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Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr. (June 2, 1845 – September 5, 1912) was a United States Army general. He became the military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1900 but his term ended a year later due to clashes with the civilian governor, future President William Howard Taft.
His son, Douglas MacArthur, was one of only five men promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army during World War II. In addition to their both being promoted to the rank of general officer, Arthur MacArthur Jr. and Douglas MacArthur also share the distinction of having been the first father and son to each be awarded a Medal of Honor.
Early life
MacArthur was born in Chicopee Falls, then part of Springfield, Massachusetts. His father was Arthur MacArthur Sr., a Scottish-born American lawyer, judge and politician who served as the fourth governor of Wisconsin (albeit for only four days) and a judge in Milwaukee.[1][2]
His mother was Aurelia Belcher (1819–1864), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Benjamin B. Belcher.[3] From his parents' marriage, he had one brother, Frank.[4] After his mother's death in 1864, his father remarried to Mary E. Willcut.[5]
Career
His father secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy. At the outbreak of the Civil War, MacArthur was living in Wisconsin.
Civil War
On August 4, 1862, his father secured a commission for him as a first lieutenant and appointed as adjutant of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, seeing action at Chickamauga, Stones River, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign and Franklin.
At the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign, the 18-year-old MacArthur inspired his regiment by seizing and planting the regimental flag on the crest of Missionary Ridge 35°1′7.15″N 85°15′51.02″W at a particularly critical moment, shouting "On Wisconsin." For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was brevetted colonel in the Union Army the following year. Only 19 years old at the time, he became nationally recognized as "The Boy Colonel" (not to be confused with Henry K. Burgwyn, known as the "Boy Colonel of the Confederacy").
MacArthur was severely wounded in the Battle of Franklin, receiving bullet wounds to the chest and leg from a rebel officer's pistol, but would ultimately survive.[6]
On January 25, 1864, he was promoted to major and about a year and a half later, on May 18, 1865, to lieutenant colonel – shortly before he was mustered out of service on June 10, 1865. In recognition of his gallantry in action he received brevets (honorary promotions) to lieutenant colonel and colonel dated March 15, 1865.
American-Indian Wars
With the conclusion of the Civil War in June 1865, MacArthur resigned his commission and began the study of law. After just a few months, however, he decided this was not a good fit for him, so he resumed his career with the Army. He was recommissioned on February 23, 1866, as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army's U.S. 17th Infantry Regiment, with a promotion the following day to first lieutenant. Because of his outstanding record of performance during the Civil War, he was promoted in September of that year to captain. However, he would remain a captain for the following two decades, as promotion was slow in the small peacetime army.
Between 1866 and 1884, MacArthur completed assignments in Pennsylvania, New York, Utah Territory, Louisiana, and Arkansas.[7]
In 1884, MacArthur became the post commander of Fort Selden, in New Mexico. The following year, he took part in the campaign against Geronimo. In 1889, he was promoted to Assistant Adjutant General of the Army with the rank of major, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1897.
Following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, MacArthur was serving as the adjutant general of the Third Army Corps in Georgia.[citation needed] In June 1898 he was brevetted to brigadier general in the volunteer army. He was appointed as commanding general of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Eighth Army Corps and led it to victory at the Battle of Manila on August 12, 1898. He was promoted to major general on August 13, 1898.
Philippine–American War
He led the 2nd Division of Eighth Corps during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Manila (1899), the Malolos campaign and the Northern Offensive. When the American occupation of the Philippines turned from conventional battles to guerrilla warfare, MacArthur commanded the Department of Northern Luzon. In January 1900, he was appointed Brigadier General in the Regular Army and was appointed military governor of the Philippines with command of Eighth Corps, replacing General Elwell S. Otis.
He authorized the expedition, under General Frederick Funston, that resulted in the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo. MacArthur persuaded the captured Aguinaldo to cease fighting and to swear allegiance to the United States. He was promoted to major general in the Regular Army on February 5, 1901.
