Matthew Arbuckle (1778–1851) was a career soldier in the US Army closely identified with the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

for the last thirty years of his life.

Biography

Early life

He was born 28 December 1778 in

Greenbrier County Greenbrier County () is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia. History P ...

, Virginia (now West Virginia), the fourth of six sons of Capt.

Matthew Arbuckle Sr. Captain Mathew Arbuckle Sr., (July 15, 1740 – July 27, 1781) was a pioneering hunter and trapper of western Virginia (now West Virginia) and the Ohio territory. He is considered likely to have been the first white person to travel through Virgi ...

and Frances (Hunter) Arbuckle. The father was a veteran of the

Battle of Point Pleasant The Battle of Point Pleasant, also known as the Battle of Kanawha, was the only major action of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, between the Virginia militia and Shawnee and Mingo warriors. Along the Ohio River near modern-day P ...

during

Lord Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. H ...

and later distinguished himself in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

.Brad Agnew, "Arbuckle, Matthew (1778 - 1851)"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed 15 January 2015.

Military career

Little is known of his early life, but on 3 March 1799 he was commissioned

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

3rd Infantry Regiment The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is ' ...

, and advanced to first

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

within eight months. In 1802, the Congress disbanded the 3rd Infantry and transferred him to the 2nd Infantry Regiment, where he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1806. He returned to the 3rd Infantry as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1812. His regiment was assigned to various posts in the American South during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. In 1814, he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and became the regiment's second-ranking officer. The 3rd Infantry was under General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

during and after the war. A family story exists that Arbuckle served on Jackson's staff during the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

in 1815, but no evidence has been found for this claim. Arbuckle led a successful expedition against the "Fowltown Indians" of Southern Georgia in 1817, during the opening phase of the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

. In 1820, the President promoted Arbuckle to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and gave him command of the 7th Infantry Regiment, four of whose companies he led in 1821 to reinforce Fort Smith on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

. In 1824, he moved the regiment farther west, establishing Cantonments (later Forts)

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and later

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltim ...

, the first military posts in the

(now

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

). As commander at Fort Gibson, he was responsible for constructing roads and maintaining peaceful relations between the Indian tribes indigenous to the region and those then forced to migrate to

. After ten years of this service, he was breveted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. In the spring of 1834, on the eve of the

First Dragoon Expedition The First Dragoon Expedition of 1834 (also known as the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition) was an exploratory mission of the United States Army into the southwestern Great Plains of the United States. It was the first official contact between the Amer ...

(also called the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition), Brigadier General Arbuckle was replaced as regional commander by General

Henry Leavenworth Henry Leavenworth (December 10, 1783 – July 21, 1834) was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians. He established Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and named after him is the city of L ...

and returned to Virginia. General Leavenworth, however, unexpectedly died in July 1834, and the Department of War recalled Brigadier General Arbuckle to command Fort Gibson. During the Texas Revolution of 1835–1836, the majority of his troops were reassigned to General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

's "

Army of Observation An army of observation is a military body whose purpose is to monitor a given area or enemy body in preparation for possible hostilities. Some of the more notable armies of observation include: *Third Reserve Army of Observation, a Russian army tas ...

" at

Fort Jessup Fort Jesup, also known as Fort Jesup State Historic Site or Fort Jesup or Fort Jesup State Monument, was built in 1822, west of Natchitoches, Louisiana, to protect the United States border with New Spain and to return order to the Neutral Strip ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, but Arbuckle managed to maintain order even as the pace of

Indian removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...

accelerated. By the end of the decade, the relocation of the southeastern Indian tribes to Oklahoma was largely complete. Though civil war threatened to break out among some of the tribes, in 1841, when he left Fort Gibson for the second time, Arbuckle reported, "I have maintained peace on this frontier." He was transferred to

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, Louisiana, where he headed the military district but commanded no troops directly. He had developed a considerable professional rivalry with Zachary Taylor, which may explain why he played no significant role in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. In 1848, he was posted to Fort Smith as commander of the newly created Seventh Military District. In 1849, his troops began to provide security for Americans active in the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

on the southwestern route to California, which he established south of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

on 11 June 1851 during an epidemic. Just before his death, several units of troops under his command had built an outpost on Wildhorse Creek in present-day Garvin County, Oklahoma, and the new post was named Fort Arbuckle in his honor. The name soon transferred in common usage to the nearby hills, which still are known as the

Arbuckle Mountains The Arbuckle Mountains are an ancient mountain range in south-central Oklahoma in the United States. They lie in Murray, Carter, Pontotoc, and Johnston counties.

. Arbuckle Island on the Arkansas River, which he once owned, is also named for him.

Dates of rank

* 2nd Lieutenant, 3rd Infantry: 3 March 1799 * 1st Lieutenant, 3rd Infantry: 24 October 1799 * Transferred to 2nd Infantry: 1 April 1802 * Captain, 2nd Infantry: 20 June 1806 * Major, 3rd Infantry: 15 August 1812 * Lieutenant Colonel, 3rd Infantry: 9 March 1814 * Unassigned: 17 May 1815 * Lieutenant Colonel, 7th Infantry: 10 April 1817 * Colonel, 7th Infantry: 16 March 1820 * Brevet Brigadier General: 16 March 1830 * Died in service: 11 June 1851''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1798–1903''. Francis B. Heitman. Vol. 1. p. 168.

References

External links