DUNCAN McARTHUR: THE MILITARY PHASE*
By C. H. CRAMER
Duncan McArthur had won his military
spurs before the
War of 1812 broke out and had been
commissioned a general in
the State Militia. In the spring of
1812, with war looming on
the horizon, Congress authorized the
President to organize a num-
ber of volunteers who were to be ready
to march on short notice.
The Ohio quota was 1200 men.1 McArthur
ordered his militia
division to assemble and used his
forensic powers in an effort to
get them to join the volunteer army. He
employed every argu-
ment to persuade the men to take the
field, running the gamut of
patriotic emotions. His remarks are a
good example of a tend-
ency to indulge in hyperbole:
FELLOW-CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS. The period
has arrived when our
country again calls its heroes to arms.
[We will be fighting against] Eng-
land unjust and perfidious--that proud
and tyrannical nation, whose injustice,
prior to 1776, aroused the honest indignation
of our fathers to manly re-
sistance; their souls could no longer
endure slavery . . . the HEAVEN-
protected patriots of Columbia, obliged
the mighty armies of the tyrant to
surrender to American valor.
Notwithstanding Great Britain, in 1782,
was obliged to sue for peace,
and beg permission to withdraw her
conquered and degraded troops, the
haughty spirit of that proud and
unprincipled nation, has ever since burnt
with indignation against the author of
her disgrace....
Could the shades of the departed heroes
of the revolution who purchased
our freedom with their blood, descend
from the valiant mansions of peace,
would they not call aloud to arms? And
where is that friend to his country
who would not obey the call?2
Few four-minute speakers of 1917-18 surpassed
this attempt
to make the eagle scream. The reference
to the Elysian fields
with their "HEAVEN-protected
patriots of Columbia" is remi-
* This is second of a series of articles
on Duncan McArthur. The first was
published in the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, (Columbus).
XLV (1936), 27-33.--Editor's note.
1 Robert B. McAfee, History of the
Late War in the Western Country (Bowl-
ing Green, Ohio, 1919), 61.
2 Division Orders, Chillicothe, April 8,
1812, in Circleville (Ohio) Fredonian,
April 25, 1912; Samuel R. Brown, Views
of the Campaign of the Northwestern Army
(Philadelphia, 1815), 5. This address
had been corrected in style and spelling by
someone, perhaps the editor of the
newspaper. This is especially apparent when it
is compared with some of the personal
letters of Duncan McArthur which are quoted
later on in the article.
(128)
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 129
niscent of Parson Weems' Life of
Washington. In the peroration
of this remarkable biography, in which
Weems escorts the sancti-
fied Washington to the pearly gates, he
mentions some of the
"shades" to be found
there--"the beauteous forms of Franklin,
Warren, Mercer, Scammel, and of him who
fell at Quebec, with
all the virtuous patriots, on the side
of Columbia, who toiled or
bled for liberty and truth."3
The difficulty of procuring necessary
supplies, which con-
tinued during the entire war, began with
the first assembly of
troops. The men were obliged to get
along without tents and
other equipage.4 McArthur laid the blame on the
contractors:
The truth is that when the army
assembled at Dayton, it consisted of
nothing but men. There was
neither Tents, Blankets, axes, arms or am-
munition, neither was there stores of
any kind for the use of the army.
However, to make short of the matter,
the chief delay of the army . . . has
been the want of ammunition, and waggons
to convey the Flower, Salt, and
Baggage.... Provisions of every kind is
plenty in settlements, but the con-
tractors who are engaged to furnish us,
have made such miserable calcula-
tions with respect to the conveyance of
it, that the army has not been able
to march.5
And again:
If I had room I would say a word on the
subject of our ketch-penny
contractors who feed our army Carr[i]on
Beef and musty shorts whilst fat
beef, and good flower could be had at
1/2 penny more a 1b.6
General William Hull, of Revolutionary
fame, was assigned
to command the Ohio contingent. He
arrived in Dayton on
May 20.
On May 25
Governor Return J. Meigs officially turned
over the command in a ceremony which was
marked by a bom-
bastic speech from Hull and several
humorous incidents. The
troops had been drawn up for review. The
ceremony would have
been imposing enough but for the staff
ponies. Fatigued though
they were from the long trip from New
England, whence Hull
had journeyed, the drum and fife corps
gave them a renewed lease
on life. As the staff passed before the
second regiment the roar
of drums frightened the animal belonging
to one of Hull's aides,
and the horse promptly ran off at
half-speed in the wrong direc-
tion. The contagion spread rapidly. The
horse belonging to
3 Harold Kellock, Parson Weems of the
Cherry-tree (New York, 1928), 96.
4 McAfee, History of the Late War,
62; McArthur to Thomas Worthington, Fruit
Hill, May 19, 1812, Worthington MSS. (in
Ohio State Library).
5 Id. to id., June 26, 1812, Worthington MSS.
6 Id. to id., July 7, 1812, Worthington MSS.
130 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Captain Hull (brother of the general)
dashed off in hot pursuit
in the same direction. Let an
eye-witness describe the rest of the
fiasco:
The General's pony followed his aids,
and he was a hard trotter, throw-
ing his rider up, until you could see
daylight between his seat and saddle.
