The bulletin., 1881-09-24
NUMBER IL


At Is he was principal of Hiram
.College.
At 30 he was a member Of the Ohio
'Senate-the youngest member OF that
body.
At 81 he was Colonel of the Forty
second Ohio regiment.
At 81 he was placed III command Of a
.brigade, routed the rebels under Hum
Iphrey Marshall, helped General Buell.
lin his fight at Pittsburgh Landing,
played a prominent part III the siege Of
.Corinth and In the important movement
along the Memphis and Charleston
railroad.
At 80 he was appointed chief of staff
Of the Army of the Cumberland, particl-
pated in the campaign in Middle Ten
snassee and in the notable battle Of
sChickamauga, and was promoted 70 the
rank of Major General.
At 80 he was in Congress, the success
sor of Joshua f. Giddings.
At 4S having been continued III Con-
gress since he was 33, he was elected tc
the United States Senate.
At 40 he was nominated for the Pre-"
dency Of the United States.
At so he was elected President, and
Tulv =. 1881. was shot bv Guiteau
The Unexpected,
Colonel Rockwell is quoted as saying
Ethat General Garfield once remarked that
! the unexpected things in this life were
THE things which were occurring to him.
Many men of strong will and we'll de-
sfned purpose have been impelled or
5compelled to abandon plans matured
] Through years of consideration for 9th
ers sprung upon them at a moments
warning.
When it was proposed in 1859 that
Garfield enter political life as a candidate
for the Legislature of Ohio, he declined,
because he did not want to enter the
House, but the Senate. The way to the
/ Senate was not open, because the Repub-
sIicans of the three counties composing
the district had agreed that the nomina-
Elton should go to a Mr.. Prentiss, vet
/ keran in the service. Garfield considered
stne matter settled and went East to de
sliver the Masters Grafton at Williams
sCollege. During his short absence Mr..
Prentiss died, and, on his return, Gar
sfeld was nominated for State Senator
sand elected.
Il Scarcely had he entered upon his
scareer in the Senate when the war
Sbroke out. He organized several regl-
d Ilclts, 5rt refused 70 accept the Colo
9nelcy Of any, because lie did not thiEh
Ahimself fit for such a post. Finally he
Sagreed to become Lieutenant Colonel OF
1.-THE Forty Second Regiment if Captain
@Hazel, of the regular army, was de-
4tailed to act as Colonel. It was expected
#that this arrangement could be made
Swithout difficulty, but, much to the sur
&prise of the Governor of the State, Gen
Aeral Scott refused TO order the detail.
MThereupon the officers of the regiment
StoOk the matter in hand in such way
Sthat Garfield consented to take com
&mand.
q Scarcely was Garfield in the field when
B SGeneral Buell. gave him command Of a
q Ebrigade, and ordered him to attack Hum
Sphrey Marshall in Eastern Kentucky.
@The man who so distrusted his own mill
8 tary capacity, and who had hoped for
3 time to gather knowledge, found himself
81 pitted at once against shrewd and ag-
9 gressive rebel General. This was so en-
4 tirely unexpected as to startle Garfield
8 into what he afterward described as a
a rash and imprudent mood. He was or
q dered to drive Marshall out of Kentucky,
q and he dashed forward and did it.
u That made the hesitating Colonel a
"a Brigadier General.
b Later, Garfield wanted to go to South
b Carolina with General Hunter, and
q asked the President to send him there.
h His plan was to go with Hunter to the
Ehot-bed of the rebellion, as much to
n study the situation as to do service. He
D openly exulted over his appointment,
q when an unexpected thing changed all
q his plans. In the battle Of Stone River,
q Garesche, General Rosecrans' Chief OF
NStaff, was killed. The appointment of
& Garfield to South Carolina was revoked,
Eand he was selected to take the place OF
q Garesche as Rosecrans' Chief of staff.
e He didn't want the place, but once at
Il work he liked it, and won such dstlnc-
II ton that he was made Major General.
Rosecrans. Buell., and others, compli-
minted him as a strategist and organizer,
and his experience at Chicamauga con
Nvinced him that he had the sort OF cour-
p age that sustains a soldier IN times OF
d difficulty.
Garfeld's military career seemed in q
fair way to be rounded out i'll accordance
with his ambition when the Republicans
Not Joshua r. Giddings' old district
@nominated him for Congress. His frs
Eknowledge of the movement in his favor
was the announcement of his nomlna
3 ton, and, after consultation with his
& military friends, he accepted.
In the fullness of time he became the
Mleader of the House. and at his own re