the army during the war led him to enlist . Adjutant General of the U . S . Army Henry Clarke Corbin was influential in encouraging him to enlist . Butt was assigned as an assistant quartermaster ( i . e . a supply officer ) . He was ordered to take the transport ship " Sumner " through the Suez Canal and proceed to The Philippines . But he was eager to get into the war , and secured a change in orders that sent him from San Francisco , California , aboard the " USS Dorothea Dix " . Butt ' s new orders required him to stop in Hawaii with his cargo of 500 mules . But he found the price of feed and stables so high and the quarters for the animals so poor that he disobeyed orders and continued on to the Philippines . Although this risked the lives of his animals ( and possible court - martial ) , none of the mules died en route and Butt was praised for his initiative . Butt remained in the Philippines until 1904 , writing numerous treatises on the care of animals in the tropics and on military transportation and logistics . His reports won him significant praise by military officials . On June 30 , 1901 Butt was discharged from the Volunteers and received a commission as a captain in the Regular Army retroactive to February 2 , 1901 . Butt ' s social activities continued while he was in the Philippines . He was secretary of the Army and Navy Club , and had a major role in founding the Military Order of the Carabao ( a tongue - in - cheek spoof of military fraternal organizations that is still exists as of 2012 ) . In 1904 , Butt was ordered to return to Washington , D . C . , where he was appointed Depot Quartermaster . He was the lowest - ranking officer ever to hold this important position within the Quartermaster Corps . In 1906 , when a revolution against Tomás Estrada Palma broke out in Cuba , Butt was hurriedly assigned to lead U . S . Army logistical operations there . On just two days ' notice , he established a well - organized supply depot . He was named Depot Quartermaster in Havana . Service to two presidents . Butt was recalled to Washington in March 1908 . President Theodore Roosevelt asked him to serve as his military aide in April 1908 — just a month after Butt ' s return to the United States . There were several reasons why Roosevelt chose Butt . Among them were that Roosevelt had become acquainted with Butt ' s organizational skills in the Philippines and was impressed by his hard work and thoughtfulness . The other was that Taft recommended Butt , whom he knew well from their time together overseas . Butt became one of Roosevelt ' s closest companions . Although Butt was stout , he and Roosevelt were constantly going climbing , hiking , horseback riding , running , swimming , and playing tennis . Butt also quickly organized the chaotic White House receptions , transforming them from exhausting , hours - long events fraught with social missteps into efficient , orderly events . When William Howard Taft became president in March 1909 , he asked Butt to stay on as military aide . Butt continued to serve as a social functionary for Taft , but he also proved to have strong negotiating skills and a good head for numbers , which enabled him to become Taft ' s " de facto " chief negotiator on federal budget issues . Butt accompanied President Taft when he threw out the first ball at the first home game of Major League Baseball ' s Washington Nationals in 1910 and 1911 . ( Butt died at sea shortly before opening game in 1912 and Taft , according to the " Washington Post " , was overcome and " could not be present for obvious reasons . " ) On March 3 , 1911 , Butt was promoted to the rank of major in the Quartermaster Corps . In 1911 Butt became a member of the Georgia Society of the Cincinnati by right of his descent from his great ( 4 ) grandfather Lieutenant Robert Moseley , a veteran of the American Revolution . Butt was also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution . By 1912 , Taft ' s first term was coming to an end . Roosevelt , who had fallen out with Taft , was known to be considering a run for president against him . Close to both men and fiercely loyal , Butt began to suffer from depression and exhaustion . Butt ' s housemate and friend Francis Davis Millet ( himself one of Taft ' s circle ) asked Taft to give him a leave of absence to recuperate before the presidential primaries began . Taft agreed and ordered Butt to go on vacation . Butt was on no official business , but anti - Catholic newspapers and politicians accused Butt of being on a secret mission to win the support of Pope Pius X in the upcoming election . Butt did intend to meet with Pius , and he carried with him a personal letter from Taft . But the letter merely thanked the pope for elevating three Americans to the rank of cardinal , and asked what the social protocol was for greeting them at functions . Sinking of the " Titanic " and death . Butt left on a six - week vacation to Europe on March 1 , 1912 , accompanied by Millet . Butt booked passage on the RMS " Titanic " for his return to the United States . He boarded the " Titanic " at Southampton , United Kingdom , on April 10 , 1912 ; his partner 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 . The ship sank two and a half hours later , with a loss of over 1 , 500 lives . Butt ' s actions while the ship sank are largely unverified , but many accounts of a typically sensationalist nature were published by newspapers after the disaster . 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 and supervised the loading and lowering of lifeboats . The " New York Times " also claimed that Butt herded women and children into lifeboats . Another account said that Butt , a gun in his hand , prevented panicked male passengers from storming the lifeboats . Yet another version of events 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 a desperate 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 quietly observed the ship ' s evacuation . 