Well balanced as they were for a review,
with splendid swords, at their
sides, they were not so well adapted to
a race, especially at a trot. The con-
sequence was, that the General's feet
lost the stirrups, he lost his balance, his
hat flew off, and to save himself he
seized the horse's mane. The frightened
animal going at the rate of a mile in
four minutes, at a hard trot. By this
time the yells of the spectators and
some of the wild volunteers, rendered
the scene one of the most amusing I ever
witnessed at a military review.7
The staff, after a conference, concluded
to abandon the at-
tempt to pass the army. They decided to
take a position and
require the troops to pass them! This
order was executed suc-
cessfully.
McArthur made an excellent impression at
Dayton. Allen
Trimble commented on the full uniform
and the tall plume of
Colonel Lewis Cass and the
well-proportioned physique of Major
Jeremiah Munson, but adds that "it
was admitted on all hands
that McArthur looked more like a
go-a-head soldier than any of
his brother officers."8
On the first of June, the army left
Dayton, arriving at
Urbana on the eighth. On the eleventh
McArthur and his regi-
ment were detailed to cut a road for the
army as far as the Scioto
River. In this day of rapid and easy
communication it is hard
to realize that the American army in
Ohio during the War of
1812 had to build
roads before it could move at all. The troops
had to cut their way through the woods
and swamps, and bridges
had to be constructed over streams.
Guides went forward and
blazed the trees on the route with
tomahawks; the soldiers fol-
lowed with axes, grubbing hoes, spades
and shovels. By June 16
a trail was opened to the Scioto River
and the construction of two
block houses had begun. These outposts
were called Fort Mc-
Arthur in honor of their builder.9
The rest of the army caught up with
McArthur on the nine-
7 "Autobiography and Correspondence
of Allen Trimble," Old Northwest Genea-
logical Quarterly (Columbus), X (1907), 38.
8 Ibid.
9 McArthur to Worthington, June 19,
1812, Worthington MSS; Fredonian, June
20, 1812; John McDonald, Biographical Sketches (Cincinnati,
1838), 101. McDonald was
paymaster in McArthur's regiment.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 131
teenth. On the twenty-first Colonel
James Findlay was ordered
to assume the job of cutting the
remainder of the road, and the
rest of the troops followed slowly. Rain
began to fall on the next
day and what was euphemistically called
a road became impassable
for heavy wagons. The army settled down
in the mud. When
the rain subsided the army trudged on
and early in July reached
Detroit. In 1812 the present automobile
metropolis was a mere
village containing around 200 houses and
1200 people.10
When the American force crossed over to
the Canadian side
north of Detroit in the middle of July
McArthur commanded the
detachment which successfully decoyed
the enemy south of the
town. He marched and countermarched his
troops for a day, left
a few men to continue the ruse, and then
hurried north with the
remainder to join the main American
force. Cass and McArthur
urged an immediate attack on Maiden but
Hull refused to advance
without his artillery, which had not
been brought up. Since Mc-
Arthur was "most restive and uneasy
in a state of inaction" Hull
sent him up the river in pursuit of a
body of Indians!11 On this
expedition he captured valuable supplies
at McGregor's Mills,
traversed 130 miles in three and a half
days without blankets or
provisions, and penetrated sixty miles
into enemy territory.12
This exploit brought the ire of the
British down upon him.
James Hannay, a British historian
writing soon after the war,
notes that it was in this expedition
that "McArthur commenced
that career of plunder and rapine which
gave him so evil a repu-
tation during the war."13
A little later he commanded an
expedition which attacked
Canadians and Indians on the Aux Canards
River. Robert Lucas
felt that Hull should not have ordered
this expedition and the
ensuing skirmish while dangerous was
ineffective and aimless.
"We fired at them . . . for
amusement till we was tired," said
10 Robert Lucas, Journal of the War
of 1812 during the Campaign under General
Hull (Iowa City, 1906), 15ff. Lucas, later governor of Ohio,
wrote an invaluable
day-by-day account (in the form of a
diary) of his experiences.
11 McAfee, History of the Late War, 72,
73; McDonald, Biographical Sketches,
105ff.; Lucas, Journal, 27, 28.
12 For an account of this expedition,
see McAfee, History of the Late War,
76ff. and two letters: Colonel James
Denny to Mrs. Denny, July 13-18, 1812, Old
Northwest Genealogical Quarterly, X (1907), 288-9, and McArthur to Major Morris,
July 24, 1812, in Chillicothe (Ohio) Supporter, August
8, 1812.
13 James Hannay, The War of 1812 (Halifax,
1901), 63.
132
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Lucas; he added that the enemy returned
the fire and he "was
diverted to see some of the Boys Dodge
at the whistling of the
balls."14 McArthur observed that
the "cannon balls play a very
unpleasant tune; they were landed in the
midst of us, but no man
was hurt but some a little scared."
In this skirmish his horse was
shot in the head and (according to
McArthur) "the ball did almost
knock him down, but he recovered without
falling to the ground;
his head is yet very sore but I think he
will recover."15 Bullets
were not quite as dangerous in 1812,
apparently, as they became
later as "civilization"
advanced. For a few days, subsequently,
McArthur commanded the American army
(then on the Canadian
side) while Hull returned to Detroit.
Though he showed more
activity than Hull little was
accomplished in the general's
absence.16
During this period the dissatisfaction
of the officers with Hull
metamorphosed into mutiny. As early as
the spring, when the
army was at Dayton, McArthur and William
A. Trimble had
suspicions of his ability. Trimble
thought of him as a "short,
corpulent, good natured old gent, who
bore the marks of good
eating and drinking, but none of the
marks of a chief, according
to my notions of a great general. .
