Arthur MacArthur

Arthur MacArthur Junior

Arthur MacArthur Jr. (born June 2, 1845 in Springfield , Massachusetts , † September 7, 1912 in Milwaukee ) was an American lieutenant general and military governor of the Philippines from 1900 to 1901 .

biography

Family and early military career in the Civil War

MacArthur was the son of the Governor of Wisconsin , Arthur MacArthur Sr. , and father of the future US General Douglas MacArthur .

He joined the 24th Infantry Regiment in Wisconsin as a volunteer lieutenant at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1862 and took part in various battles. For his service as first lieutenant and adjutant of his unit during the Battle of Missionary Ridge ( Tennessee ) on November 25, 1863, he received the Medal of Honor of the US Congress in 1890 . As a volunteer he was Brevet Lieutenant Colonel and Brevet Colonel in this war .

After the end of the civil war, he began to study law in June 1865, but in February 1866 he rejoined the regular army as a now regular lieutenant . He was quickly promoted again to First Lieutenant (Oberleutnant) and Captain ( Hauptmann ) in 1866 . In 1889 he became major and in 1896 Lieutenant Colonel ( lieutenant colonel ).
In the next 30 years it was used in different locations and in 1885 took part in the war against the Apache chief Geronimo .

Spanish-American War

When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, he was stationed in Dakota Territory and he became Brigadier General of the Volunteer Army. He took part in the conquest of Manila . In 1898 he was promoted to major general .

On May 5, 1900, he was named Military Governor of the Philippines by President William McKinley to succeed Elwell Stephen Otis . On July 4, 1901, however, William Howard Taft became the (civil) governor. The cooperation between the two was marked by constant conflicts, so that MacArthur was subsequently recalled to the USA from his post as military commander in the Philippines. The aversion to politicians and civilian workers in the armed forces was also passed on to his son Douglas MacArthur , when he was later commander-in-chief in the Pacific and during the Korean War .

Russo-Japanese War

In the following years he was used in several posts in his homeland. In 1905 he was sent to Manchuria to observe the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War . He then served a year as a military attaché at the US embassy in Japan . When he returned to the United States in 1906, he resumed his position as commander of the Pacific Division.

In the same year he became the highest-ranking officer in the army as lieutenant general . However, he was denied the position of Chief of Staff as the differences of opinion that had begun in the Philippines continued, so that MacArthur could never realize his dream of command of the entire US Army .

Upon reaching the age limit of 64, he retired from the army on June 2, 1909.

Shortly after traveling to a memorial service for his unit from the Civil War, he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1912. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Medal of Honor

Awards

Medal of Honor (1890)
Civil War Campaign Medal
Indian Campaign Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal.

literature

Kenneth Ray Young: The General's General. The Life and Times of Arthur MacArthur. Westview Press, Boulder et al. 1994, ISBN 0-8133-2195-6 , ( History and warfare ).

swell

personal data
SURNAME	MacArthur, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	MacArthur, Arthur Junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American lieutenant general and military governor
DATE OF BIRTH	June 2, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH	Springfield , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH	September 7, 1912
Place of death	Milwaukee