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 ? " 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 away from the ship at the time it sank . ) Other eyewitnesses say they saw him standing calmly on deck or standing side - by - side with Astor waving goodbye . Several accounts had Butt returning to the smoking room , where he stood quietly or resumed his card game . But these accounts have been disputed by author John Maxtone - Graham . Butt went down with the " Titanic " ; his remains were never found . Funerals , memorials , and papers . On May 2 , 1912 , a memorial service was held in the Butt family home with 1 , 500 mourners , including President Taft , attending . Taft spoke at the service , saying : At a second ceremony , held in Washington , D . C . , on May 5 , Taft broke down and wept , bringing his eulogy to an abrupt end . Memorials . Several memorials to Butt were created over the years . A cenotaph was erected in the summer of 1913 in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery . Butt himself had selected the spot earlier . In October 1913 , the Butt - Millet Memorial Fountain , named for Archibald Butt and Francis Millet , was dedicated near the White House on the Ellipse . In Augusta , Georgia , the Butt Memorial Bridge was dedicated in 1914 by Taft . The Washington National Cathedral contains a large plaque dedicated to Major Archibald Butt ; it can be found on the wall in the museum store . A government supply boat made of concrete was also named after Butt . It was one of nine experimental craft ( all named for deceased members of the Quartermaster Corps ) built by the Newport Shipbuilding Corporation in 1920 in New Bern , North Carolina . It was sold to an aquarium in Miami , Florida in 1934 and was later sunk or scuttled in Biscayne Bay . Papers . During his time serving Roosevelt and Taft , Butt wrote almost daily letters to his sister Clara . These letters are a key source of information on the more private events of these two presidencies and provide insights into the respective characters of Roosevelt and Taft . Donald E . Wilkes Jr . , professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law , has concluded , " All definitive biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft necessarily rely on information in Archie ' s letters . " These letters ( which overlap somewhat ) have been published twice . The first collection , " The Letters of Archie Butt , Personal Aide to President Roosevelt " , was issued in 1924 . A second set of letters , " Taft and Roosevelt : The Intimate Letters of Archie Butt , Military Aide " , was published in two volumes in 1930 after Taft ' s death . Butt ' s letters are housed in the Georgia Department of Archives and History in Morrow , Georgia , with a microfilm set also residing at Emory University in Atlanta . Personal life . Butt lived in a large mansion at 2000 G Street NW with the painter Francis Davis Millet . " Millet , my artist friend who lives with me " was Butt ' s designation for his companion . They were known for throwing spartan but large parties that were attended by members of Congress , justices of the Supreme Court , and President Taft himself . A wide range of reasons were given why Butt never seemed interested in women . Chief among these was that Butt loved his own mother so much that there was little room for anyone else . Even Taft thought this explanation was true . At the time of Butt ' s death , rumors swirled that he was about to lose his lifelong bachelor status . News accounts said he had a teenage mistress who either was carrying their unborn child or who had already given birth to a baby , or that Butt was engaged to a Colorado woman . None of these rumors were true . Some speculation exists that Butt was a homosexual . Historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony has written that Taft ' s explanation only " vaguely addressed " the real reason Butt failed to marry . Davenport - Hines , however , believes Butt and Millet were gay lovers . He wrote in 2012 : Historian James Gifford tentatively agrees . He points out that there is clear documentary evidence that Millet had at least one homosexual affair previously in his life ( with the American writer Charles Warren Stoddard ) . But any conclusion , Gifford says , must remain tentative : Titanic historian Hugh Brewster confirms that Butts ' roommate and companion Frank Millet was indeed homosexual , revealing a cache of explicit love letters , dating from 1874 , from Millet to San Francisco poet and writer Charles Warren Stoddard . ( " Gilded Lives , Fatal Voyage " ( Crown , 2012 ) , pp 48 ) . Throughout his adult life Archie shared his quarters with different people . At the time he had Frank Millet as a housemate he also had as many as three additional people sharing his quarters . This was a common practice to cut down expenses . In addition , not only had Frank Millet ' s affair with Stoddard ended many years before he met Archie , he had also married and fathered four children . He was very devoted to his wife Lilly and roomed with Archie when he needed to be in Washington where he had a studio . The political climate of the day makes the " don ' t ask , don ' t tell " argument immaterial . Any perceived lapse of moral judgement on the part of Archie , whether it were real or simply suspected , would have resulted in a major scandal . Even if a homosexual relationship were ignored by the elite of society , it would have been a major political weapon . Archie lived in a Goldfish bowl and could not have escaped detection . There are as many reasons to declare that Archie was not Gay as there are to suspect that he was . Millet ' s body was recovered after the sinking and was buried in Bridgewater , Massachusetts . In fiction . Butt appears and plays a significant role in Jack Finney ' s time travel novel , " From Time to Time " . In this novel , Butt is sent to Europe by President Taft and former President Roosevelt in an effort to stave off World War I . In Europe , he apparently gets the necessary assurances to make a European war impossible . However , even when informed of the ship ' s approaching sinking by the time traveling protagonist , he refuses to save himself and his mission when women and children will perish . His mission fails with his death . James Walker ' s 1998 novel , " Murder on the Titanic " , includes Butt as a minor character .