DUNCAN McARTHUR: FIRST PHASE, 1772-1812
By C. H. CRAMER
After the Battle of Culloden in 1746
many of the supporters
of the defeated Prince Charlie, the
Young Pretender, found it
advisable to migrate to the New World.
Among the emigres
were some of the MacArthurs, members of
a clan as proud of
their distinctive plaid and feather as
any in Scotland. One of their
number settled in New York where a son,
Duncan, was born in
1772. The mother died when the boy was
three and his father,
desperately poor, remarried and took the
family to the frontier
of western Pennsylvania. Hard work and
the absence of edu-
cational facilities rendered formal
schooling virtually impossible.
Although he was able to read and write
by the time he was
twelve most of his education was picked
up later in life through
contacts with men who had received
schooling on the coast.1
The only eventful episodes in McArthur's
boyhood were the
trips he made across the Alleghenies
with pack horses to procure
salt, powder, lead, iron, and
rum--absolute necessities for the
rigorous life on the frontier. Since
there were no roads these
trips were of a difficult and arduous
nature. McArthur became
an excellent backwoodsman, and remained
one in spirit through-
out his life. As shall be seen, he was
never able to comprehend
fully the customs and tempo of polished
society.
In 1790, when he was eighteen, he
enlisted in a company of
Pennsylvania volunteers to serve under
General Josiah Harmar
in the campaign which was to have such a
tragic denouement.
Harmar had only a nucleus of regular
soldiers, the main body of
his army consisting of the militia of
which McArthur was a
1 The best sources for the early life of Duncan McArthur are the family record
(in the home of his great granddaughter, Miss Dorothy Whitney
MacArthur, at
Circleville, Ohio)
and a eulogistic biography written by his brother-in-law John
McDonald and entitled, Biographical
Sketches of General Nathaniel Massie, General
McArthur, Captain William Wells, and General Simon
Kenton (Cincinnati, 1888).
For some reason, perhaps his lack of
education, Duncan always spelled his name
McArthur, instead of the more correct
MacArthur.
(27)
28
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
member. They were a questionable crew as
far as fighting ability
was concerned since they were badly
equipped and had among
their number too many substitutes of old
infirm men, and young
inexperienced boys.2 It would
have required a better general than
Harmar to have achieved victory under
such a handicap. The
military value of the campaign, as is
well known, was zero, but
from McArthur's standpoint it served to
acquaint him with the
territory which was to become his home.
Shortly afterward he was employed by the
state of Kentucky
to act as an Indian scout along the Ohio
River. The life was
hazardous but it gave him a knowledge of
the Indian which he
was able to use profitably in later years.
Physically McArthur
was able to stand the terrific strain of
such an existence. He
could lay no claim to masculine beauty,
largely because of a snub-
nose and heavily jowled features, but
pulchritude really didn't
count. He had attributes which were much
more important: he
was "tall in stature with a giant
frame," and he possessed speed
on foot which saved his life on several
occasions.3 Because of the
time consumed in reloading the clumsy
guns of that day, the only
thing for these scouts to do when
confronted with a superior
number of Indians was to fire their guns
and take to their heels.
That McArthur lived to be governor of
Ohio was due to the
fact that he was considerably faster
than the Indians who pur-
sued him from time to time. In one hot
chase with his life at
stake he tripped over a grapevine just
as the pursuing Indians
fired. The balls passed harmlessly
through the spot just vacated
by his falling body. On his feet at once
he quickly outdistanced
his pursuers whose guns were now
useless. Later he said that a
grapevine was responsible for his
election as governor of Ohio.4
Anthony Wayne's decisive defeat of the
Indians in the fall
of 1794 brought a temporary cessation of
Indian hostilities as
well as unemployment for young McArthur.
Kentucky no longer
needed rangers and to fill up the time
the youngster accompanied
2 Basil
Meek. "General Harmar's Expedition," in Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society Publications (Columbus,
1887-), XX (1911), 78.
3 James Bradley Finley, Autobiography
(Cincinnati, 1853), 122-3.
