The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-03-09


soldier and President Lincoln supplentented
these words Of praise BY the more substantial
I'd bear date from the day Of his deeistye vic
tory over Marshall The subsequent mi nilitary
gsIseI5 u eFslEIie1d Iully snstAllea lIs p,lLae
assigned to the commander a brigade in the
Army OF the Ohio, and took parTt in the second
SlTiloh. The remainder of the yearg 1852 was
net.esretially evertful tc Garfield as it was
notsto tEe armies with Which be- sas serving.
Hispraetical sense was called into exercise i1
RuelIi Of Constructing BRIDGES and II re- ostab-
the arrdy his Occupation in this useful but not
BFllliant field was varied BY service on court
martials OF Importance, in which department
Of dhty he won valuable reputation, at
tracing the notice and securing the approval
OF the able and eminent judge Advocate
General of ihe army.
Early in 1853 GARFIELD was assigned to the
highly important and responsible post of
Chiefof staff to Gen. RosecrsTns, then at tile
head OF the Army OF the Cumberland. Per
haps in great military caFapaign-no subor-
quicker knowledge Of men than the chef of
stan to the commanding general. An indis
Greet nIaTlsin such a position can sow more
discord, breed more jealousy and disseminate
more strife than any other officer in the
tire Organization When Gen. GARFIELD as.
sun1ed his new duties he found various
troubles already well developed and serious
ly affecting the valueeand efficiency of the
impartiality and the tact with which he
sought to allay these dissensions. and to dis
ttonswill always remain one of the most strik
ing proofs of his greatversatility. His militia
Ey duties closed on the memorable field of
ph1ekaulauga, field which, however disas
troits to the Union arms, gave to him the oc
easion of whiting fmpeFishable laIrels Tile
very rare tlf stiction was accorded to- him of a
great promotion for His bravery on d field
that was lost. President Lincoln appointed
him Major General In the army of the United
States for gallant and. nleritoriou5 coduct in
the battle of Chickamauga. The Army of the
Cumberland was reorganized under tile com
mand OF Gen. Thonasy who promptly offered
Garfield one of its DIVISIONS He was extrene-
ly desirOuS to accept the position but was
embarrassed by the TACT that he haae a year
before been elected to Congress, and tue time
when he must take his seat was drawing
lie preferred 20 remain IN tae military service
ana had within his own breast the largest
confidence of success in the wider field which
his new rank opened up to him. Balancing
the arguments on the one side and the other,
anxious to determine what for the best,
desirous above all things to do his patriotic
duty, he was considerable influenced ly the
advice of President Lincoln aud Secretary
Stanton, both of whom assured him that he
would at that time be of especial value in the
House of Representatives. He resigned his
commission of Major General on the 5th day
of December, 1853, aud took his seat in the
House OF Representatives on the 7th. He had
served two years and four months in the ar
my, and had just completed his SD year.
The Thirty eighth Congress is pre-eminent
ly entitled in history TO the designation of
the War Congress: 1t was elected while war
was hagrant, and every member was chosen
upon the issues involved in the continuance
of the struggle. The Thirty seventh Congress
had, indeed, legislated to a large extent on
war measures, but it was chosen before any
one believed that secession of the States
would be actually attempted. The magnitude
of the work which fell uDOn its succe ssor was
unprecedented both in respect to the vast
sums of money raised for the support of the
army and navy and of the new and extraor
binary powers of legislation which it was
forced to exercise. Only twenty -four States
were represented, and 1872 members were up
on its roll. Among these were MANY distin
guished party leaders on both SIDES veterans
in the public service. with established reputa-
tions for ability, and with that skill which
comes only from parliamentary experience.
