The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-26
GEN. MACARTHUR'S CAREER
TIsCONSIN'S BOT SOLDIER VINO rs
NOW AT MANILA.
He Won n Medal of Honor In tho Civil War
when 10 and Led n Famous Charge when
19~-Commanded n Fighting Regiment
Now the Youngest Maior-GcneTnl.

He Won n Medal of Honor In the Civil War
when 10 and Led n Famous Charge When
10-Coinmnnded n Fighting Regiment
Now the Youngest Maior-Genernl.
One Wisconsin man. Gen. King. got In his
work at Paslg River. and Gen. Otis has an
other In reserve. IL needed" said a man from
tho Badger State. IL mean the youngest Ma
jor-General of the line Of the army to-day.
Arthur Mac Arthur. We knowArthur MacAr-
thur out In the Northwest. for he was our boy
hero of the civil war and was decorated with a
medal OF honor at IL and was the permanent
commander OF a fighting regiment at I'D. We
Badgers challenge any State to match that rec
ord. We thought he should have a Generals
star at the end Of it; but he wears twin stars on
his shoulder straps now all right.
First. as TO the boy Arthur. then the sol-
der Macarthur. Arthur came to our camp.
the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin. known as the
Milwaukee Regiment, with an appointment
from Gov. Solomon as Adjutant. Now an
Adjutant is or ought to be the Colonel's right
hand man in battle. Us well as in camp. He
has TO boss Captains and Lieutenants. as we'll
as common soldiers, all In thel name OF tho
Colonel. OF course. But the boy Arthur was
only II then. n STRIPPING In size and with q
strlpling's efreminate voice and manners. To
make a long story short. the little Adjutant
became a laughing stock solely on account OF
what nature hadn't done for him up to that
time. 1t was too bad. but soldiers are SOL
diers. and the army is a rough place.
One bit OF camp gossip had 1t that the
Colonel said one day. in a ft OF disgust. that
he'd ask Gov. Solomon to send him a wooden
man or any old thing for Adjutant and take the
boy back to Milwaukee and put him In an
army Kindergarten. II the Colonel did say
that 1t was the best thing he ever did for the
regiment. We were In quiet camp at Louis
vile then and hadn't struck the fighting.
Well. tine boy heard what the Colonel said. or
was alleged to have said. and there were no
more mincing or falsetto commands on parade
drill, Arthur changed to q man in q night,
and l can imagine how it was 1t with him. for
l was only a kid myself then. He wasn't to
blame. though, for he naturally supposed that
a uniform and stage poses made a soldier. and
there we're others OF the same wav OF thinking
in the camp at that time. heads older than
Arthur's. BY the way. the Colonel never
smelt powder with the Twenty-fourth Wiscon-
sin nor with any other regiment that / ever
heard OF.
well. in the case Of Arthur. it didn't take
long to prove the truth OF Davy Crockett's say
ing about battlefield courage. Pluck said the
border hero. doesn't depend on the length Of
ones beard. otherwise a goat would be a bet
ter fighter than any man. We got into our
first good fight at stones River. with Sheri.
dams division. Somehow | have forgotten the
details OF it. Our Colonel and Lieutenant
Colonel were not on hand. and the regiment
was handled that day by Major Hubbard and
the boy Adjutant. Arthur Macarthur. 1t vas
fight and retreat. then rally and make a stand
until tianked. then retreat again. rally again
and fight again. from daylight until darn.
Finally. when the ammunition was all used
ard the ranks down to fragments. Little Phil
ordered what there was left OF the division
back to the railroad in~trenchments Our
remnant looked like the parts of a sail which
a gale of wind leaves clinging to the spars
when it strips II vessel of its canvas, lust a
fringe II men on each side OF the flagstaff.
But. say. that boy Arthur was in his element
and proved to he anything else than 4 kinder
GARNER. The regiment lost fully half OF the
four hundred and odd men carried into battle.
aud that days bloody work made the beardless
AdIutant a hero in the eyes of the whole brigade.
Our commandant. Major lIibbaId. devoted a
paragraph Of his official report to the praise OF
little Arthur Macarthur. Said he: To the Adj
jutant OF the regiment | am more than indebt-
0 for his aid and efficient service rendered
during the engagements. ! bespeak for him
an honorable career
stones River was an unequal fight for our
division. The trouble began when it was dis
covered about daylight that the enemy had sur
prised our right flank and turned it and was
In our rear. In the first column Of attack.
which our regiment received alone. We count
ed five Confederate battle flags. Seven times
that day we formed line OF battle under fire.
Our brigade commander. Gen. Joshua Sill,
was killed at the outset. and at one time we
took orders from Sheridan direct. Col. Nick
Greusel. the sturdy Illinois fighter. assumed
command soon after Gen. Sill was killed, and
in his official report told how Adlt. Arthur
A., ,tI,,, T., ~ tho ,,,,otr F1,,pth IVtsoNp
sin displayed great GOODNESS and presence Of
mind in that terrible day of battle. So the
regiment came out Of it with q record equal to
that of the best of Sheridan's seasoned troops
and we were glad indeed that our boy Adiu-
tant hadn't been traded off for a wooden man
before we left Louisville.
"Sheridan's great fight in the West was at
Mission Ridge and the Milwaukee boys were
in the heat OF the charge that carried the line
up the height. 1t was a sort OF San Juan Hill
impulse which moved our whole division up. for
the orders were simply to capture the enemy's
works at the base OF the hill and then halt.
Well, that order was carried out literally. Tho
men rested for breath n bit and then was heard
the cry. We cant live here; we must 20 for
ward! and forward we went. WaRner's brigade.
on the left Of us. was actually turned back mid
way Of the ridge by a staff officer carrying out
the instructions 10 the letter. but Sheridan
saw that we on the right we're In Tor 1t and
sent Wagner forward again. Just before that
Sheridan had told q staff officer from head
quarters. who came to inquire by what author
ity the troops were charging the N ain heights
I didn't order them up, but we are going to
take this ridge
1T was hot work and no mistake. The
ground was broken and rough and we couldn't
keep n line. so we clung together in groups. all
the time moving uphill under fire. AS some
one said of the San Juan Hill fight. IL was a
climb. not a charge, But men went down fast
enough for the hottest charge. among them
our color bearer. We were near the crest and
II happened that at the moment there was con-
fusion In the minds Of some as 10 the best way
to go to strike the enemy's works. Roads and
ravines being the least INSTRUCTED invited us
there. but they were swept by the enemy's
sharpcst fire. BY that time. too. the mon
we're winded and they stopped and looked back.
We really had no line; the charge has been
a IT. ut-lA - ltI. nv.