The Portland daily press., 1882-02-28

Canada. Its remains still exist make to it
an annual visit. carry my children 10 II 10
teach them the hardships endured by the gen
erations which have gone before them. love
| TO dwell on the tender recollections, the kin
dred ties, the early affections, and the toucn-
| ing narratives and incidents which minsle
| with all [ know of this primitive family
| abode"
With the reuuiste change OF scene the same
words would apty portray the early days OF
| Garfield The poverty OF the frontier, whefe
| all are engaged in common struggie anu
| where a common sympathy and hearty cooper
| alton tighten the burdens OF each, is very
| different poverty different in kind, different
| iniipfuence and effect from that conscious and
| humilating indigence which is every day
| forced to contrast itself with neighborlng
wealth on which it feels sense OF grinding ee-
| pendence. The poverty OF the trontler Is IN
! deed no poverty 1t is but the beginning Oh
| wealth and has the boundless possibilities OF
the future always opening before IL: NO nan
| ever grew up in the agricultural regions Oh tne
| West where house-raising, or even corn-
| husking. is matter of common interest and
| helpfulness, with any other feellng tlah @ Ilise
| of broad-minded, erousindependence. Ihls
| honorable independence marked the youth Vi
| Garfield as it marks the youth OF mllllons OF
The hest blood and brain now training for the
| future citizenship and future government OF
| the republic Garfield was born nelr 10 iano,
| to the title of freeholder which has been the
patent and passport OF sen1respecs VIII M uar .ne
/
| sa landed on the shores of England. HIS ad-
| venture on the canal-an alternative between
| that and the deck of a Lake Erie schooner
was farmer boys device for earning money,
| lust as the New England lad begins possibly
great career by sailing before the mast on
| coasting vessel or on a merchantmen bound to
| the farther India or to the China Seas.
| No manly man feels anything OF shame In
looking back to early struggles with adverse
| circumstances, and no man feels a worthler
| pride than when he has conquered the obsta,
| cles to his progress. But no one OF noble mould
desires to be looked upon as having occupied
| menial position, as having been repressed Dy
| feeling OF inferiority, or as having suffered the
| evils of poverty until relief was found at the
| hand of charity General Garfeld's youth pre-
sented no hardships which family love. and
family energy did not overcome, subjected MIN
to no privations which he did not cheerluily
| accept, and left no memories save those which
were recalled with delight, and transmitted
| with profit and with pride.
Garfield's early opportunities for securing an
| education were extremely limited, and yet
were sufficient to develop in him an intense de-
| sire to learn. He could read at three years OF
| age. and each winter he had the advantage of
| the district school. He read all the books to
| be found within the circle of his acquaintance
| some of them he got by heart. While yet In
| childhood he was constant student OF the b.
| ble and became familiar with its literature
| The dignity and earnestness of his speech in
his maturer life gave evidence OF this early
|
| to teach school, and thenceforward his amb-
| tion was to obtain college education. To this
| end he bent all his efforts, working in the har-
vest field, at the carpenters bench, and, in the
Winter season, teaching the common schools
| of the neighborhood. While thus labOriously
| occupied he found time to prosecute his tudies
and was SO successful that at twenty-five years
| of age he was able to enter the junior class at
| Williams College, then under the presidency OF
the venerable and honored Mark Hopkins,
| %b f,11p Of
eminent pupil to whom he was OF inestimable
| service.
The history of Garfeld's life to this period
| presents no novel features. He had undoubt-
edly shown perseverance, self-reliance self
sacrifice, and ambition-qualities which, be it
said for the homer of our country, are every.
| where to be found among the young men OF
| America But from his graduation at Williams
onward, to the hour OF his traglcal death. Gar
fields career was eminent and exceptional.
