The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-26

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had been sent on. l remember being an
noyed and incensed when 1 got the news,
but on reflection, | concluded to say
nothing about it. 1t did not strike
me a matter of much conse-
quence at best, and knowing Garfield's
vanity and Unsuitable itch for notorlety L for
gave the offense, and again the letter passed
from my mind. / never heard of it for years.
when 10 and behold, it transpired that the
document was being paraded up and down as
evidence that Garfield had planned the cam
paign after the fall of Tullahoma. This is the
story OF that letter."
Did you suspect Garfield of being disoyal
to you during the time he was with you?"
THAT is an awkward question. l did not
believe then, nor do l believe now. that Gar
field was my enemy. think he had liking
for me, after fashion, to the day of his
death. The trouble with Garfield was his
boundless ambition, his lack of steadfast
fealty to his friends, his insincerity, and his
stiffness. | can see now what was the mat
ter with him when he was my chief of staff
He thought he might himself become COM
mander of the Army of the Cumberland
This ambition led HIM to do things which
otherwise appear to have no other motive
than desire to injure me maliciously. He
saw thai the Secretary OF War was bent on
my dest ruction. That fact was patent to
many. | was warned of it by my best friends
What could be more natural for a man CT
Gartield's temperament than to imagine he
could succeed to the command of that de-
partment by playing mis- cards right.
Garfield was in Washington when Stan
ton was flooding the country with lies about
me to counteract the feeling against him,
growing out of his order relieving me of the
command of the Army of the Cumberland
and he never said word in refutation of the
dastardly caumnies. His silence surprised
me and disguised many of my friends. He
knew the stories were lies, and he should
have said so. 1t was about this time that
Stanton loaded him up with maj generals
commission, which he accepted, although he
had announced his firm determination to en-
ter political life. In his eulogy of Garfield
Mr. Blaine said that the hero of his
sketch did not make up his mind
fully to go out of the army until
the night before the Congress of which
he had been elected a member, met. | have
no doubt that this is the exact truth. 1t
only shows the mans weakness. 1t was only
when he saw that his military ambition was
not likely to be further gratified that he
finally let CO. 1t is only lately that l could
bring myself to believe the stories of Gar
fields treachery to me in 1868. When he
was making a fight for election to the
United States Senate editorial
appeared in the New York Sun
over the initials &C. A. d. (Chares
A. Dana, in which the charge was made that
James a. Garfield had been the cause OF my
removal from the command of the Army of
the Cumberland did not for a moment
believe the charge could be true and, acting
under the conviction that Mr.. Dana must be
Mistaken | telegraphed Garfield to the
effect that, while did not want to involve
him in any controversy pending his canvass
l thought it due To both of us that ne should
nail that lie in history as soon as the canvass
was over. To this | received a very gushy
and very strange reply. He assured me
that he had always entertained the highest
possible regard and affection for me, and
that the charge was false. Then he went on
to say that he had always stood up for me
and defended me when my character had
been assailed in any way adding: Even
when l met Secretary Stanton in Louisville,
after the battle of Chickamauga, l rebuked
him for the harsh words he said about you
in my presence
That was the first knew that there had
ever been such meeting, and thought it
strange that he should have brought it in
in that connection. Further on in the
letter ne said he had written friendly
letters to Mr.. Chase touching the opera
tions of the Army OF the Cumberland
but that he 'defied anybody to make
anything out of them Why he should
take the pains to let me know that he was
prepared to defy anybody to make anything
out of letters that l had never heard of at
that time puzzled me not a little, and the
conclusion l arrived at was that he felt
oftaraII baye had bend in Tho dirt hn:;
ness .94
Not a great while afterward received
letter from friend, who wrote to tell me of
Stager The writer said that General Sta@er
in the course of chat on war matters, had
given the particulars OF what he mad char
%o Lod aus as Ue e H. bd LA
being present at a meeting between Secretary
Stanton and General Garfield, held in the
Ialt mouse IN houlsYllie' not iong alCer the
he had been astonished bevond messn~e o'f 70
boar GarfaId denonrca Ganerol Posocrors j.,
unmeasured terms as a man utterly unfit to
have command of an army. The writer was