Anthony Butler (1787 – April 18, 1849) was an American soldier, politician and diplomat who served as Chargé d'Affaires to Mexico.

[5][7] In 1813, Butler was one of four men considered by the Kentucky legislature for the United States Senate; he placed third among the four contenders, losing to Jesse Bledsoe.

[3] While a resident of Mississippi, Butler lobbied Jackson (now president) to make him Chargé d'Affaires in Mexico.

[15] Butler disregarded instructions from Secretary of State Martin Van Buren not to meddle in the internal affairs of Mexico.

[16] Butler bribed Mexican officials and recommended to Jackson that he dispatch troops annex Texas by force.

[14] Having failed to acquire Texas for the U.S., Butler suggested in 1833 a claim on part of the territory based on supposed confusion of the Sabine and Neches rivers; Butler himself had speculative interests in the area; at the same time that he was representing the U.S. in Mexico, Butler had agreements to represent two land companies, the Arkansas and Texas Land Company and the Trinity Land Company, that were trying to acquire property in Mexican Texas.

[2] His tenure as chargé d'affaires mostly resulted in Mexican suspicion of United States' foreign policy through the beginning of the Mexican–American War.

[2] Butler died on the burning steamboat General Pike on the Mississippi River in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, on April 18, 1849.