Built in 1862 and named for American Civil War General Benjamin Franklin Butler, she sank after striking the Burlington Breakwater in 1876, while carrying a load of marble.

Since she was used in relatively calm waters, she had a shortened keel, and was fitted with a two-mast schooner sailing rig.

William Montgomery, the final owner, was a known risk-taker, and was carrying a load of marble from Isle La Motte to Burlington on December 9, 1876.

During bad weather, her steering apparatus failed, and she struck the Burlington Breakwater while trying to round its southern end.

The wreck is virtually intact except for the removal of her masts and rigging, and the effects of settling and silting on her structure, with Captain Montgomery's attempts to jury-rig the vessel's steering mechanism still in evidence.