4 John Alexander Caldwell, History of
Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio
(Wheeling, West Virginia, 1880), 165.
This tale is related on hearsay. It was told
to Caldwell by a General Wier, who heard
it from McArthur,
DUNCAN MCARTHUR 29
Nathaniel Massie on surveying tours into
southern Ohio. Mc-
Arthur soon manifested his remarkable
knack for acquiring land
quickly and cheaply. He settled at
Chillicothe, which he and
Massie had laid out in 1796.5 His dwelling near the village was
said to have been the first white man's
house in the region and
to it in 1797 he took his bride, the
former Miss Nancy McDonald,
descendant of another Scottish clan. His
family grew rapidly
with a new arrival at regular intervals
from 1797 until 1818.6
The physical and mental strain of
raising a brood of eleven chil-
dren in a primitive community resulted
in chronic ill-health for
Mrs. McArthur.
With the responsibilities of marriage
and a growing family
resting upon his shoulders McArthur
began to pursue seriously
the business of locating and surveying
Virginia military land
warrants. It entailed him in endless
litigation, destroyed his peace
of mind, kept him busy for the remainder
of his life, and ulti-
mately made him the wealthiest man in
the State. A thriving
household also necessitated larger
living quarters and in 1804
or 1805 he erected the famous residence
which came to be known
as Fruit Hill. Like Monticello, it was
not only "homemade" but a
social and political rendezvous. Its
walls, nearly three feet thick,
were built from stone quarried on the
estate, and the lumber was
from the forest which surrounded the
dwelling. The location
was excellent. The homestead was
situated on the summit of
a hill some two hundred feet above the
level of the Scioto River.
It was surrounded by five or six acres
of blue grass sward inter-
spersed with clumps of cedar and locust
trees. Five miles away
and directly opposite the house could be
seen Mt. Logan, the
last spur of the Alleghanies. Fruit Hill
became a symbol of hos-
pitality and good cheer. McArthur
entertained within its walls
persons who ran the whole gamut of
prominence, from celebrities
like Henry Clay and William Henry
Harrison, to obscure men
like William Hewitt, the hermit of the
Scioto.7
5 Lyle S. Evans, A Standard History
of Ross County, Ohio (Chicago and New
York, 1917), I, 233ff; McDonald, op.
cit., 93.
6 The family is
listed in McArthur's will at the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society Library.
7 Evans, op. cit., I, 236-7 and 479-80.
Hewitt, as a result of a family quarrel,
shouldered his rifle and bade farewell
to his parents, telling them they would never
30 OHIO ARCHAELOLOGICAL
AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Political advancement went hand in hand
with economic good
fortune. Election to the State
Legislature in 1804 began a term
of service in both legislative branches
which ultimately totaled
membership in fifteen general
assemblies. This record, prior to
1894, had been surpassed but five times
in the history of the
State.8 His political
opinions indicated the mild republicanism
which might very well be adopted by a
man of increasing proper-
tied interests who lived in what
purported to be a democratic
West. He voted to impeach Judges David
W. Tod and Calvin
Pease when the struggle over judicial
review became prominent
in the first decade of Ohio history, and
thus aligned himself with
the liberal republican faction which
wanted to make the Legis-
lature supreme. However, when the
Tammany organization, a
bizarre structure with sachems,
sagamores, and wiskinskis remi-
niscent of the later Ku Klux Klan, came
into being to perpetuate
the authority of the anti-court faction,
McArthur could not
stomach it and promptly joined the
Quid-Federalist group. The
Republican party in Ohio was at best a
"union of imperfect sym-
pathies" and McArthur wobbled here
and there among its com-
ponent factions.9
Before the War of 1812 the capitol of
the State was suc-
cessively at Chillicothe and Zanesville.
In 1812 the Legislature
moved it to "the high bank of the
Scioto River opposite the town
of Franklinton."10 Representatives
of the various sites being
considered during the perambulation
maintained powerful lobbies
at the legislative sessions and exerted
pressure on the members.
McArthur voted in favor of the act
moving the capitol to Co-
see his face again. They didn't. About
1823, he appeared in the Scioto Valley.
