The Butt Memorial Bridge, a road bridge carrying 15th Street over the Augusta Canal in Augusta, GA is crossed by thousands, but most may not know the unique history of this landmark. Erected in 1914, it was personally dedicated by President William Howard Taft, in a grand ceremony to his friend, Major Archibald Willingham Butt, who perished with his companion, artist Francis Davis Millet during the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912. Archibald Butt was born in Augusta in September of 1865. His father died when he was fourteen years old, at which time Archibald began to work to support his mother and two siblings. Hew was given an opportunity to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and his mother was given a position as a librarian at the school with a rent-free apartment to ease the financial burdens of the family. While in college, Archibald became interested in journalism and after graduation in 1888, and may have considered a career in the military until he was offered a job as a reporter by the founder of the Louisville Courier-Journal during a trip to meet the Adjutant General of the Kentucky Militia, John B Castleman in Louisville, Kentucky. This job led to a move to Washington, D.C. to cover national affairs for several southern newspapers including the Atlanta Journal Constitution. After years of service in various roles, Butt was brought to Washington to serve as a military aide to Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 and became a close friend of the president. When William H Taft became President in 1909, Butt was asked to continue as a military aide, eventually becoming a key budget negotiator for Taft and close ally to the President.