William Pope McArthur
| William Pope McArthur | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | April 2, 1814 Ste. Genevieve, Missouri |
| Died | December 23, 1850 At sea |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1832 - 1850 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Unit | U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey |
| Commands held | USS Consort US survey schooner Ewing |
| Battles/wars | Second Seminole War |
William Pope McArthur (April 2, 1814 – December 23, 1850) was an American naval officer and hydrologist who was involved in the first surveys of the Pacific Coast for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
McArthur was born in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri to John and Mary Linn McArthur. McArthur's uncle, Dr. Lewis F. Linn was U.S. Senator for Missouri. At Linn's request McArthur was appointed Midshipman in the U.S. Navy on February 11, 1832. In 1837 he attended the Naval School at Norfolk, Virginia.
During the Second Seminole War (1837–1838) he was promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant and placed in command of a small craft. Among the passengers was future American Civil War General Joseph E. Johnston who accompanied the vessel as a civilian topographical engineer.
McArthur was wounded in both legs at Jupiter, Florida. While one musket ball was pulled from one leg, the ball remained in the other leg.
He was sent to the Naval Hospital in Norfolk where he was to court and marry the Mary Stone Young, the daughter of the Superintendent of the Hospital. Among their children is Lewis Linn McArthur, an Oregon Supreme Court Justice.
In 1840 he began a survey of the Gulf Of Mexico aboard the brig Consort.
On October 27, 1848 A.D. Bache, Superintendent U.S. Coast Survey, instructed him to go to San Francisco, California to begin "the survey of the Western Coast of the United States."
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