James Monroe Butler
Agency patch
Guard

James Monroe Butler

Accident
End of Watch May 25, 1882
Age 29
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 7 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Guard James Butler was struck and killed by a train while supervising a prison work crew working on the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Fort Worth, Texas.

A train engineer operating one of the trains backed an engine up too rapidly, striking several railroad cars, causing them to derail. One of the derailing cars struck Guard Butler, causing major injuries.

Guard Butler, On today, the 134th anniversary of your death I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for the citizens of the state of Texas. There is no tougher job in Law Enforcement than that of a Corrections Officer.

R.I.P. USBP

Anonymous United States Border Patrol May 25th, 2016

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-DBBB409C
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

144 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Guard Butler gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Huntsville, TX
Platform Identity tdcjcidcorr.walker.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 25, 1882
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 29
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Guard James Monroe Butler is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, 32 of 124 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25.8% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division
32
of 124 officers
25.8% Accident
TX — Statewide
653
of 2,421 officers
27% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Monroe Butler's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How James Monroe Butler Compares

Age at End of Watch
29
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Monroe Butler is highlighted in May.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897