Slowly working through his educational period,
| receiving his diploma when twenty-four years
of age, he seemed at one bound to spring into
conspicuous and brilliant success. Within SIX
| wears he was successfully president OF college,
State Senator of Ohio, ma general OF the
| Army of the United States, and Represents
tive-elect to the National Congress. combi-
| nation of honors SO varied, SO elevated, within
| period SO brief and to man SO young is with
| out precedent or parallel in the history OF the
country.
| GarfeId's army life was begun with no other
military knowledge than such as he had hastily
gained from books in tho few months preced-
| ing his march to the field. Stepping from civ
il life to the head of regiment, the first order
he received when ready to cross the Ohio was
to assume command of brigade, and to oper-
ate as an independent force in Eastern Ken
tucky. His immediate duty was to check the
| advance of Humphrey Marshall, who was
marching down the Big Sandy with the inten-
| ton of occupying in connection with other
Confederate forces the entire territory OF Ken
| lucky, and of precipitating the State into Sc
| cession. This was at the close OF the year lo6l
| Seldom if ever, has young college professor
| been thrown into moro embarrassing and dis
couraging position. He knew just enough of
| military science, as he expressed it himself to
| measure the extent of his Ignorance. and with
handful of men he was marching in rough
| Winter weather, into strange country, among
| a hostile population, to confront largely Supe-
| rior force under the command OF dlstln-
| guished graduate OF West Point, VINO mad seen
| active and important service in two preceding
| wars.
The result of the campaign is matter of his
| tory The skill, the endurance, the extraor-
| binary energy shown by Garfield, the courage
| he impaired to his men, raw and untried as
| himself the measures he adopted to increase
| his force and to create in the enemy'S mind ex-
| aggerated estimates of his numbers, bore per-
| feet fruit in the routing OF Marshall, the cap
ture of his camp, the dispersion OF ms force,
| and the emancipation of an important territory
! from the control of the rebellion. Coming at
| the close of long series OF disasters to the
| Union arms, Garfeld's victory had an unusual
| and extraneous Importance, and IN the popular
/ Judgment elevated the young commander to
| the rank of military hero. With less than
| two thousand men in his entire command,
| with mobilized force of only eleven hundred,
| without cannon, he had met an army OF five
| thousand and defeated them-dt1v1ng Mar
| shall's forces successfully from tw strongholds
| of their own selection, fortified with abundant
artillery Maior-General Buell., commanding
| the Department of the Ohio, an experienced
| and able soldier Of the Regular Army, pub
| lished an order of thanks and congratulation
| on the brilliant result of the Big Sandy cam
| paisn, which would have turned the head of
| less cool and sensible man than Garfield. Bu-
| ell declared that his services had called into
| action the highest qualities of a soldier, and
/ President Lincoln supplemented these words
| of praise by the more substantial reward OF
| of a brigadier-generals commission, to bear
| date from the day of his decisive victory over
| Marshall.
The subsequent military career of Garfield
| fully sustained its brilliant beginning. With
| his new commission he was assigned to the
command of brigade in the Army OF the Ohio.
| and took part in the second and decisive days
| fight in the great battle of Shiloh. The re-
| mainder of the year 1862 was not especially
eyentful to Garfield, as it was not to the armies
| with which he was serving. His practical
| sense was called into exercise in completing
| the task, assigned him by General Buell.. of
| reconstructing bridges and re-establishing lines
| of railway communication for the Army. His
| occupation in this useful but not brilliant field
was varied by service on courts martial OF inn
| portance, in which department of duty he won
a valuable reputation, attracting. the. notice
| and securing the approval of the able and emf
nent Jduge-Advocate-Ge General of the Army.
| That of itself was warrant to honorable fame;
| for among the great men who in those trying
| days gave themselves, with entire devotion, to
| the service of their country, one who brought
| to that service the ripest learning, the most
\ feryid eloquence, the most varied attainments,
| who labored with modesty and Stunned ap-
| plause, who in the day of triumph sat reserved
and silent andigrateful-as Francis Deak in the
hour of Hungary's deliverance-w Joseph
! Holt, of Kentucky, who in his honorable retire
| ment enjoys the respect and veneratien Of all
| who love the Union of the States
| Early in 1868 Garfield was assigned to the
| highly important and responsible post OF chief
| of-staff to General Rosecrans then at the head
| of the Army of the Cumberland. Perhaps in a
great military campaign no subordinate officer
| REQUIRES sounder Judgment and quicker knowl-
| edge of men than the chief-of-staf to the COM
manding general. An indiscreet man in such
| a position can SOW more discord, breed more
| jealousy and disseminate more strife than any
| other officer in the entire organization. When
| General Garfield assumed his new duties, he
| found various troubles already well develOped