After the war, President William McKinley named him Military Governor of the Philippines, but the following year, William Howard Taft was appointed as Civilian Governor. Taft and MacArthur clashed frequently. So severe were his difficulties with Taft over U.S. military actions in the war that MacArthur was eventually relieved and transferred to command the Department of the Pacific, where he was promoted to lieutenant general.
Return to the United States
In the years that followed, he was assigned to various stateside posts and in 1905 was sent to Manchuria to observe the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War and served as military attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. He returned to the U.S. in 1906 and resumed his post as Commander of the Pacific Division. That year the position of Army Chief of Staff became available and he was then the highest-ranking officer in the Army as a lieutenant general (three stars). However, he was passed over by Secretary of War William Howard Taft who he had clashed with in the Philippines. He never did realize his dream of commanding the entire Army.
MacArthur retired from the Army on June 2, 1909, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64. He was one of the last officers on active duty in the Army who had served in the Civil War.
MacArthur was elected a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) in 1868 and was assigned insignia number 648. On May 6, 1908 he was elected commander of the Wisconsin Commandery of MOLLUS. He was elected as the Order's senior vice commander in chief on October 18, 1911, and became the Order's commander in chief upon the death of Rear Admiral George W. Melville on March 17, 1912.
Personal life
On May 19, 1875, MacArthur married Mary Pinkney "Pinky" Hardy MacArthur (1852–1935), daughter of Thomas A. Hardy of Norfolk, Virginia.[8] Together, they had three children:[5]
Arthur MacArthur III (1876–1923), a captain in the Navy who was awarded the Navy Cross in World War I.
Malcolm MacArthur (1878–1883), who died young of measles.[9]
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964), who was born at the Arsenal Barracks in Little Rock, Arkansas[10][11]
On September 5, 1912, he went to Milwaukee to address a reunion of his Civil War unit. While on the dais, he suffered a heart attack and died there, aged 67. He was originally buried in Milwaukee on Monday, September 7, 1912, but was moved to Section 2 Gravesite 845-A of Arlington National Cemetery in 1926. He is buried among other members of the family there, while his son Douglas chose to be buried in Norfolk, Virginia the hometown of his mother, Mary Pinkney Hardy, and the site of the Hardy family home Riveredge.[12]
Awards and honors
Military awards
Medal of Honor
Civil War Campaign Medal
Indian Campaign Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and Organization:
First Lieutenant, and Adjutant, 24th Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: At Missionary Ridge, Tenn., November 25, 1863. Entered service at: Milwaukee, Wis. Birth: Springfield, Mass. Date of issue: June 30, 1890.
Citation:
Seized the colors of his regiment at a critical moment and planted them on the captured works on the crest of Missionary Ridge.[13][14][15]
Just over eight decades later (1864–1945), his son, Douglas MacArthur, would also gain fame for leading U.S. forces to victory in the Philippines. Arthur MacArthur Jr. and Douglas MacArthur were the first father and son ever to each be awarded a Medal of Honor. To date, the only other father and son to be given this honor are former President Theodore Roosevelt and his son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Legacy
Fort MacArthur, which protected the San Pedro, California, harbor from 1914 until 1974, was named after General Arthur MacArthur. Camp MacArthur, a World War I training camp in Waco, Texas, was also named for the General.[16]
One of MacArthur's fellow officers in the 24th Wisconsin was future United States Senator John L. Mitchell, the father of controversial Army aviator Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. MacArthur's son, General Douglas MacArthur, was a member of the younger Mitchell's court martial in 1925.
