On September 15, 1906, Arthur MacArthur Jr. became the twelfth man in
the history of the United States Army to be awarded the rank of
Lieutenant General, the highest rank in the Army up to that time. This
great honor, which marked the culmination of MacArthur's brilliant
military career, included him in the ranks of such outstanding American
military leaders as George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and William
Tecumseh Sherman, all of whom had previously held this rank. This
bespeaks of the importance of Arthur MacArthur as a figure in American
history, yet invariably when the name MacArthur is mentioned today it is
almost immediately associated with his son Douglas. Arthur MacArthur is,
however, equally deserving of recognition as a great military leader.
This biography, based on extensive archival research, reveals the
remarkable career of this great patriot and his contribution to American
history. This is all the more important because, to fully understand the
career of his famous son, Douglas, who had such a profound impact on the
military history of the United States in the twentieth century, it is
essential to study the life and career of Arthur MacArthur Jr who began
his military career as a mere boy fighting for the 23rd Wisconsin
infantry regiment during the Civil War. Douglas MacArthur was himself
conscious of the profound influence his father had upon his life.
Douglas once said, Of all men I have known my father was the one I most
respected and admired.
A.K. Brackob has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois. His
other books include Scanderbeg: A History of George Castriota and the
Albanian Resistance to Islamic Expansion in Fifteenth Century Europe.