." On another occasion,
Trimble walked with McArthur to his
room. He asked him if he
would dare to give his opinion of the
general. "Not publicly,"
replied McArthur, "but I say to
you, he won't do. He is not the
kind of man we want, and I fear the
result of our campaign; 'twill
be disastrous."17 On August 12 a
conversation took place be-
tween the colonels, respecting the
ability of Hull. They were
of the unanimous opinion that if he
continued in command, the
surrender of the army would follow.
After toying with the idea
of depriving Hull of his command and
bestowing it upon either
Colonels John Miller or McArthur, Cass
addressed a letter to
Meigs, governor of Ohio, with the
suggestion that he march to
relieve them. On his arrival Hull would
be divested of his
authority and Meigs was to assume it.
After Cass had written the
letter the others added the following
endorsement:
14 Lucas, Journal, 38-9.
15 McArthur to Morris, Supporter, August
8, 1812.
16 Lucas, Journal, 41ff.
17 "Autobiography
of Allen Trimble," 37.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 133
Since the other side of the letter was
written, new circumstances have
arisen. The British force is opposite,
and our situation has nearly reached
its crisis. Believe all the bearer will
tell you. Believe it, however it may
astonish you; as much as if told by one
of us. Even a c x x x is talked of
by the x x x! The bearer will supply the
vacancy. On you we depend.
Signed by
CASS, FINDLEY, MCARTHUR, TAYLOR,
and E. BRUSH.18
On the evening of the fourteenth a
detachment of 300 men
under Cass and McArthur was sent out to
relieve E. Brush, who
had been bottled up by the British.
After advancing twenty-four
miles they found themselves in a marsh
and without provisions.
Without food for two days, excepting a
few green pumpkins and
potatoes, the detail under McArthur was
hastening back to Detroit
when a French Canadian running across
the prairie informed
them that Hull had surrendered the town,
fort and army to the
enemy. McArthur was in a difficult
position with the enemy in
front and famine in the rear but at
first he had no intention of
surrendering his small detachment to the
British. He ordered a
retreat and after marching some two
miles a large ox was dis-
covered feeding by the roadside. Hunger
proved, for the moment,
to be more compelling than fear of the
enemy. The ox was
"slaughtered in less time than any
professional butcher could have
done the deed." While the meat was
roasting two men dressed in
British uniform rode up, waving a white
flag. They carried
with them the articles of capitulation.
After a conference Mc-
Arthur decided to surrender, since a
retreat to Ft. Wayne (the
nearest place where supplies could be
found) was beyond the
power of endurance for men already
reduced by fatigue and
hunger. The officers and troops from Ohio returned home on
parole. McArthur was at Fruit Hill early
in September when a
dinner was given in honor of the
returning warrior at Chilli-
cothe.19
It is not the purpose here to weight the
responsibility of Hull
18 McAfee, History of the Late War,
96. A man named Owen Brown was
one of the contractors furnishing beef
to William Hull's army. He took his son
John with him to Detroit. Later when
this boy had become the half-crazed hero of
Potawatomie he recalled this mutinous
conduct by the officers of Hull's army. See
Charles B. Galbreath, "John
Brown," Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications
(Columbus) XXX (1921), 218.
19 McAfee, History of the Late War, 98ff.;
McDonald, Biographical Sketches,
122ff; Hull to McArthur, August 16,
1812, in Supporter, August 29, 1812; Fredonian,
September 9, 1812.
134
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
for the disaster at Detroit. There is no
doubt that he was care-
less and dilatory but a fair observer
would admit that his position
was a difficult one. Henry Adams was of
the opinion that he was
a brave man who was motivated to
surrender largely by
the "thought of his daughter and
the women and children of the
settlement left to the mercy of the
Indians. . . . Doubt-
less his fears were well founded, but a
general-in-chief whose
mind was paralyzed by such thoughts
could not measure
himself with Isaac Brock."20 The
West, however, saw but one
side of the surrender and their
antagonism to Hull was bitter. A
poem composed a few months later and
contributed by "Anti-
Hullism," is a good example of the
feeling:
Revenge whets our steels, Justice guards
every life;
Let Saint George lead the trembling
Canadians to meet us,
Let the slaves be led on by their
Proctors and Brocks;
Not, as on those cursed plains at
Detroit shall they greet us,
For instead of Old Hulls they
shall find we are Rocks.21
As Hull's popularity decreased that of
McArthur grew in
direct proportion. The story went the
rounds that on hearing
the news of the surrender McArthur had
dashed his sword to the
ground and broken it. The tale is probably
not authentic since
similar behavior was ascribed to many of
the other officers.22 Such
stories are perfect ones for
hero-worshippers to linger over.
Many persons speculated over the outcome
at Detroit if Mc-
Arthur had been in command and none doubted
that the result
would have been a different and happy
one. The Chillicothe
Fredonian even accused Hull of traitorous action:
It is reported that Hull sent Cols.
McArthur and Cass out of the
way . . . fearing lest their well-known
abilities, their patriotism, and the
confidence the army placed in them,
should have effectually thwarted his
traitorous designs. These brave officers
were sent out on a dangerous ex-
pedition, without provision, and without
the means of subsistence, in order
to afford the British and Indians an
opportunity to oblige them to sur-
render; and during their absence, the
fort and the army were basely sur-
rendered, as well as the troops under
their command.23
20 Henry Adams, History of the United
States (New York, 1921), VI, 327.
21 Supporter, December 19, 1812.
22 See Old Northwest Genealogical
Quarterly, X (1907), 41, for the supposed
behavior of Cass, and see Lucas, Journal,
67, for that of Major Witherall. McDonald
does not mention any activity of this
sort on McArthur's part, and it is not likely
that he would have passed up such a
laudatory story.
