William Orlando Butler William Orlando Butler ( April 19 , 1791 – August 6 , 1880 ) was a U . S . political figure and U . S . Army major general from Kentucky . He served as a Democratic congressman from Kentucky from 1839 to 1843 , and was the Democratic vice - presidential nominee under Lewis Cass in 1848 . Early life . Butler was born in Jessamine County , Kentucky ( then Fayette County ) , and graduated from Transylvania University in 1812 . After graduating from Transylvania University in 1812 , he studied law under Robert Wickliffe . The War of 1812 . When the War of 1812 began , Butler volunteered as a private to fight the British and the Indians . He took part in the Battle of the River Raisin . During the battle , Butler and fellow soldiers defended themselves behind a fencerow . The Indians poured such an intense fire on the fencerow that when it was over Butler found that his clothes were riddled with bullets . The Indians captured Butler and sent him to Fort Niagara where he remained until the British freed him on parole . He returned to Kentucky only to join the American forces that met the British and Indians at the Battle of the Thames . During the battle , Butler volunteered to set a barn on fire where the enemy had taken shelter . He successfully did so and received the rank of colonel for his bravery . Butler and his men were sent to New Orleans to assist Andrew Jackson in the city ’ s defense . Again he acquitted himself heroically . Political career . After the end of the War of 1812 , Butler returned to Kentucky . From 1817 - 1844 , he worked as a lawyer and a politician . From 1839 to 1843 , he served as a congressman . In 1844 , he received a unanimous nomination of the Democratic Party for governor . Described as the most formidable candidate that the Democrats had ever nominated for governor , Butler ’ s race against Whig candidate William Owsley was close . Owsley won with 59 , 680 votes to Butler ’ s 55 , 056 . The Mexican War . When the Mexican War broke out , Butler again joined the army . On June 29 , 1846 , he was appointed major general of volunteers and commanded the 1st Volunteer Division in the Army of Occupation . He served as second - in - command to Zachary Taylor during the Battle of Monterrey , in which he was wounded . On February 18 , 1848 , he superseded General Winfield Scott as the commanding general of the American army in Mexico City . He left the service on August 18 , 1848 , after he had been nominated as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee . Election of 1848 . In 1848 , Butler was the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States . Francis P . Blair was a leader of the movement to put Butler on the Democratic ticket with Lewis Cass . Butler and Cass were defeated by Whig candidates Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore . 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 . Legacy and Trivia . Places named for General Butler :