Eleanor Butler

http://www.thebutlerfamily.net/topics/fighting_butlers.php

The Fighting Butlers of Carlisle

By Jean Rawlings Meaney

"The blood of the Butlers is hot and bold but it is always true to the truth."

In 1748 Thomas Butler, a gunsmith, with his wife Eleanor and three small sons left his newly established gun shop in Dublin, Ireland, for Pennsylvania. They settled in Lancaster, had 2 daughters, later moving to the frontier town of Carlisle where they had two more sons and a daughter. Thomas, assisted by his two eldest sons, manufactured Pennsylvania long rifles for the French and Indian War. His gun shop still stands in Carlisle. The five sons of Thomas and Eleanor Butler became known during the Revolutionary War as "The Fighting Butlers" for their great bravery in battle. A historical marker honoring the Butlers is in downtown Carlisle.

Carlisle was a hotbed of the American Revolution. Very early in 1776 the young Butler patriots (Richard, William, Thomas, Percival "Pierce") enlisted in Washington's Army. (Edward, who was too young, enlisted later.) The elder Thomas supported the cause by becoming Public Armourer, supervising other gunsmiths for the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Brave Eleanor remained at home saying, "This country needs every man who can shoulder a musket." All four brothers wintered in Valley Forge with Washington's troops in 1777-78. The eldest Richard, who first served with Gen. Dan Morgan, rapidly moved up to the rank of General and was second in command to Washington at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered. William, the second son and family favorite, became a Colonel, famous for his bravery. Thomas, a Major by the end of the war, fought in every battle in the Middle States and was commended for his bravery on the field by Washington at the Battle of the Brandywine. Lafayette once wrote about the Butler brothers, "When I wanted a thing well done, I ordered a Butler to do it." Celebrating the victory at Yorktown, Washington toasted the whole Butler family to his officers. "The Butlers and their five sons!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_(colonel)_

William Butler was the second of five brothers who served as officers in the American Revolution. The two oldest brothers were born in Ireland. The brothers were, from oldest to youngest:

1. Richard (1743–1791), killed in the Northwest Indian War
2. William, the subject of this article
3. Thomas (1748–1805), 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, severely wounded in the Northwest Indian War
4. Percival (1760–1821), 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, an adjutant general of Kentucky in the War of 1812
5. Edward (1762–1803), 9th Pennsylvania Regiment and the Northwest Indian War, adjutant general of the US Army