McArthur's Brigade was parcelled out all over the field. The 13th Missouri was sent to Sherman's front. The 14th Missouri and 81st Ohio were left to guard Snake Creek bridge. The 9th Illinois and 12th Illinois (with Brigadier General John McArthur) went to Stuart's aid.Thinking of McArthur always reminds me of a sad tour at Shiloh. I was on a ranger led hike of the Peach Orchard area, where McArthur actually fought, when another visitor asked if McArthur of Shiloh was the father of Douglas. The ranger said no it wasn't, that Douglas' father served in the east (plus its a different spelling). Ouch. Douglas' father served in the west but had not enlisted as of April 1862. He would enlist soon though and served with the 24th Wisconsin at Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Atlanta campaign, Franklin and Nashville. I was surprised the ranger would not know that Arthur MacArthur was a western theater officer, granted he was a colonel but he still turned in some fine moments and ended up winning a Medal of Honor for his actions at Missionary Ridge. I know this much though because I had a relative in the 24th Wisconsin, but I think MacArthur was not so obscure that a Shiloh ranger would not know what theater he fought in.
This is John McArthur, I love that hat. McArthur's Shiloh report is basically a breakdown of the division's casualties as he succeeded WHL Wallace in that post. The report covering what the Second Brigade did was written by Colonel Thomas Morton of the 81st Ohio and is available here.
2 comments:
Greetings. I have really enjoyed the posts on the Shiloh battlefield as it is one of my favorite battlefields to visit of the Civil War. In your post about McArthur I was interested in your mention of Douglas MacArthur and his father. I have been interested in Arthur's service in the 24th Wisconsin and recently purchased the unit history by Beaudot that came out in 2003. Beaudot states that the name was actually spelled McArthur by the father and Douglas changed it to MacArthur. I do not know what his source is for that. I find it strange that a park ranger at Shiloh would say he served in the east because the 24th Wisconsin ,as you state, was a typical Army of the Cumberland regiment that saw very hard fighting in the Western Theater.
Thanks for such an excellent site,
Chris
Hi Nick,
I just saw this, my name is John Alan McArthur, I'm the great great great grandson of the General! I live in Chicago with my family, I'm 47 years old and still have a lot of Civil War stuff. There is to much to discuss here, but if you want to talk, my email is jam@mcarthurphotography.com
John
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