The actor Tom Palmer (1912-1997) played Arthur MacArthur, Jr., in the 1959 episode, "The Little Trooper", of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. Child actor Bryan Russell (1952-2016) played Arthur's four-year-old son, Douglas, the subject of the title of the episode, set at Fort Selden in the New Mexico Territory. Leonard Bremen (1915-1986) was cast as played Trooper Norkul, who takes a protective interest in young Douglas.[17]
Promotions
Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg First Lieutenant 24th Wisconsin 24 August 1862
Union army maj rank insignia.jpg Major 24th Wisconsin January 25, 1864
Union army col rank insignia.jpg Brevet Colonel Volunteers 13 March 1865
Union army lt col rank insignia.jpg Lieutenant Colonel 24th Wisconsin 18 May 1865
Union army 2nd lt rank insignia.jpg Second Lieutenant Regular Army 23 February 1866
Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg First Lieutenant Regular Army 24 February 1866
Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg Captain Regular Army 28 July 1866
Union army maj rank insignia.jpg Major Regular Army 21 July 1889
Union army lt col rank insignia.jpg Lieutenant Colonel Regular Army 26 May 1896
Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg Brigadier General Volunteers 27 May 1898
Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg Major General Volunteers 28 August 1898
Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg Brigadier General Regular Army 2 January 1900
Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg Major General Regular Army 5 February 1901
Union army
lt gen rank insignia.jpg Lieutenant General Regular Army 15 September 1906
His son, Douglas MacArthur, was one of only five men promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army during World War II. In addition to their both being promoted to the rank of general officer, Arthur MacArthur Jr. and Douglas MacArthur also share the distinction of having been the first father and son to each be awarded a Medal of Honor.
Early life
MacArthur was born in Chicopee Falls, then part of Springfield, Massachusetts. His father was Arthur MacArthur Sr., a Scottish-born American lawyer, judge and politician who served as the fourth governor of Wisconsin (albeit for only four days) and a judge in Milwaukee.[1][2]
His mother was Aurelia Belcher (1819–1864), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Benjamin B. Belcher.[3] From his parents' marriage, he had one brother, Frank.[4] After his mother's death in 1864, his father remarried to Mary E. Willcut.[5]
Career
His father secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy. At the outbreak of the Civil War, MacArthur was living in Wisconsin.
Civil War
On August 4, 1862, his father secured a commission for him as a first lieutenant and appointed as adjutant of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, seeing action at Chickamauga, Stones River, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign and Franklin.
At the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign, the 18-year-old MacArthur inspired his regiment by seizing and planting the regimental flag on the crest of Missionary Ridge 35°1′7.15″N 85°15′51.02″W at a particularly critical moment, shouting "On Wisconsin." For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was brevetted colonel in the Union Army the following year. Only 19 years old at the time, he became nationally recognized as "The Boy Colonel" (not to be confused with Henry K. Burgwyn, known as the "Boy Colonel of the Confederacy").
MacArthur was severely wounded in the Battle of Franklin, receiving bullet wounds to the chest and leg from a rebel officer's pistol, but would ultimately survive.[6]
On January 25, 1864, he was promoted to major and about a year and a half later, on May 18, 1865, to lieutenant colonel – shortly before he was mustered out of service on June 10, 1865. In recognition of his gallantry in action he received brevets (honorary promotions) to lieutenant colonel and colonel dated March 15, 1865.
American-Indian Wars
With the conclusion of the Civil War in June 1865, MacArthur resigned his commission and began the study of law. After just a few months, however, he decided this was not a good fit for him, so he resumed his career with the Army. He was recommissioned on February 23, 1866, as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army's U.S. 17th Infantry Regiment, with a promotion the following day to first lieutenant. Because of his outstanding record of performance during the Civil War, he was promoted in September of that year to captain. However, he would remain a captain for the following two decades, as promotion was slow in the small peacetime army.
Between 1866 and 1884, MacArthur completed assignments in Pennsylvania, New York, Utah Territory, Louisiana, and Arkansas.[7]
In 1884, MacArthur became the post commander of Fort Selden, in New Mexico. The following year, he took part in the campaign against Geronimo. In 1889, he was promoted to Assistant Adjutant General of the Army with the rank of major, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1897.
Following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, MacArthur was serving as the adjutant general of the Third Army Corps in Georgia.[citation needed] In June 1898 he was brevetted to brigadier general in the volunteer army. He was appointed as commanding general of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Eighth Army Corps and led it to victory at the Battle of Manila on August 12, 1898. He was promoted to major general on August 13, 1898.
