The Woman Who Shaped MacArthur

Pinky MacArthur, the renowned general’s mother, taught him the importance of personal sacrifice and gave him the courage to stand by his principles

WRITTEN BY Jeff Minick

Good mothers encourage their children, guide them when they face trials, and when necessary, gently push them to strive for excellence. Even after the kids enter college or join the workforce, Mom is just a phone call away, ready to offer advice or a shoulder to cry on. “Life doesn’t come with a manual,” the old saying goes. “It comes with a mother.”

Which brings us to Mary Pinkney MacArthur.

Mary Pinkney (1852–1935), “Pinky” to her friends, was a Southerner, a daughter of North Carolina and Virginia, who was proud of her older brothers for having fought for the Confederacy. Yet in 1875, Pinky demonstrated the indomitable willpower that would mark her life by marrying Arthur MacArthur, a Union war hero instrumental in the defeat of Confederate forces at the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Though her family opposed her wedding to a Yankee—two of her brothers refused to attend the ceremony—Pinky remained a devoted and loving wife until Arthur’s death in 1912.