Richard Butler ( general ) Richard Butler ( April 1 , 1743 – November 4 , 1791 ) was an officer in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War , who later died fighting American Indians in Ohio . Early life . Born in St . Bridget ' s Parish , Dublin , Ireland , Richard Butler was the oldest son of Thomas and Eleanor ( Parker ) Butler . Thomas Butler was an Irish aristocrat who served in the British army . In 1748 he opened a gun shop in Dublin , but that same year the family moved to Lancaster , Pennsylvania , where Thomas learned to make the Pennsylvania long rifle s used in the French and Indian War . By 1760 , the family had moved to the frontier at Carlisle , Pennsylvania , where Thomas and his sons manufactured long rifles and became friends with Daniel Morgan . The Butler gun shop still stands in Carlisle . By the 1770s , Richard Butler and his brother William were important traders at Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania and in Ohio . A street in Pittsburgh , Butler Street , is named for them . American Revolution . At the outset of the American Revolution , the Continental Congress named Richard Butler a commissioner in 1775 to negotiate with the Indians . He visited representatives of the Delaware , Shawnee , and other tribes to secure their support , or at least neutrality , in the war with Britain . In 1776 , Butler was commissioned a major in the Continental Army , serving first as second in command to his friend Daniel Morgan . He saw action at the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Monmouth . His four brothers also served , and were noted for their bravery as the " fighting Butlers . " At Yorktown , George Washington conferred on Richard Butler the honor of receiving Cornwallis ' sword of surrender , an honor which Richard gave to his second in command , Ebenezer Denny . At the last moment , Baron von Steuben demanded that he receive the sword . This almost precipitated a duel between Butler and Von Steuben . At the victory dinner for his officers , George Washington raised his glass and toasted , " The Butlers and their five sons ! " Butler was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati . Post American Revolution activity . After the war , the Confederation Congress put Richard Butler in charge of Indians of the Northwest Territory . He negotiated the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784 , in which the Iroquois surrendered their lands . He was also called upon during later negotiations , such as the Treaty of Fort McIntosh in 1785 . Butler returned to Pennsylvania , and was a judge in Allegheny County . He also served in the state legislature . He married Maria Smith and had four children , only one who lived to have children and continue his line . Butler also fathered a son , Captain Butler ( or Tamanatha ) with Shawnee chieftess Nonhelema . Butler and his Shawnee son fought in opposing armies in 1791 . When American Indians resisted the U . S . occupation of Ohio , Butler , now a major general of levies , was sent north from Fort Hamilton ( now Hamilton , Ohio ) . He was second - in - command of an expedition led by General Arthur St . Clair . Two of his brothers , Thomas and Edward , were in the company with him . On the morning of November 4 , 1791 , Indians led by Chief Little Turtle ambushed the army and killed 600 men and scores of women and children . The Battle of the Wabash , also known as St . Claire ' s Defeat , was the greatest loss the U . S . Army suffered against the Indians - far more so than Custer ' s Last Stand . Richard , a heavy man , was mortally wounded ; his brother Thomas was shot in both legs . Richard ordered his younger brother Edward to leave him and save Thomas , which he did . Richard gave his sword to another officer with the admonition to never to wipe Butler blood from the blade . Later the sword was given to Edward ' s son , Edward George Washington Butler , in remembrance of his father ' s bravery in attempting to save his brothers . Richard Butler was killed with a tomahawk blow to the head . Simon Girty , a white man living among the Indians , identified his body among the dead . Butler was then allegedly scalped , and his heart removed and eaten by those warriors who wished to partake of his bravery . Years later , Chief Little Turtle returned to Butler ' s widow , Maria , the Society of the Cincinnati medal Butler wore the day that he died . Little Turtle assured the widow that Butler ' s body had not been mutilated as reported . It is alleged that Butler ' s remains were interred in a coffin on the battlefield , and that years later this coffin was found in the town of Fort Recovery , Ohio , and reburied at the Fort Recovery Memorial . Legacy . Butler County , Ohio , where Fort Hamilton stood , is named for Richard Butler , as are Butler County , Kentucky , and Butler County , Pennsylvania . The city of Butler , Pennsylvania and the General Richard Butler Bridge ( located in the city of Butler ) are also named for him . A miniature portrait of Richard Butler was painted by " The Painter of The Revolution , " Colonel John Trumbull , in 1790 and is in the collection of Yale University . He is also honored in the name of a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution ( DAR ) , the General Richard Butler Chapter , founded in Butler , Pennsylvania . See Journal of Gen . Richard Butler ( 1785 ) : < br > References . Google Book http : / / books . google . com / books ? vid = OCLC03714330 & id = AHQZAAAAMAAJ & pg = PA484 & lpg = PA484 & dq = % 22gen + butler % 22 + % 22big + bone % 22 # PPA433 , M1