Philippine–American War
He led the 2nd Division of Eighth Corps during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Manila (1899), the Malolos campaign and the Northern Offensive. When the American occupation of the Philippines turned from conventional battles to guerrilla warfare, MacArthur commanded the Department of Northern Luzon. In January 1900, he was appointed Brigadier General in the Regular Army and was appointed military governor of the Philippines with command of Eighth Corps, replacing General Elwell S. Otis.
He authorized the expedition, under General Frederick Funston, that resulted in the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo. MacArthur persuaded the captured Aguinaldo to cease fighting and to swear allegiance to the United States. He was promoted to major general in the Regular Army on February 5, 1901.
After the war, President William McKinley named him Military Governor of the Philippines, but the following year, William Howard Taft was appointed as Civilian Governor. Taft and MacArthur clashed frequently. So severe were his difficulties with Taft over U.S. military actions in the war that MacArthur was eventually relieved and transferred to command the Department of the Pacific, where he was promoted to lieutenant general.
Return to the United States
In the years that followed, he was assigned to various stateside posts and in 1905 was sent to Manchuria to observe the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War and served as military attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. He returned to the U.S. in 1906 and resumed his post as Commander of the Pacific Division. That year the position of Army Chief of Staff became available and he was then the highest-ranking officer in the Army as a lieutenant general (three stars). However, he was passed over by Secretary of War William Howard Taft who he had clashed with in the Philippines. He never did realize his dream of commanding the entire Army.
MacArthur retired from the Army on June 2, 1909, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64. He was one of the last officers on active duty in the Army who had served in the Civil War.
MacArthur was elected a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) in 1868 and was assigned insignia number 648. On May 6, 1908 he was elected commander of the Wisconsin Commandery of MOLLUS. He was elected as the Order's senior vice commander in chief on October 18, 1911, and became the Order's commander in chief upon the death of Rear Admiral George W. Melville on March 17, 1912.
Personal life
On May 19, 1875, MacArthur married Mary Pinkney "Pinky" Hardy MacArthur (1852–1935), daughter of Thomas A. Hardy of Norfolk, Virginia.[8] Together, they had three children:[5]
Arthur MacArthur III (1876–1923), a captain in the Navy who was awarded the Navy Cross in World War I.
Malcolm MacArthur (1878–1883), who died young of measles.[9]
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964), who was born at the Arsenal Barracks in Little Rock, Arkansas[10][11]
On September 5, 1912, he went to Milwaukee to address a reunion of his Civil War unit. While on the dais, he suffered a heart attack and died there, aged 67. He was originally buried in Milwaukee on Monday, September 7, 1912, but was moved to Section 2 Gravesite 845-A of Arlington National Cemetery in 1926. He is buried among other members of the family there, while his son Douglas chose to be buried in Norfolk, Virginia the hometown of his mother, Mary Pinkney Hardy, and the site of the Hardy family home Riveredge.[12]
Awards and honors
Military awards
Medal of Honor
Civil War Campaign Medal
Indian Campaign Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and Organization:
First Lieutenant, and Adjutant, 24th Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: At Missionary Ridge, Tenn., November 25, 1863. Entered service at: Milwaukee, Wis. Birth: Springfield, Mass. Date of issue: June 30, 1890.
Citation:
Seized the colors of his regiment at a critical moment and planted them on the captured works on the crest of Missionary Ridge.[13][14][15]
Just over eight decades later (1864–1945), his son, Douglas MacArthur, would also gain fame for leading U.S. forces to victory in the Philippines. Arthur MacArthur Jr. and Douglas MacArthur were the first father and son ever to each be awarded a Medal of Honor. To date, the only other father and son to be given this honor are former President Theodore Roosevelt and his son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Legacy
Fort MacArthur, which protected the San Pedro, California, harbor from 1914 until 1974, was named after General Arthur MacArthur. Camp MacArthur, a World War I training camp in Waco, Texas, was also named for the General.[16]
One of MacArthur's fellow officers in the 24th Wisconsin was future United States Senator John L. Mitchell, the father of controversial Army aviator Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. MacArthur's son, General Douglas MacArthur, was a member of the younger Mitchell's court martial in 1925.
