Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

[898] or soldiers whose detention may be ordered. He is charged with the duty of breaking up all irregular places in which any infractions of the law either military or civil are carried on. In short, he is the chief of police of the department, and he is also charged with the prosecution of all civil offences before the provost court. If he is an honest and efficient man that makes him exceedingly obnoxious, so that my experience was that if no complaints were made against a provost marshal he clearly was not doing his duty.

I had scarcely taken possession of my office before the traders, sutlers, liquor dealers, and citizens who had been dealt with before the provost court came flocking in with complaints against Colonel Cassels. He, of course, was an utter stranger to me, and if I put him in charge of the office, it would result in his having in his possession very considerable amounts of money to be accounted for, and I knew bribes would be offered to induce him to wink at all sorts of transgressions. I thought it my duty, therefore, to investigate fully without saying anything to him and even without letting him know that I was investigating him, until I should come to something on which I could base a serious charge. I therefore announced an officer of the Twenty-Seventh Massachusetts as provost marshal, and that sent Colonel Cassels back to his regiment, the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry.

I had brought with me some secret service men on whom I could rely, but who were not announced to be on my staff, or even to be known to me by sight. I had one there before I came, for the purpose of investigating certain matters in regard to the recruitment of negro troops. I investigated every complaint made regarding Cassels that was not utterly frivolous, and I came to the conclusion that these complaints were beyond all question the ebullitions of spleen or hatred. Among other things Cassels was charged with having taken a sum of money from one man, another sum from another, and so on, always for his own use; but by an examination of the records of his office, which had been placed in the hands of the acting provost marshal, I found that in every instance the sums were not only admitted to have been taken, but that he had charged himself with those sums on the books to be turned over on the settlement of his accounts. I finished my examination about 11 o'clock