Term: Macarthur [Mcarthur], Arthur 1845 - 1912

Definition:

army officer, b. Springfield, Mass. He was the son of Arthur McArthur (q.v.), changing the spelling of the family name to MacArthur after the Civil War. He moved with his family to Milwaukee in 1849, and when the Civil War broke out was commissioned adjutant and 1st lieutenant in the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (Aug. 1862). He participated in the battles of Perryville, Missionary Ridge, Franklin, Kenesaw Mt., and the Atlanta campaign, and was twice wounded. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on June 8, 1864, and was widely known as the "boy colonel." MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in action at Missionary Ridge (Nov. 25, 1863), and was mustered out with the brevet rank of colonel of volunteers (June 1865). Following the war, he was awarded a commission in the regular army, and from 1866 to 1886 served at various posts in the Southwest, eventually rising to the rank of captain. In 1896 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and during the Spanish-American War served as brigadier general of volunteers in the Philippines. He remained in the Islands, and in 1899 led a division against the Philippine rebels under Aguinaldo. He was military governor of the Philippines (1900-1901), and from 1901 to 1909 held various commands throughout the continental U.S., and also served as special observer to the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese War (1905). He retired from active service on June 2, 1909, with the rank of lieutenant general, and spent the remainder of his life in Milwaukee. He was the father of General Douglas MacArthur. Who Was Who in Amer. (1943); Milwaukee Journal, Sept. 6, 1912; Milwaukee Sentinel, Sept. 6, 1912.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.