The actor Tom Palmer (1912-1997) played Arthur MacArthur, Jr., in the 1959 episode, "The Little Trooper", of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. Child actor Bryan Russell (1952-2016) played Arthur's four-year-old son, Douglas, the subject of the title of the episode, set at Fort Selden in the New Mexico Territory. Leonard Bremen (1915-1986) was cast as played Trooper Norkul, who takes a protective interest in young Douglas.[17]
Promotions
Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg First Lieutenant 24th Wisconsin 24 August 1862
Union army maj rank insignia.jpg Major 24th Wisconsin January 25, 1864
Union army col rank insignia.jpg Brevet Colonel Volunteers 13 March 1865
Union army lt col rank insignia.jpg Lieutenant Colonel 24th Wisconsin 18 May 1865
Union army 2nd lt rank insignia.jpg Second Lieutenant Regular Army 23 February 1866
Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg First Lieutenant Regular Army 24 February 1866
Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg Captain Regular Army 28 July 1866
Union army maj rank insignia.jpg Major Regular Army 21 July 1889
Union army lt col rank insignia.jpg Lieutenant Colonel Regular Army 26 May 1896
Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg Brigadier General Volunteers 27 May 1898
Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg Major General Volunteers 28 August 1898
Union army brig gen rank insignia.jpg Brigadier General Regular Army 2 January 1900
Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg Major General Regular Army 5 February 1901
Union army
lt gen rank insignia.jpg Lieutenant General Regular Army 15 September 1906
Arthur MacArthur Jr. - Wikipedia
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The Battle of Chattanooga | Civil War Journal
November 23 - 25, 1863 The Battle of Chattanooga Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain Following the devastating loss at the Battle of Chickamauga, Union Genera...
Thank you, my friend TSgt Joe C. for posting a summary of the life of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr.
Whoever wrote the Wikipedia article made a significant error ARTHUR MacArthur NEVER ATTENDED WEST POINT like his son Douglas and I did. Arthur enlisted at age 17 out of high school.
In addition to being one of father and son duo of recipients of the Medal of Honor with his son Douglas MacArthur; both were relieved by Presidents of the USA.
In Arthur's case, it was future President William Howard Taft. who relived him of his position as military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1901.
In Douglas's case it was President Harry Truman who was concerned about a wide-scale war with Communist China and he relived Douglas on April 11, 1951 after Douglas publicly criticized the administration's policies.
in 1890 Arthur MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee on November 25, 1863,
The Battle of Chattanooga | Civil War Journal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF15BYF4g0Q
1. Background on his early years. from suvcw.org/mollus/pcinc/amacarthur.htm
" Arthur MacArthur was the son of Arthur MacArthur, a native of Glasgow, and Aurelia Belcher of Massachusetts. The father was an attorney who opened a practice in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was while the family was living in Chicopee, Massachusetts that young Arthur was born on June 2, 1845. Four years later the family moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin, where Arthur MacArthur pursued his legal and political career as attorney, judge and, briefly Lt. Governor of Wisconsin.
Young Arthur entered the public school system of Milwaukee and was just graduating from the local high school when the Civil War broke out. On August 4, 1862, at the age of seventeen, he was commissioned 1st Lt. and Adjutant of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He served throughout the War and was mustered out as Lieutenant Colonel of the 24th on June 10, 1865. The regiment formed part of the Army of the Cumberland, and with it he participated in the Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta and Franklin campaigns. He received the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers, March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious service in action at Perryville, Kentucky, Stones River, Missionary Ridge, and Dandridge, Tennessee, and of Colonel of Volunteers on the same day for gallant and meritorious service in action at Franklin, Tennesse and in the Atlanta Campaign. The Medal of Honor was awarded him June 30, 1890, "for seizing the colors of his regiment at a critical moment and planting them on a captured work on the crest of Missionary Ridge." During that action he was grazed in the head and fell, clutching the colors. Arthur was more seriously wounded at Kenesaw Mountain and at Franklin, Tennessee, where, in a sword fight on the front steps of the Carter House he and a Confederate officer managed to bloody each other with their sabers. The event ended when MacArthur was severely wounded by a shot in the left knee and another in the shoulder."
