John Butler (c.1728 – 1786) was a military officer in the Hillsborough District Brigade of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1784, and served as its commanding general between 1779 and the end of the conflict.

Butler commanded soldiers in several major engagements throughout North and South Carolina, but is perhaps best remembered for his role in the Patriot defeat at the Battle of Lindley's Mill.

Details of Butler's early life are not readily available, although it is known that he married a woman named Anne, and that upon his death, his wife was his sole living heir.

[3] With the onset of the American Revolutionary War, Butler was appointed to the Hillsborough Committee of Safety, which included Caswell, Chatham, Granville, Orange, Randolph, and Wake Counties.

[5] The North Carolina militia commanded by Butler, as well as several of the Continental regiments from that state at Stono Ferry, were nearing the end of their enlistment terms.

[4] Butler subsequently commanded a force of North Carolina militia at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, which ended in a major defeat for the Patriots.

[3] Greene complained after the engagement that many North Carolina militiamen (though not specifically identified as members of Butler's brigade) fled without firing a shot at the British.

[9] After dealing a Pyrrhic victory to Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse, Greene moved his Army south in April 1781, but Butler remained in the Hillsborough District to recruit men for Patriot units.

[3] The Patriot militia, though outnumbered, had a strong defensive position at the crest of a hill on the south shore of the stream, facing the direction from which the Loyalists would be advancing.

[1] In 1939, the State of North Carolina designed and erected a historical marker commemorating Butler's failed rescue attempt of Governor Burke at Lindley's Mill.