| Marmaduke was born on his father's farm near Arrow Rock in Saline County Missouri on March 14, 1833. His father, Meredith Miles Marmaduke, was the eighth governor of Missouri; serving in 1844. John attended country schools in Saline County then Chapel Hill Academy in Lafayette County Missouri. He attended Yale for two years, then Harvard. After attending Harvard for less than a year, he was appointed to West Point. He graduated West Point in 1857. After graduation, he was assigned to the First United States Mounted Rifleman, then transfered to the Seventh United States Cavalry. He served in the expedition against the Mormons from 1858-1860. He was stationed in New Mexico when the Civil War started. Disagreeing with his pro-Union father, John resigned from the U.S. Army and accepted a commission as a colonel in the Missouri State Militia First Regiment of Rifles. |
