Pierce Butler, from a prominent Philadelphia family, owned several South Carolina plantations. His marriage to the famous English actress Fanny Kemble had, in fact, foundered over the issue of slavery when Fanny became a public advocate of abolition. He left Philadelphia for the South during the Fort Sumter crisis but had returned recently to the city. He was arrested for suspected treason and taken to Fort Hamilton, N.Y.. Released a few weeks later, he returned to Philadelphia, and remained there for the rest of the war. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Thomas Scharf and Thompson Wescott, History of Philadelphia 1609-1884, in three volumes (Philadelphia, PA: L.H. Everts & Co., 1884), 777.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
