BUTLER COUNTY

Butler County was named for Revolutionary War General Richard Butler. Born in Ireland on April 1, 1743, Butler's family moved just five years later to Pennsylvania where he learned to make the Pennsylvania long rifles used in the French and Indian War in his father's gun shop. He and his brother, William, became important traders throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. Due to his familiarity with Indian tribes through this work, the Continental Congress named Butler to negotiate with the Indians either for their support or to ask they remain neutral in the Revolutionary War.

Proving himself during the War, Butler was given the honor of receiving from Lord Charles Cornwallis his sword of surrender, almost prompting a duel between Butler and Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, who demanded he receive the sword. Von Steuben was a German-Prussian officer who served as the Inspector General of the Continental Army.

Butler was mortally wounded in 1791 during an Indian ambush in what became known as St. Clair's Defeat near present-day Fort Recovery. A number of years after Butler's death, Chief Little Turtle, who led the ambush, returned to Butler's widow the Society of Cincinnati medal Butler was wearing when he was killed.
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