Oops! We had to remove the hero profile you’re looking for because it will soon appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals, to be published by Routledge in 2013.
Our contract at Routledge required us to remove many of our profiles on our blog at this time. But we do have other hero profiles and information about heroes on the menu bar located on the right side of this page. Check it out!
In the mean time, please accept our apologies. Here is more information about our new book.
You can click here to return to our HERO home page. And thanks for visiting!
— Scott Allison and George Goethals
Very interesting story. I was unfamiliar with Butler before now, even though he’s from Massachusetts. If nothing else, this shows that anyone can step up and be the hero of the moment– and that moment can have far-reaching repercussions.
This is an example of how one small decision, which was most likely made as to not benefit the enemy colonel, had a rippling effect and changed the course of history for the better. Although Butler ended up not being an effective military leader in the Civil War, he made his impact for the eventual greater good and for that he can be regarded as a hero.