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Archibald Butt
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==Early life== Archibald Butt was born in September 1865 in [[Augusta, Georgia]], to Joshua Willingham Butt and Pamela Robertson Butt (née Boggs).<ref name="Matthews">Matthews, p. 161.</ref> His grandfather, Archibald Butt, served in the [[American Revolutionary War]]. His great-grandfather, Josiah Butt, was a lieutenant colonel in the [[Continental Army]] during the same conflict.<ref name="Matthews" /> He was the nephew of General [[William R. Boggs]] of the [[Confederate States Army]] (CSA).<ref>Boyd, pp. viii–ix.</ref> He had two older brothers (Edward and Lewis), a younger brother (John), and a sister (Clara),<ref name="Knight">Knight, p. 1457.</ref> and the family was poor.<ref name="Clara">"National Affairs: Dear Clara." ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' September 15, 1930.</ref> Butt attended various local schools while growing up,<ref name="Knight" /> including Summerville Academy.<ref name="Archiexiii">"Archibald W. Butt", in Butt, ''Both Sides of the Shield'', p. xiii.</ref> Butt's father died when he was 14 years old, and Butt went to work to support his mother, sister, and younger brother.<ref name="Archiexiii" /> Pamela Butt wished for her son to enter the clergy.<ref name="Knight" /> With the financial help of the Reverend [[Edwin G. Weed]] (who later became the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Bishop of Florida]]), Butt attended the [[Sewanee, The University of the South|University of the South]] in [[Sewanee, Tennessee]].<ref name="Archiexiii" /> His mother worked as a [[librarian]] at the university,<ref name="Clara" /> where she lived rent-free in an apartment in the library.<ref>Abbott, p. xiii.</ref> While in college, he became interested in journalism and eventually was named editor of the college newspaper. Butt became acquainted with [[John Breckinridge Castleman]], a former CSA major and guerrilla fighter during the [[American Civil War]] and who was, by 1883, [[Adjutant general#United States|Adjutant General]] of the [[Kentucky Army National Guard|Kentucky Militia]].<ref name="Archiexiii" /> He joined the [[Delta Tau Delta]] fraternity (Beta Theta chapter),<ref name="macfarland">Macfarland, p. 67.</ref> and graduated in 1888.<ref name="Encyclopedia">"Butt, Archibald Willingham DeGraffenreid", in ''The Encyclopedia of Louisville'', p. 150.</ref> After taking graduate level courses in Greek and Latin,<ref name="macfarland" /> Butt traveled to [[Louisville, Kentucky]], to meet with Castleman.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /> While in that city, he met [[Henry Watterson]], founder of the ''[[The Courier-Journal|Louisville Courier-Journal]]''. Watterson hired him as a reporter, and Butt remained in Louisville for three years.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /> Butt left the ''Courier-Journal'' and worked for the ''[[The Telegraph (Macon)|Macon Telegraph]]'' for a year before moving to Washington, D.C.<ref>"Archibald W. Butt", in Butt, ''Both Sides of the Shield'', p. xiv.</ref> He covered national affairs for several Southern newspapers, including the ''[[Atlanta Constitution]]'', ''[[The Augusta Chronicle|Augusta Chronicle]]'', ''[[Nashville Banner]]'', and ''[[Savannah Morning News]]''.<ref name="Obit">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/04/16/100530255.pdf "Major Archibald Butt."] ''New York Times'' April 16, 1912. Accessed May 18, 2012.</ref> Butt was a popular figure in D.C. social circles, and made numerous important acquaintances during his time in the capital.<ref name="Obit" /> When former [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Matt Whitaker Ransom|Matt Ransom]] was appointed [[United States Ambassador to Mexico]] in August 1895, he asked Butt to be the embassy's First Secretary.<ref>Abbott, p. xviii.</ref> Butt wrote several articles for American magazines and published several novels while in Mexico.<ref name="Obit" /> He returned to the United States in 1897 after Ransom's term as ambassador ended.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}
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