Omaha daily bee., 1912-09-07
DEATH SILENCES M'ARTHUR
Famous Union Leader in Civil War
Falls in Midst of Comrades.
REUNION COMES TO SAD CLOSE
Lords Prayer Repeated by, Gather
ing as Life Passes from Body of
GencraI--liIncss Comes
Without Warming.

MILWAUKEE,, Wis, Sept. s.--Mrs. Ar
thur Macarthur. widow OF Lieutenant
General Arthur McArthur, who became
unconscious when informed OF the sud
den death of her husband last night while
attending q banquet Of the survivors OF
his o.d regiment, the Twenty fourth Wis
consin volunteers, has regalned con-
sciousness, and no immediate change for
the worse is expected by physicians in at
tendance.
Captain e. B. Parsons, toastmaster at
the banquet. who suffered q paraiytio
stroke following the shock incident to
the sudden death of General Macarthur.
IL reported to be resting comfortably At
his home this forenoon.
\ General Macarthur died suddenly last
night following an apopletic stroke with
which he was stricken while addressing
the survivors Of the Twenty-fourth Wis
consln volunteers. known as the Cham
ber Of Commerce regiment
End Comes Suddenly.
The occasion wa sthe fiftieth anniver-
sary OF the day the regiment left Mil
waukee for the front General MacAr-
thur had been introduced by the toast
master, Captain II, b. Parsons. his conf
'panion all through the civil war. and
had been talking only "a few minutes and
was telling Of the march through Geor-
gia when suddenly he paused with the
Comrades. / am too weak to pro-
ceed.'
He sat down and his head fell for
ward. He was dead.
Scarcely had the tragic announcement
been made when Captain Parsons fell
forward, himself stricken with paralysis.
With bowed heads and with tears
streaming down their cheeks, the gray
haired veterans, led by Rev. Paul B.
Jenkins, repeated the Lords prayer and
the banquet ended.
While nothing definite regarding
funeral arrangements has been an-
nounced, 1t Is expected the services will
be of a private and simple character in
keeping with a previously expressed wish
Of General Macarthur. The burial will
probably take place on Monday after
noon.
Tells of Leaving Home.
The general had started his address by
telling his listeners that 1t was exactly
fifty years ago when he and his COM
rades had left Milwaukee ON their jour-
ney to the front. Al that time the gem
erai was an adjutant and but II years old.
HIS listeners were deeply affected by
the generals statement that out OF t,15o
members who had went away from their
wives and sweethearts, $50 either had died
in conflict Of the diseases contracted in
the camps or on the march or had passed
away In southern prisons.
He said the history Of the famous
Twenty fourth was too we'll known to
need repetition and that few Of the
moro intimate details Of the trials and
Incidents which the men experienced dur
ing the campaign would be OF more in
terest to his listeners.
Relates Incident Of Campaign.
After an Introductory anecdote, he had
started to relate an incident which had
occurred near the end Of the war
1T was during the campaign at Peach
Tree creek" he said" place about five
or six miles from Atlanta, that one of
the most remarkable scouting expeditions
of the war was engineered by the Twen-
ty-fourth regiment. with another body OF
the same size, just which l cannot re-
member.
''The men were sent out On o. recon-
Nuisance with the federals under the i'm
preston that the enemy were several
miles away. They followed wooded
ridge for distance and were startled to
find they were entirely surrounded by
the enemy.
"A slow and cautious retreat followed
and after crawling most Of the way out
they escaped back Of the union lines with
no one the wiser.
Your indomnitable courage"-here the
general paused for few seconds Conn
rades, | am too weak to go on he
added and sank back In his chair. He
CONTINUED on Second page)