Crew

Francis B. Butts

Francis B. Butts was a native of Rhode Island who volunteered to join the crew of the Monitor as a landsman just before it left the naval shipyard in November 1862. He wrote about his time on the ship and is responsible for one of the most popular legends in the history of the Monitor. In his account, he claimed during the night the ironclad sank, he shoved his coat and boots in one

Francis Butts. Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Mariners’ Museum

cannon, and a cat in the other. This has led many to ask if there is cat in one of the Monitor’s cannon barrels.

However, since no other crew ever mentioned a cat on board in their writings, Butts’s claims have been met with some skepticism. Recent research has shown with certainty that neither cannon is loaded and no trace of organic material has been found. This may point to an instance in which Butts has stretched the truth in giving his accounts on the Monitor. Francis Butts presented his account of the Battle of Hampton Roads and the sinking of the Monitor to the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Society. Excerpts from his story were later printed in Century Magazine in 1885.