Images:
1. 1863-11-25 The Battle of Missionary Ridge was a stunning and unlikely Union victory
2. 1862 1st Lieutenant Arthur MacArthur
3. 1912 Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur
2. Background from battlefields.org/learn/articles/beyond-battle-arthur-macarthur-jr
"An American Soldier
By Sam Smith
At five in the evening on November 30, 1864, the men of the 24th Wisconsin Infantry regiment were hungry and tired. After nearly twenty-four hours of uninterrupted march and battle they had reached their post in reserve on a cold grass lawn just north of the Carter House. Two hundred yards behind the center of the main defensive line, the regiment stripped railings from a nearby fence and set about preparing their first cooked meal in days. Two and a half years of campaigning across Tennessee had turned farmers and shopkeeps into seasoned infantrymen and they knew how to take advantage of even the briefest respite. The crisp air was just beginning to fill with the smell of coffee and crackling pork when the banging of musketry was heard to the south. A moment later terrified men came crashing through fires and over cook-pots, retreating north toward Franklin at full speed.
Almost exactly a year before, at four in the afternoon of November 25th, 1863, the 24th Wisconsin was in another tight spot. They were halfway up Missionary Ridge, Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s “Fortress Above the Clouds,” and moving forward under heavy Confederate fire. The assault was in tatters all down the line, moments away from breaking back to Chattanooga and inevitable siege. Then the 24th’s standard bearer was killed and the battle flag that the neighbors of the 24th had carried all the way from Milwaukee tumbled to the ground. First Lieutenant Arthur MacArthur, Jr. scrambled forward to pick it up, sweeping it high to steady the wavering regiment. With a cry of “On, Wisconsin!” he ran at full speed towards the Confederate works. Alone between the two erupting lines, he was wounded twice on his way to planting the regiment’s flag in almost the exact midpoint of the Confederate fortifications. The men of the 24th surged after him and 15,000 more Union troops took heart and followed, rising up and smashing the Confederate center. This earned MacArthur a promotion and an eventual Medal of Honor. It was Major MacArthur, now only nineteen years old, who led the 24th at the Battle of Franklin.
He leapt into his saddle and shouted “Up, Wisconsin!” but his men knew the gravity of the situation. They were already up and forming. “Ready,” in the words of one veteran, “to whip the whole Rebel army just at that moment” for the denial of their dinner, they charged with MacArthur into the disaster at the Union center.
Dozens, hundreds, and then thousands of men crashed together in the Carter back garden. Reinforcements had no choice but to press bodily into the melee from both sides. Two battle-hardened armies were now at club distance and the 24th Wisconsin was in the center of the storm. MacArthur’s mount was shot down within minutes. He was struck in the shoulder with a Minnie ball as he tried to regain his feet. Drawing his sword, he began to fight his way toward a Confederate battle flag visible swaying above the mass of men. A Confederate officer blocked his path, firing a pistol point-blank into MacArthur’s chest. MacArthur thrust his sword into the officer’s own chest, but as he fell he fired once more. MacArthur collapsed beside his foe, another pistol shot in his leg. He was nearly trampled before the Wisconsin men located him and carried him to relative safety.
Incredibly, MacArthur survived his wounds. He survived the war, married Mary Pinkney Hardy, and briefly took up the study of law. Within months he was back in the military. He campaigned against Geronimo on the frontier in 1885 and orchestrated the capture of Filipino strongman Emilio Aguinaldo in 1901, effectively ending the Philippine-American War. He retired in 1909 as a lieutenant general. In 1912 he came to speak at a reunion of the 24th Wisconsin. He was very ill. At the podium he began, “Your indomitable regiment...” before collapsing. Moments later he was dead. The old men of the 24th wrapped his body in the flag hanging on the wall, the flag he had carried to the top of Missionary Ridge as a teenager.