23 Fredonian, September 1, 1812.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE
135
The popularity of McArthur elected him
to Congress in the
fall. He refused the candidacy for
governor which was pressed
upon him, but consented to run for the
lower house of the national
legislature. The Fredonian rejoiced
to find that even his enemies
were now constrained to acknowledge his
merit and worth. Even
the Scioto Gazette "whose
columns for some years past teemed
with scurrility and abuse against him,
has now to acknowledge
his qualifications, fidelity, merit and
patriotism ...."24 He was
elected by a vote that was almost
unanimous. During the winter
he was exchanged and freed from his
parole. Congress author-
ized him to raise a regiment. Like Cass
he felt that he would
"much rather hold a commission in
the Armies than a seat in the
Counsel of my Country."25 For this reason
he resigned his seat
in Congress before he had a chance to
serve in the legislative
chamber.
During the spring of 1813 McArthur and
Cass were engaged
in a strenuous campaign to recruit the
members of their forces.
Again their appeals for soldiers rival
some of the high-powered
pleas of 1917-18, but they were not
quite so successful. On
April 7 this call to arms, issued by the
newly appointed brigadier-
generals appeared in the Supporter:
To THE YOUNG MEN OF OHIO
FELLOW CITIZENS.--You have all seen the
unexampled outrages which Eng-
land has committed upon our interest and
honor, and you have seen the
solicitude which our govt. had
manifested to preserve the relations of peace
and amity. ... The same power which
drove your fathers to arms to acquire
your independence, now drives their sons
to arms to defend it.... That man
is unworthy of the name of an American,
who can tamely hear the call of
his country and look idly upon her battles. Our govt.
is engaged in no
schemes of aggrandizement [sic], no
places [plans] of ambition. . . . Are
you prepared to have your midnight
slumbers awakened by the Indian yell,
and the conflagration of your own dwellings
gleam upon the last act of
savage barbarity? . . . The inducements
held out by your government are
greater than any country ever offered to
the patriotism of its citizens. A
gratuity of sixteen dollars, the monthly
pay of eight dollars and clothing
are the offers for the service of a
year. Your officers will be men who are
your friends, your neighbors . . .years
of honorable peace and security will
be cheaply purchased by a few months of
activity and enterprise.
Little is found in this appeal which rubs
shoulders with
reality: the selfish if at times
unconscious desire of the West for
24 September 29,
1812.
25 Supporter, October 24, 1812.
136 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
fertile lands in Canada; the fact that
Indian troubles were largely
due to the westerner's own philosophy
that the only good Indian
was a dead one; that soldiers were
scarcely well paid on eight
dollars a month for risking their necks
when contractors were
filthy with cash; that peace and
security can never be purchased
at the price of a "war to end
wars." The Ohio Federalist com-
mented disparagingly on this
chauvinistic ranting by saying that it
was a repetition of the "stale and
oft repeated slang which has
filled the mouths of the war
orators."26 Healthy criticism was
apparently possible in the War of
1812--a striking contrast to the
situation a little over a century later
in the same region. A
thorough militarist like McArthur chafed
under such abuse. He
had some very definite ideas about
carrying on an efficient war:
conscription should be adopted in order
to overcome the lassitude
of patriots; the war to be financed by
issuing paper money as
in the Revolution; and some effective
means to be adopted to
"stop the mouths of those who
without cause, vilify, slander and
traduce the administration and every
officer of Government."27
Without "voluntary
conscription" McArthur found the re-
cruiting job a difficult one. He
described it as "laborious and un-
pleasant," and rode down several
horses visiting almost every
town and village in the lower end of the
State.28 The chief rea-
son for the indifference of the Ohioans
to military service was that
the pay offered the soldiers was not
nearly so good as McArthur
had intimated in his stirring summons to
arms. He summed up
the situation to Thomas Worthington as
follows: "In short,
money is plenty and labour high, common
laborers ask, and some
receive from 14 to 16$ per month, and
altho the monthly pay and
bounty of a soldier, is considered high
in many parts of the union,
yet it is no object, in the lower end of
the State of Ohio."29
A great many persons were suspicious
whether they would re-
ceive even the meager pay allowed. A
good example of this
uncertainty appears in a letter written
in the next year. The
author has a weird though charming idea
of spelling and gram-
mar, but no one could question his sound
business sense:
26 May
11, 1813.
27 McArthur to Worthington, October 21,
1814, Worthington MSS.
28 Id. to id., June 9,
1813, Worthington MSS.
29 Ibid.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 137
To GENERAL MCARTHUR
There is a number of people here
desirous of entering the Service in
defence of there countries rites as
Volunteers, but hesitate at presant on
these grounds. first wishing to know
wheather they receive the pay and
Amoliments for 6 Months 3rd Wheather
they receive Mone in part (pre-
vious to there Marchin) for there Horces
if so if you would be so good as
to inform me you will oblige your verry
humble Servant.
FREDERICK FANNING.
N. B. A Letter from you if you please
direct to me (as several have pro-
posed joining provided they are
satisfyed in this respect) will be rec'd with
chearfullness. H.F.F.30
During the summer and fall McArthur
marched and coun-
termarched in an attempt to be of
assistance to William Henry
Harrison. None of this activity was of
any great significance,
however, and to recount it in detail
would be wearisome to the
reader who has reached this point of the
narrative. He was not
with Harrison when Henry A. Proctor was
overcome on the
Thames River on October 5. This was a
great disappointment
since he had wanted to "wipe out
the stain which had been
acquired in Hull's campaign."31
In December McArthur was ordered to
attend the military
trial of Hull to be held at Albany.32
Reaching the capital of New
York late in January, 1814, the
Scotchman developed an intense
dislike for the town because of the high
prices prevailing there.
