The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-06-19

lay in the direction OF law and poll
tics.
HIS MARRIAGE.
During his professorship Garfield
married Miss Lucretia Rudolph,
daughter of a farmer in the neigh
borhood, whose acquaintance he had
made while at the academy, where
she was also pupil. She was quiet
thoughtful girl, of q singularly
sweet and refined disposition, fond
of study and reading, possessing a
warm heart and mind with the Ca
pacity of steady growth. The mar
riage was love affair on both sides,
and has been thoroughly happy
one. Much of General Garfield's
subsequent success in life may be at
tributed to the never-failing sympa-
thy and intellectual companionship
of his wife and the stimulus of a
loving home circle. The young
couple bought a neat little cottage
fronting on the college campus and
began their welded life poor and in
debt, but with brave hearts.
In 1859 the college president was
elected to the State Senate from the
counties of Portage and summit. He
did not resign his presidency, because
he locked upon few months in the
legislature as an episode not likely
to change the course of his life. But
the war came to alter all his plans.
During the winter of 1861 he was
active in the passage of measures
for arming the State militia, and his
eloquent and energy made him a
conspicuous leader of the Union party.
Early in the summer of 1861 he was
elected colonel of an infantry regi-
ment 1.-THE Forty>second) raised in
Northern Ohio, many of the soldiers
in which had been students at Hiram.
He took the field in Eastern Ken
lucky. was soon put in command Of
a brigade, and, by making one of the
hardest marches over made by re,
cruits. surprised and reunited the
rebel forces under Humphrey Mar
shall. at Piketon.
From Eastern Kentucky General
Garfield was transferred to Louis
vile, and from that place fastened
to join the army of General Buell.,
which he reached with his brigade in
time to participate in the second
days fighting at Pittsburg Landing.
He took part in the seige of Corinth
and in the operations along the Mem
phis and Charleston Railroad. In
January, 1868, he was appointed
Chief of Staff of the Army OF the
Cumberland, and bore a prominent
share in all the campaigns of Mid
die Tennessee in the spring and sum-
mer of that year. His last conspic>
u0us military service was at the bat
tie of Chi1kamauga. For his con-
duct in that battle he was promoted
to major generalship. 1t is said
that he wrote all the orders given to
the army that day, and submitted
them to General Rosecrans for APP
proval, save one. The one he did
not write was the fatal order to Gen
eral Wood, which was so wOrded as
not to correctly convey the meaning
of the commanding general. and
which caused the destruction of the
right wing of the army,
ELECTED Tt CONGRESS.
The congressional district in which
Garfield lived was the one long made
famous by Joshua r. Gidddings.
The old anti-slavery champion grew
careless of the arts of politics towards
the end of his career and came to look
upon nomination and reelection as
matter of course. His oyer-conti
dence was taken advantage of in 1858
by an ambitious lawyer named Hut
chins to carry a convention against
him. The friends Of Giddings never
forgave Hutchins and cast about for a
means of defeating him. The old
man himself was comfortably quar-
tered in his consulate at Montreal,
and did not care to make fight to
get back to Congress. So his supper
tiers made use of the popularity OF
General Garfield. and nominated
him while he was in the field with
out asking his consent. That was in
1862, When he heard of the nomi.
nation Garfield reflected that it would
be fifteen months before the Congress
would meet to which he would be
elect I'd. and ..believeing, as did
everyone else, that the war could not
possibly last year longer, concluded
to accept. have often heard him
express regret that he did not help
fight the war through, and say that
he never would have left the army
to GO to Congress had he foreseen that
the struggle would continue beyond
the year 1868. He continued his
military service up to the time Con-
gress met.
On entering Congress in December
1868, General Garfield was placed
upon the Committee on Military
Affairs with Schenck and Farms.
worth. who were also fresh from the
field. He took an active part in the
debates of the House, and won rec
ognition which few new members
succeed in gaining. He was not
popular among his fellow-member.
during his first term. They thought
him something of a pedant because
he sometimes showed his scholarship
in his speeches, and they were Jealous
of his prominence. His solid argu.
ments AID amiable social qualities
enabled him to overcome this preju.
dice during his second term, and Inc
became on terms of close friendship
with the best men in both houses