In 1880 Mary Hardy gave birth to a son named Douglas. He followed in his father’s footsteps, leading American forces in the Pacific in World War II and turning the tide of the Korean War. The “American Caesar” is one of America’s lasting icons and one of history’s most notable generals.
Hundreds of men died in the Carter garden. Approximately two thousand Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives on the Franklin battlefield. These lives were lost along with all of those that might have come after. Standing in the Carter garden today, we should think of the violence of the past, the fractures between people that could have led to such a catastrophic loss and ending. That is part of what the ground has to offer us in return."
FYI LTC Wayne Brandon LTC (Join to see) MSgt Robert C Aldi CPT Scott Sharon CMSgt (Join to see) SMSgt Tom Burns SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SSG Jeffrey Leake Sgt (Join to see) SGT Randal Groover SGT Rick Colburn SPC Mike Lake PO3 William Hetrick PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Mark Huddleston Rhonda Hanson SPC Jordan Sutich PO3 Craig Phillips
Whoever wrote the Wikipedia article made a significant error ARTHUR MacArthur NEVER ATTENDED WEST POINT like his son Douglas and I did. Arthur enlisted at age 17 out of high school.
In addition to being one of father and son duo of recipients of the Medal of Honor with his son Douglas MacArthur; both were relieved by Presidents of the USA.
In Arthur's case, it was future President William Howard Taft. who relived him of his position as military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1901.
In Douglas's case it was President Harry Truman who was concerned about a wide-scale war with Communist China and he relived Douglas on April 11, 1951 after Douglas publicly criticized the administration's policies.
in 1890 Arthur MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee on November 25, 1863,
The Battle of Chattanooga | Civil War Journal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF15BYF4g0Q
1. Background on his early years. from suvcw.org/mollus/pcinc/amacarthur.htm
" Arthur MacArthur was the son of Arthur MacArthur, a native of Glasgow, and Aurelia Belcher of Massachusetts. The father was an attorney who opened a practice in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was while the family was living in Chicopee, Massachusetts that young Arthur was born on June 2, 1845. Four years later the family moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin, where Arthur MacArthur pursued his legal and political career as attorney, judge and, briefly Lt. Governor of Wisconsin.
Young Arthur entered the public school system of Milwaukee and was just graduating from the local high school when the Civil War broke out. On August 4, 1862, at the age of seventeen, he was commissioned 1st Lt. and Adjutant of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He served throughout the War and was mustered out as Lieutenant Colonel of the 24th on June 10, 1865. The regiment formed part of the Army of the Cumberland, and with it he participated in the Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta and Franklin campaigns. He received the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers, March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious service in action at Perryville, Kentucky, Stones River, Missionary Ridge, and Dandridge, Tennessee, and of Colonel of Volunteers on the same day for gallant and meritorious service in action at Franklin, Tennesse and in the Atlanta Campaign. The Medal of Honor was awarded him June 30, 1890, "for seizing the colors of his regiment at a critical moment and planting them on a captured work on the crest of Missionary Ridge." During that action he was grazed in the head and fell, clutching the colors. Arthur was more seriously wounded at Kenesaw Mountain and at Franklin, Tennessee, where, in a sword fight on the front steps of the Carter House he and a Confederate officer managed to bloody each other with their sabers. The event ended when MacArthur was severely wounded by a shot in the left knee and another in the shoulder."
Images:
1. 1863-11-25 The Battle of Missionary Ridge was a stunning and unlikely Union victory
2. 1862 1st Lieutenant Arthur MacArthur
3. 1912 Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur
2. Background from battlefields.org/learn/articles/beyond-battle-arthur-macarthur-jr
"An American Soldier
By Sam Smith
At five in the evening on November 30, 1864, the men of the 24th Wisconsin Infantry regiment were hungry and tired. After nearly twenty-four hours of uninterrupted march and battle they had reached their post in reserve on a cold grass lawn just north of the Carter House. Two hundred yards behind the center of the main defensive line, the regiment stripped railings from a nearby fence and set about preparing their first cooked meal in days. Two and a half years of campaigning across Tennessee had turned farmers and shopkeeps into seasoned infantrymen and they knew how to take advantage of even the briefest respite. The crisp air was just beginning to fill with the smell of coffee and crackling pork when the banging of musketry was heard to the south. A moment later terrified men came crashing through fires and over cook-pots, retreating north toward Franklin at full speed.