His residence was a cave in a dense
forest. He dressed skins for a livelihood. In
later years he relaxed his penchant for
solitude and spent a few weeks of every
summer at Fruit Hill. Here he occupied
his time by shooting obnoxious birds from
the numerous fruit trees on the farm. He
was supposed to have died in 1839 at the
age of 70, as a direct result of the
attempt to eat three dinners in succession.
Fruit Hill was totally consumed by fire
in 1928. The elegant sideboard, tea
service and silver plate used by
McArthur are now in the possession of Miss Dorothy
Whitney MacArthur of Circleville, Ohio.
8 William Alexander Taylor, Ohio
Statesmen and Hundred Year Book (Colum-
bus, 1892), 209, 402.
9 William Thomas Utter, "Saint
Tammany in Ohio: A Study in Frontier
Politics," in Mississippi Valley
Historical Review (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1914-) XV,
321-22. Also an article by the same
author, "Judicial Review in Early Ohio," loc. cit.,
XIV, 3.
10 Emilius Oviatt Randall and Daniel
Joseph Ryan, History of Ohio (New York,
1912), III, 427-8.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR 31
lumbus.11 By this action, plus his
behaviour in the court squabble,
he created a sizable coterie of zealous
enemies, including his old
friend Thomas Worthington, who proceeded
to review his past
life in merciless fashion. Some of the
accusations, particularly
those with regard to gambling, he was
never able to live down
completely. It seemed that in the winter
of 1809-10, while he
was speaker of the State Senate, he
boarded at the Eagle Tavern
along with David J. Marple, Leonard
Jewett, David C. Cooper,
and John P. R. Bureau--all members of
the General Assembly.
One evening McArthur, who thoroughly
enjoyed a good time,
proposed a game of lieu in Cooper's
room. This was agreed to
by the others and the account of what
happened, written later by
an opponent, runs as follows:
When Cooper proposed to find cards,
McArthur observed he had
brought a new pack in his pockets and
they sat down to play with them.
After playing some time a sum of twelve
or fifteen dollars was on the table
and spades were turned trumps. McArthur
took up his hand and retired
from the table as if to drink or
something of the kind. He returned to
the table and upon the lead of trumps played
the ace of spades. Marple
immediately exclaimed, "Your
servant Mr. Mossy Face, it is the first time
I have seen you tonight!" McArthur led the king of trumps. Another
observed, "The king too for the
first time!" After playing the king the
jack of spades remained in McArthur's
hand faced toward the company
and another remarked with an oath, "he
has the jack also." McArthur
took the money and Marple declared that
before he played further he
would examine the cards. He did so, and
found that two small cards were
missing. The company continued to play a
few minutes in silent dissatis-
faction. At length one observed he would
play no longer. Marple said
he was glad of it, as he was in no humor
to play since the ace of spades
had made its appearance. The party broke
up and McArthur returned to
his room without a word of explanation.
Next morning Jewett and Cooper informed
Needham what had hap-
pened and declared their dissatisfaction
at boarding longer at the same table
with McArthur. At noon Needham informed
McArthur what had been
alleged against him. It was on Saturday
and McArthur assured Need-
ham that on Monday morning he would have
a complete explanation. On
Monday McArthur did not come to town
until the senate had met and
chosen a speaker protem. And he never
once mentioned the affair to any
of the gentlemen concerned.12
11 Senate Journal, Tenth (Ohio) General Assembly, 242.
12 Charles Hammond to George Nashee and George Denny (editors), The
Sup-
porter (Chillicothe), January 17, 1815. This letter was
written criticizing McArthur as a
general. Hammond opposed the War of 1812
vigorously. Francis P. Weisenburger
in an article on Hammond in the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
Quarterly XLIII (1934), 337-427, points out that Hammond's
"lack of respect" for per-
sonalities made many enemies. On one
occasion McArthur was so exasperated that
he struck Hammond with a cane.