"This is a poor place," he
wrote his wife. "I was asked $126 by
a merchant Taylor for a Coat, Vest and
Pantaloons [and] rather
than submit to the imposition I have
concluded to wear my old
clothes until I can return to New York
or Philadelphia. . . ."33
Early in February Cass and he were
examined. Both testified
against Hull. The grandson of the
latter, writing in defense
of the general some years later,
asserted that the testimony of
McArthur was strongly marked by an
"evident predetermination
to say as many things as he can to
injure General Hull, and as
few as possible in his favor."34
Although his testimony was
30 Letter dated September, 1814,
McArthur MSS. (in Library of Congress),
XVII, 3184.
31 McArthur to Nancy McArthur, September
12, 1813, McArthur MSS., III,
575-6.
32 Supporter, December 8, 1813.
33 McArthur to Nancy McArthur, January 26, 1814, McArthur MSS., IV, 721.
This parsimonious streak drew the
following comment from McDonald: "Notwith-
standing that he was liberal in feeding
the hungry, and clothing the naked, he was
admitted to be a close and severe
dealer." See his Biographical Sketches, 182.
34 James F. Clarke, History of the Campaign of 1812 and Surrender of
the Post of
Detroit (New York, 1848), 403-4.
138 OHIO
ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
damning, McArthur really felt some
sympathy for his former
commanding officer, now in the nadir of
his disgrace. "The poor
old man with all his falts and
infirmities," he wrote, "is to be
pitied, his high tone is much altered,
he appears to have no hope
of justifying his conduct, and is
deserted by all."35 The wit-
nesses were all dismissed in early March
and McArthur set out
by horseback for Philadelphia. Stopping
off at Newark, he pur-
chased a magnificent carriage costing
$700. He reported to his
wife that it was a "Hansome"
affair but that he had no idea how
he would get it all the way to
Chillicothe.36
He had scarcely arrived in Philadelphia
when he began to
worry about being appointed to attend
the trial of that mercurial
officer General James Wilkinson. He
feared that such a misfor-
tune would keep him in the East several
months longer.37 His
suspicions were soon confirmed. He was
ordered to repair to the
south end of Lake George by April 15 to
sit as a member of a
court of inquiry. He arrived at Ft.
Edward before anyone else,
and was thoroughly miserable. The lake
was covered with ice,
the air was disagreeably cold, and the
entire aspect of the country
was mountainous, rocky and barren.38 Shortly afterward the
court was disbanded because of a
technical objection made by
Wilkinson.39 McArthur was
back in Chillicothe by the middle of
May.
Before turning to his activities as
commander of the North-
western Army it will be convenient to
summarize McArthur's ex-
ertions in the first two years of the
war. It must be concluded
that they were marked by considerable
zeal and vigor but that the
results were scarcely commensurate with
the energy displayed.
His campaign with Hull, through no fault
of his own, had been
catastrophic. The better part of the
ensuing year had been spent
in getting exchanged. Although he served
in Harrison's expedi-
tion to Canada, he did not play a vital
part in it because he was
left behind to command the base at
Detroit. His services at the
trial of Hull and his attendance at the
abortive inquiry into the
35 McArthur to Worthington,
February 4, 1814, Worthington MSS.
36 Id. to Nancy McArthur, March 19, 1814, McArthur MSS., IV,
1031.
37 Id.
to Worthington, March 19, 1814, Worthington MSS.
38 Id. to Nancy McArthur, April 15, 1814, McArthur MSS., VII,
1274.
39 Supporter, May 21, 1814. James Wilkinson was finally acquitted
by another
court.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 139
conduct of Wilkinson certainly
contributed nothing that was par-
ticularly beneficial to his country's
cause. His personal losses
had been heavy. In addition to the
fatigue of the campaigns and
the loss of income because of continual
absence from home, his
family suffered an additional misfortune
when their beautiful
dwelling, (Fruit Hill,) was
consumed by fire in the spring of 1814.
Only the general's papers and a part of
the furniture were
saved.40 McArthur had worked
willingly and energetically dur-
ing these two years but the smiles of
the martial gods were not
for him.
The winter and spring of 1814 witnessed
great dissatisfaction
with Harrison in the West. In January
the commander of the
Northwestern Army set up his
headquarters in Cincinnati and
did not budge from that spot until his
resignation four months
later. With the exception of scattered
attacking parties sent out
from Detroit, no movement was executed.
"The proud boasts of
the first months of the war and
confident huzzas for Canada were
no longer heard," reported one
commentator. "Indeed, Harrison
showed little inclination to raise an
army for this purpose; and
for the commander of an important
district he displayed rather
languid interest in the prosecution of
the war."41 In defense of
the general it may be said that there
was a decided lessening of the
war fever in the West, that he was
having the usual trouble with
army contractors, and that a strained
relationship with John
Armstrong (the secretary of war) made
planning almost impos-
sible. McArthur, however, blamed the
inactivity on Harrison and
before long was carrying on a
first-class cabal with Worthington
(then a representative in Congress),
working toward the sub-
stitution of the "hero of
Chillicothe" for the "hero of Tippe-
canoe."