Almost exactly a year before, at four in the afternoon of November 25th, 1863, the 24th Wisconsin was in another tight spot. They were halfway up Missionary Ridge, Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s “Fortress Above the Clouds,” and moving forward under heavy Confederate fire. The assault was in tatters all down the line, moments away from breaking back to Chattanooga and inevitable siege. Then the 24th’s standard bearer was killed and the battle flag that the neighbors of the 24th had carried all the way from Milwaukee tumbled to the ground. First Lieutenant Arthur MacArthur, Jr. scrambled forward to pick it up, sweeping it high to steady the wavering regiment. With a cry of “On, Wisconsin!” he ran at full speed towards the Confederate works. Alone between the two erupting lines, he was wounded twice on his way to planting the regiment’s flag in almost the exact midpoint of the Confederate fortifications. The men of the 24th surged after him and 15,000 more Union troops took heart and followed, rising up and smashing the Confederate center. This earned MacArthur a promotion and an eventual Medal of Honor. It was Major MacArthur, now only nineteen years old, who led the 24th at the Battle of Franklin.
He leapt into his saddle and shouted “Up, Wisconsin!” but his men knew the gravity of the situation. They were already up and forming. “Ready,” in the words of one veteran, “to whip the whole Rebel army just at that moment” for the denial of their dinner, they charged with MacArthur into the disaster at the Union center.
Dozens, hundreds, and then thousands of men crashed together in the Carter back garden. Reinforcements had no choice but to press bodily into the melee from both sides. Two battle-hardened armies were now at club distance and the 24th Wisconsin was in the center of the storm. MacArthur’s mount was shot down within minutes. He was struck in the shoulder with a Minnie ball as he tried to regain his feet. Drawing his sword, he began to fight his way toward a Confederate battle flag visible swaying above the mass of men. A Confederate officer blocked his path, firing a pistol point-blank into MacArthur’s chest. MacArthur thrust his sword into the officer’s own chest, but as he fell he fired once more. MacArthur collapsed beside his foe, another pistol shot in his leg. He was nearly trampled before the Wisconsin men located him and carried him to relative safety.
Incredibly, MacArthur survived his wounds. He survived the war, married Mary Pinkney Hardy, and briefly took up the study of law. Within months he was back in the military. He campaigned against Geronimo on the frontier in 1885 and orchestrated the capture of Filipino strongman Emilio Aguinaldo in 1901, effectively ending the Philippine-American War. He retired in 1909 as a lieutenant general. In 1912 he came to speak at a reunion of the 24th Wisconsin. He was very ill. At the podium he began, “Your indomitable regiment...” before collapsing. Moments later he was dead. The old men of the 24th wrapped his body in the flag hanging on the wall, the flag he had carried to the top of Missionary Ridge as a teenager.
In 1880 Mary Hardy gave birth to a son named Douglas. He followed in his father’s footsteps, leading American forces in the Pacific in World War II and turning the tide of the Korean War. The “American Caesar” is one of America’s lasting icons and one of history’s most notable generals.
Hundreds of men died in the Carter garden. Approximately two thousand Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives on the Franklin battlefield. These lives were lost along with all of those that might have come after. Standing in the Carter garden today, we should think of the violence of the past, the fractures between people that could have led to such a catastrophic loss and ending. That is part of what the ground has to offer us in return."
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs Maj Marty Hogan SGT John " Mac " McConnell LTC Stephen F. CW5 Jack Cardwell TSgt David L. Cpl (Join to see) Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPL Dave Hoover SPC Douglas Bolton LTC Greg Henning Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Alan K. Lt Col Charlie Brown SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL PO3 Phyllis Maynard PO2 Kevin Parker SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 John Johnson Sgt (Join to see)
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