Into this assembIage of men Garfield entered
without special preparation, and itmight al
most be said, unexpectedly: The question of
taking command of a division of troops un-
der Gen Thomas or taking his seat in Con
gress was kept open till the last moment. so
late, indeed, that the resignation of his mill
tary commission and his appearance in the
House were almost cotemporaneous He
wore the uniform Of a NTaior-(,fneraI- IF tia
United states army on Saturday, and on Mon
day in ciyilfan's dress ne answered To tfe
roll call as a Representative in Congress from
the State of Ohio. Theirs is no
test of mans ability in any department. of
House of Representatives. There is no place
where so little Difference is paid to reputation
outside. No place where so little cOnsidera-
tion is shown for the feelings at the failure of
he gains bv sheer force of Ms own character
and dif he loses and falls back, he must expect
no mercy and will receive no sympathy. 1t is
q field in which the survival of the strongest
is the rule, and where no pretense can de
serve and no glamor mislead. The real man
weighed; his rank is irreversibly decided
with possibly a single exception, Garfield
was the Youngest men1b er In the House when
he entered, andwas bnt seven years from his
college graduation. But he had not been in
his seat sixty days before his ability was rec
ognized and his place conceded He sttsnDeI
to the front with the confidence of one Who
belonged there The House was crowded with
strong men of both parties. Nineteen of
them have since been transferred to the Sen
ate and many of them have served with dis
tinctiOn in the gubernatOriai chairs of their
respective States ana on foreign missions OF
great consequences, but among them all none
grew so rapidly. so firmly, as Garfield.
As said by Trevelyan OF his parliamentary
hero,T Garfield succeeded because all the
the back ground, and because when in the
front he played his part with a prompt in
trepidity and commanding ease that were but
the outward symptoms OF the immense re-
serves of energy on which it was in his DOW
er to draw. Indeed, the apparently reserved
force which Garfield possessed was one of his
great characteristics. He never did 80 well
but thatit seemed he could easily have done
better. He never exDended so much strength
but that he seemed to be holding additional
power at call. This is one of the happiest and
rarest distinctions OF an effective debater,
assembly as the eloquent and elaborate argu-
ment. The great measure of Garhe1d's fame
was filed by his service in the House of Rep
resentatives. His military life, illustrated by
honorable performance and rich in promise,
was, as he himself felt, prematurely termina-
ted and necessarily incomplete. Speculation
as to what he might have done in a field
where the great prizes are so few can not be
profitable. 1t is sufficient to say that as a
soldier he did his duty brayeIy, he did it in
telligently, he won an enyiable name, and he
returned from the service without blot or
blemish against him. As a lawyer, though
admirably equipped for the profession he can
scarcely be said to have entered upon its,
practice The few efforts ne made at the bar
were distinguished by the same high order of
talent which he exhibited on every field
where he was put to the test and if a man
may be accepted rs a competent judge of his
own CAPACITIES and adaptations the law was
f1aaV al WI n hav
devoted himself; but fate ordained otherwise, 4
and his reputation in history will rest largely
upon his service in the House of Representa-
tives. That service was exceptionally long
He was nine times scOhsecutiNely chosen to
than SIX other Observation-Disclosures Of the nor more
than five Thousand who have been elected
from the organization of the Government to 4
this hour. As-1I
As a parliamentary orator, as debaber on
an issue squarely Joined, where the position
had been chosen and the ground laid out Gar
field must be assigned q very high rank. More
perhaps than any man with whom he was
soctated in public life. be gave careful and
systematic study to public questions, and he
came to every discussion in which he took
part with elaborate and complete prepara-
worker. Those who imagine that
talent or genius can supply the
Will find no encouragement in Garfield's life.
In the preliminary work he was apt, rapid
anu stIiIiuI ne posseSseu IN a nign degree the
power OF readily absorbing ideas and facts,
and, like DIR. johnson, had the art Of getting
from a book all that was of
50 quick and cursory that # seemed
like a mere glance at the table of con
tents. He was a pre- -enninentIy fair and can
did man in debate, took no petty advantage,
STOPPED ia no unworthy methods, avoided
personal illusions, rarely appealed to PREM
dice, did not seek to indame passion. lie
had quicker eye for the strong point of his
adversary than for his weak point, and on
his own side he so Inarshalcd his wefghty
to make his hearers forget any
possible lack in the complete strenEEt IA of his
position. He had habit OF stating his oppo
nents side with such amplitude of fairness
and such liberality of concession that his toll
lowers often complained that he was weak
ening his case, but never in his prolonged /
participation in the proceedings of the House
did he give way or fail in the Judgment of
and impartial listeners TO gain the
mastery.