McArthur's loyalty to Harrison in 1813
was unquestionably
sincere, but his attitude was now
changed. Worthington, too,
had altered his position and proceeded
to devote his considerable
influence in McArthur's behalf. In
January, 1814, McArthur
wrote Worthington "in
confidence" that Harrison was "better
40 Ibid., April 23, 1814.
41 Dorothy Burne Goebel, William
Henry Harrison; A Political Biography
(Indianapolis, 1926), 188.
140
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
calculated to swallow draughts of
flatters, than to conduct a vigor-
ous campaign," and that
"unless some change for the better does
shortly take place I shall leave the
service as I think the sooner
the less disgrace."42 In February he
grew bolder. He sent a
letter to the secretary of war in which
he made no attempt to hold
his light under a bushel. "I must
confess," he averred, "that I
calculate on as little credit in serving
under Genl. H--n as any
other, his want of arrangements is
intolerable. I flatter myself
that if the Ohio Militia are called out
they would as soon serve
with, or under me, as any other who may
be placed on our fron-
tier."43 Worthington
wrote back from Washington that Arm-
strong was impressed with the wisdom of
McArthur's views and
that the chances for the dismissal of
Harrison were good. He
begged too, that these matters be kept
secret.44
The bureaucratic wheels move so slowly,
however, that Mc-
Arthur grew disheartened and determined
to resign. In April he
had written his wife that he was
"heartily tired of a war which
promises neither credit, nor advantage,
from the manner in which
it has been conducted."45 On June
4, he sent in his resignation,
claiming that he would have liked to
remain in the army until
there was some "honorable
adjustment" of our national difficulties
but that the state of his and Mrs.
McArthur's health, along with
the recent conflagration at Fruit Hill
induced him to quit the
service.46 As it turned out, he had acted hastily. Unknown to
McArthur, Harrison had resigned on May II, although he re-
mained in command until June I, and
the Chillicothe patriot had
been appointed to the vacancy as
commander of the Northwest
Army.47 The secretary of war
refused to accept the resignation
which arrived in Washington after he had
received his promotion
and McArthur, ostensibly with
reluctance, but actually with
pleasure accepted the position which he
had coveted.
He entered upon the duties of his new
position with his
accustomed vigor. Two major obstacles,
however, deterred him
42 January 14, 1814, Worthington
MSS.
43 Undated
letter from Albany, Worthington MSS.
44 McArthur MSS., V, 810.
45 Ibid., VII, 1274.
46 McArthur to John Armstrong, June 4, 1814, McArthur
MSS., IX, 1715.
47 Armstrong to McArthur, May 28, 1814, McArthur
MSS., IX, 1607.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 141
from accomplishing decisive results as a
reward for his labor.
The first was the indecision of the War
Department as to its
plans; as a consequence McArthur found
himself on many a wild-
goose chase. The second was the
frightful system of provisioning
the army which rendered movement
impossible at times. Mc-
Arthur had once coveted his position of
command but he was to
repent more than once of his desire.
These difficulties, reinforced
with wounded vanity, played prominent
roles in his too frequent
resignations.
A few examples will suffice to
illustrate the bungling manage-
ment of the war from Washington. During
the summer months
McArthur marched five hundred men to
Buffalo, but he arrived
several days after the battle of Lundy's
Lane.48 Meanwhile he
was engaged in a furious altercation
with Armstrong over an
expedition sent under Colonel George
Croghan to Mackinaw.
Armstrong had sent the order directly to
Croghan without con-
sulting McArthur, the commander of the
district. The latter hit
the ceiling. "Unless my
instructions can be more explicit," he
wrote the secretary of war, and "I
be acquainted with every mili-
tary movement in the district I must beg
to be excused from act-
ing any longer in service."49 Armstrong
slipped out of the
difficulty by saying that the Government
had no intention to treat
the general with disrespect, and that
the whole affair had been
caused by an error on the part of a
clerk!50 After this dispute
had been settled a projected mounted
expedition failed (in spite
of untiring efforts on the part of the
commandant) for various
reasons: the Militia of Ohio and
Kentucky were reluctant to
serve because of uncertainty about being
paid; the Indian allies
were not enthusiastic about the
possibilities of booty from an at-
tack on their brethren (whites were much
better "pickings") ; and
the War Department failed to cooperate
with the fleet on Lake
Erie.
It is apparent that if McArthur had any
military ability he
was unable to use it because his
superiors at Washington could
48 McArthur to Captain Kennedy, General Brown's Headquarters, August 8,
1814, McArthur MSS., XIV, 2573.
49 Id. to Armstrong, Chillicothe, July 6, 1814, McArthur MSS.,
XII, 2198.
50 Armstrong
to McArthur, July 12, 1814, McArthur MSS., XII, 2281.
142
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
not see beyond the ends of their noses.
He was further handi-
capped by the inefficient system of
supplying the army. The sys-
tem in use was that of letting contracts
to diverse individuals for
the necessary supplies. The door was
left wide open for cor-
ruption and chicanery. McArthur wrote to
James Monroe in
October summarizing some of his
difficulties as follows:
No important military operations can be
carried on in this district for
the want of an efficient staff.... There
are only three men in the quarter-
master's department who in my opinion
ought to be continued in the service.
. . Labour and every article which is
purchased for the use of the govern-
ment costs nearly double what it would .
