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Arthur
MacArthur
1845—1912 |
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Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.
Civil War Lieutenant at 17. |
The life of Arthur Macarthur is overshadowed by
the brilliant career of his son Douglas,
Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces in the
Pacific during World War II. However, father
Arthur’s career is nearly as remarkable if not
nearly so flamboyant. ■ Arthur MacArthur was
born June 2, 1845, in Springfield,
Massachusetts. His father came to Massachusetts
with his widowed mother from Scotland in 1825.
His father was a distinguished lawyer and
federal judge. At age 17, Arthur was
commissioned a second lieutenant in the 24th
Wisconsin Infantry at the outbreak of the Civil
War. He saw action in several campaigns and was
mentioned in dispatches for gallantry and
meritorious service. ■ At age 20, he was
promoted to the rank of colonel. Macarthur was
cited for bravery at the Battle of Missionary
Ridge and was given the nation’s highest
military award, the Congressional Medal of
Honor. ■ For the next 20 years he was stationed
in the West and Southwest where he took part in
several Indian campaigns. When the
Spanish-American War broke out, he was appointed
general and assigned to the Philippine Islands.
He was later commissioned a major general and
appointed military governor of the Philippines.
■ In 1906 he was made assistant chief of staff
of the U.S. Army with the rank of lieutenant
general. During the Russo-Japanese War (1905),
he served as a special observer. ■ He retired
from active service in 1909 and died in
Milwaukee on September 5, 1912. Arthur Clayton
James said, “Few families in American history
have produced more capable leaders in three
successive generations than the MacArthurs.”
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Wayne Rethford, President Emeritus
Illinois Saint Andrew Society
Scottish-American History Club
2800 Des Plaines Avenue
North Riverside, IL 60546
©2014 |
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