32
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
In the Scioto Gazette, a Tammany
paper, for September 25,
1811, someone who styled himself a
"Friend of Truth," accused
McArthur of having played with "a
pick'd pack of cards," at
the same time making several other
charges regarding his past
behavior. McArthur answered this
anonymous writer with a
scathing letter published in the
Circleville Fredonian, which inci-
dentally brings out clearly his
sentiments regarding the Tammany
organization. He was apparently in no
doubt as to the identity
of this "Friend of Truth,"
because he answered:
If I am not much mistaken, you are in
the habit of gambling a little
yourself. And I presume you know that
your Tammany friend Col. James
Dunlap, a communicant of the
Presbyterian church, has been in the habit
of gambling and taking a little Bread
and Wine from the hands of the
elders, alternately, for seven or eight
years past; yet your conscience did
not move you to say anything about it,
at any time when he was a candidate
for the legislature. I barely mention
this to show the citizens, that your
attack on me does not proceed from your
aversion to cheating a little or
gambling either. No sir, you are now
playing a true Tammany game, to
wit: a game for office, and on your
success depends the future existence
of the Tammany Society in Ross County.
This, sir, is a species of gambling
which is even more dangerous to
the community than the contemptible practice
of card playing.
Political gambling was said to be the
fashionable amusement when
the legislature sat last at
Chillicothe....Was not the seat of government
removed from Chillicothe to Zanesville by political gambling?...What
member was there who wished an office,
who was not promised it, pro-
vided he would favor the views of the
gambling party?
McArthur was also accused of getting
drunk, an offense
certainly not considered serious in
those days. Relative to the
query "if I remember how I was
intoxicated when I was toasted
as the next governor, etc.,"
McArthur answered that the facts
have been willfully or ignorantly
misrepresented:
It is true that the Zanesville party,
attempted to flatter and amuse
me, as they had done many others, with
the promise of office. They often
insinuated and sometimes proposed to
support me as the next governor, on
condition that I would make no exertions
to prevent the removal of the
seat of government from Chillicothe;
tho' I can assure the public, and
prove as above stated, that it neither
flattered my vanity, nor intoxicated
my mind. I ever knew that they were not
sincere, and if they were,
neither the office or their terms would
suit me. . . .
This, sir, together with my opposition to
Mr. [Edward] Tiffin's office-
hunting, unconstitutional sweeping
resolution, was the only cause why the
friends of Worthington and Tiffin, did
then insinuate, have ever since
busily propagated the base slander and
malicious falsehood, that I had
changed my politics--as it is said those
gentlemen have themselves for-
DUNCAN MCARTHUR 33
merly done, at a time when there was a
prospect of making something
by the change.
Relative to the game of lieu at
Needham's tavern, McArthur
had an excuse to offer though he failed
to explain the unusual
appearance of the ace and king of
spades. He demanded to know
if it was a crime for any
person to go to the window for the
purpose of relieving nature, as you say,
when there was even a large sum of money
on the table; and if in lifting
the sash, he would change one of his
cards wrong side foremost, and in
that way expose it to the view of the
other players, would it not operate
more against himself that it would
against any other of the party?13
Although interesting as a commentary on
a unique use for
windows in that day this explanation
appears to be a rather lame
one.
Someone wrote this letter for McArthur,
but the identity
of the ghost writer as well as that of
"Friend of Truth," remains
a mystery. McArthur's own style was very
crude, as one would
expect. Here is an example of it from
the McArthur Papers
at the Library of Congress dated April
17, 1803:
SIR
I am to Start a trip to the Woods this
morning if you Can lend me
Six Dollars you will oblidge me Greatly
I am
MAJ. D. MCARTHUR
The issues raised by the War of 1812
healed the schism in
the Republican ranks as the Tammany
issue became less promi-
nent. By March McArthur and Worthington
were again good
political friends.14 Within a short time
the State was actively
engaged in a military campaign and
McArthur began those mar-
tial duties which were to keep him busy
for almost three years.
13 The
Fredonian (Circleville, Ohio), October
9, 1811.
14 Duncan McArthur to Worthington,
March 23, 1812, Thomas Worthington MSS.
(in Ohio State Library).