. . were the public debts punctually
paid.... The pay department is equally
defective ... Many of the troops
in this quarter have not been paid for
twelve months. . . . The ordinance
department is also deficient. The arms
out of use, at almost every post
are suffering damage from rust and the
ammunition . . . has generally been
badly contracted.51
While at Albany he wrote to Worthington
of the frightful
conditions existing among the soldiers:
Unfortunately for our army they are not
provided with Clothing to
enable them to appear respectable in
summer much less to shield them from
the inclemency of winter. From the want
of this Clothing of the proper
kind and quantity...many hundreds of
valuable lives have been lost and are
daily losing for want of Clothes to keep
the Soldiers Clean and warm. The
Clothes issued in many cases scarcely
deserve that name, especially the socks
and shoes, they are generally too small
and of the worst quality, entirely
unfit for wind, or winter. The socks are
course thin and worthless, and the
shoes badly made of the worst of
leather. . . . The Blankets issued to our
troops are so small and worthless, that
they neither cover nor keep them
warm, and consequently many lives are
lost. This is not all, both the Ration
and the means of Cooking it, is very
deficient, there ought to be added to
the ration some Vegetable . . . the want
of it produces Bowell complaints
which carry off many .... The police of
Camps are often neglected, with
impunity, and the helth and even the
lives of many brave fellows distroyed
in this way.52
One of McArthur's men wrote that the
wagons furnished the
army were bad, the horses weak and the
oxen too fat:
The conduct of our Quartermaster is
infamous. There is not a single
waggon furnished me but what was out of
order .... And I may say not
one but what was rotten--And I have had one or more
waggons to brake down
every day, and ox teams to give out.53
During November conditions became so bad
that the troops
at Detroit received no flour. McArthur
suggested the immediate
appointment of a special commissary as
the only solution. He
51 McArthur to James Monroe, October 16,
1814, McArthur MSS., XVIII, 3417.
52 Id. to Worthington, Albany, February 13, 1814, Worthington
MSS.
53 John Miller to McArthur, January 30,
1814, McArthur MSS., IV, 740, 741.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY
PHASE 143
wrote Worthington asking for a loan of
$30,000 for the purchase
of flour and pork. In addition to the
lack of provisions the troops
were not being paid, some of them having
as much as twelve to
sixteen months back pay due them.
McArthur suggested that
since the district paymaster was
incompetent that he should be
removed. The suggestion was not
heeded.54
The officers were becoming desperate. On
the last day of
the year Miller wrote to McArthur from
Erie, Pennsylvania, as
follows:
I trust in God, our Government will
correct this department of the
Army. A contractor department in time of
war is wretched--It is the curse
of every Army to which it is
attached.... As long as our Army is fed by
contractors, I have no hesitation in
saying that it is impossible for it to
operate with energy or effect. The
contractor has it in his power to stop
an army in its most important moves and
operations whenever he thinks
proper . . . and wherever I have been, I
have found it to be the case that,
when the Army was ready or about to move
the contractor runs short of
provisions.55
McArthur felt the same way and wrote
Monroe about it:
I trust the Government will adopt some
more efficient mode of supply-
ing our armies in time of war, than
through a contractor. It is putting it in
the power of one man, either through
neglect or design, to stop the most
important movements of an army.56
This state of affairs so disgusted
McArthur that after
threatening to resign several times he
finally did so in February,
1815. Constant practice was developing him into an expert in
framing letters of resignation. The
scorching letter which he
sent to Monroe on this occasion was
concluded as follows:
Permit me to assure you Sir, and through
you the President, that it is
with reluctance, that I retire from the
service of my country at a time when
it would seem to require the united
exertion of its friends.57
Needless to add, this resignation like
its predecessors, was not
accepted. The secretary of war assured
him that there was no
reason to feel personally insulted
because
the embarassments of which you complain
have not been partial or confined
to your District. They have been
universal, and are a consequence of the
embarassments which have attended the
finances of the Government. But
measures are now in train to relieve
all, and directions have been given par-
54 McArthur to Monroe, December 14,
1814, and January 14, 1815, McArthur
MSS., XX, 3904; XXII, 4171.
55 Miller to McArthur, December 81,
1814, McArthur MSS., XXI, 8998-4000.
56 Chillicothe, January 11, 1815,
McArthur MSS., XXI, 4144. This reminds one
of the role of the Du Ponts in the last war. The
Government went begging for
ammunition in 1917-18 until the
munitions family got its price.
57 Chillicothe, February 5, 1815,
McArthur MSS., XXIII, 4408.
144
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ticularly relative to your district, the
Quartermaster of which was a few
days since supplied with 40,000
dollars.58
McArthur thought the contents of the
letter "truly flattering"
and as usual, continued in the service.
Handicapped as he was by a moribund War
Department and
an inadequate system of supply, McArthur
made a successful
foray into Upper Canada in the fall of
1814 for which he de-
serves great credit. By this time Jacob
Brown was in a critical
position at Ft. Erie. It was McArthur's
intention to march
toward Burlington Heights at the head of
Lake Ontario, destroy-
ing the valuable mills on the Grand
River as he went and falling
back to the Niagara River to join Brown.
He left Detroit on
October 23 with 650 mounted volunteers
and seventy Indians.
To mask the real destination of the
expedition the troops started
northward as if they intended to strike
an Indian village on the
Saginaw River, 120 miles
above Detroit. After progressing north
for some distance the men were
transported across the St. Clair
River and moved rapidly into Upper
Canada. On November 4 they
arrived at Oxford, 140 miles east of
Detroit, before any of its
inhabitants knew that a hostile
contingent was approaching. The
next day Burford was reached, a local
militia force retreating to
Malcolm's Mills (10 miles distant) as
the Americans entered the
town.59
It was McArthur's intention to disregard
the local militia,
cross the river, and proceed to
Burlington. A freshet made the
river impassable, however, and it was
also learned that Brown had
recrossed the Niagara to the American
side, releasing a large
British force for action somewhere else.
