Mumford’s execution forever confirmed Butler as a “beast” in Southern eyes. Yet this act, too, had a surprisingly unbeastly aftermath. In 1869, Mumford’s widow contacted Butler, by then a member of the House of Representatives, and asked him to relieve her “destitute” condition. Butler used his influence to get her a clerkship in the Treasury Department–an ironic position for a woman whose husband had been hanged for desecrating the U.S. Mint. Eight years later, when Mrs. Mumford was fired from her post by the incoming Hayes administration, Butler again came to her rescue, personally asking the new treasurer to restore her job. When that aid was not forthcoming, he went to Postmaster General David Key, an ex-Confederate, and managed to get her a job in Key’s department, which she held for the last decade of her life. Each time, Butler kept his actions secret. Sometimes, even a “beast” can have a gentler side.

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