Consequently original
intentions were cast aside and it was
decided to attack the militia
at Malcolm's Mills. This was done with
dispatch and efficiency.
The Americans captured 132 prisoners,
lost only one man killed,
and six wounded, and destroyed five
valuable mills.60
By this time a large force of British
regulars was approach-
ing to meet the invaders. Confronted
with this menace, as well
as the uncertainty with regard to
Brown's ability to support him,
58 January 17, 1815, McArthur MSS.,
XXII, 4193.
59 McAfee, History of the Late War, 482ff.;
Supporter, December 31, 1814.
60 Ibid.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 145
McArthur abandoned the idea of a
junction at Ft. Erie and
started back to the Thames. By the
middle of the month he was
again in Sandwich. The expedition had
covered more than 400
miles, 180 of which were in a
wilderness. In addition to the
mills 200 stand of arms were destroyed
and the entire expedi-
tion had lived off the country for the
greater part of the time. Mc-
Arthur claimed that no more private
property was destroyed or
consumed than was necessary for the
support of the troops, and
that most of it was paid for. He
admitted there were some par-
tial abuses by the Indians under his
command "whose customs in
war impel them to plunder after
victory."61
To the enemy the expedition did not
merit such a roseate and
heroic description. One of them, writing
a few years later,
denied that it should even be classified
as a military exploit but
thought it more closely resembled an
excursion of "banditti." The
prisoners taken by McArthur were
reported to have been "peace-
able inhabitants, both old and young,
and drunken Indians and
their squaws." When a British force
put in its appearance this
Canadian avers that McArthur and his
band dispersed with such
rapidity that the British regulars could
not get within eight miles
of them.62 Hannay, writing at
the end of the century, described
the affair as the last effort of
"American ruffianism" and insists
that it was undertaken "simply for
the sake of plunder and the
cheap glory it might yield." The
raid itself was reported to have
been given over to "indiscriminate
plunder," the houses of the
settlers being reduced to ashes and the
wretched inhabitants left
to perish of cold and hunger. Hannay
concluded by saying that
the net result was the infliction of
great loss on private individuals
with nothing accomplished for the United
States "except to make
its name despised in Western
Canada."63
A third British historian probably comes
nearer to the truth.
He indulges in hyperbole when he says
that the raid was "con-
ceived in the spirit in which the great
American Civil War, Sheri-
dan and his horsemen laid waste the
She1nandoah valley." He is
61 Ibid.; General Orders, Detroit, November 18, 1814, McArthur
MSS., XIX,
3692-3.
62 William
James, A Full and Correct Account of the Military
Occurrences of
the Late War between Great Britain and
the United States, (London,
1818), 241-3.
63 Hannay, War of 1812, 337-8.
146
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
sound, however, in his discussion of the
pillage and plunder. He re-
marks that the raid left "a sore
memory in Canada" and adds
that it is impossible to determine how
far it exceeded the rules
of legitimate warfare because of
the conflicting accounts.64 One
wonders just what constitutes legitimate
warfare.
Had Brown and George Izard been able to
cooperate with
McArthur the expedition might have been
turned into a great
offensive against the enemy. There is no
question that the march
of over 200 miles into enemy
territory with a force of 700 men
required rare courage and unusual
energy--qualities certainly
lacking among most of the other American
army leaders. Mc-
Afee, who should have known, went so far
as to say that the plan
was "not surpassed during the war
in the boldness of its design,
and the address with which it was
conducted."65
During the rest of the war McArthur
marked time. A strong
defense was erected at Malden which made
it one of the strongest
positions on the northwestern frontier.
In February, 1815, he
made suggestions to Monroe regarding a
summer campaign.
Since the British had been burning on
the seacoast and appeared
disposed to continue their depredations
he proposed that a force
be sent into Canada to lay it waste,
thus "interposing between us
and the enemy, a desert which he could
not easily pass."66 One
is reminded again of the reference to
Sheridan! News of the
peace arrived, however, and the
proposals were never executed.
McArthur was not continued in the army
when the peace estab-
lishment was settled by Congress early
in March.67 He did serve
in a semi-military position during the
next few years as he was
involved in making Indian treaties.
Under the circumstances the Chillicothe
general had done as
well as could have been expected. The
handicaps of a bungling
War Department and an inefficient system
of supply would have
discouraged the ablest of generals. Furthermore,
his force never
exceeded a thousand men and his most
important expedition was
64 Sir Charles Prestwood
Lucas, The Canadian War of 1812 (New York, 1906),
195-6.
65 McAfee, History of the Late War, 488.
66 McArthur to Monroe, Chillicothe,
February 6, 1815, McArthur MSS., XXIII,
4409.
67 Adjutant and Inspector-General's
Office, General Orders, May 17, 1815, Mc-
Arthur MSS., XXVI, 5043-4.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR: MILITARY PHASE 147
executed with considerably less than
that number. The War De-
partment always appeared to be far more
interested in the middle
than in the western frontier. His campaign into Canada
was
marked by its intrepidity, but its
accomplishments were meager.
Had the middle army cooperated
sufficiently the stroke might have
been a telling one. One must conclude
that since McArthur never
led a large army in a vital campaign,
the story of what he might
have done remains within the realm of
conjecture.