The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-08-17
TRAITOR HISCHIEF
Thus Dom Piatt Characterizes
James A. Garfield.
TELLS OF A CONFIDENTIAL LETTER

Which Was the Cause of the Bloody
moralized One Friend and Nearly
Destroyed the Other.
in letter from Makochee to The Plain
dealer. gives some personal recollections
that throw a vivid light on the life of
James A. Garfield, and shows his char
acter in an unfavorable light. In the
course Of his letter Mr.. Piatt says:
II thought for many years that l
knew Garfield. We were, before the
war, in the war and after in the politi-
cal arena intimate as brothers. SYM
pathized with aud sorrowed over his
struggle for life after being shot down
by a maniac, and cried like child when
the news reached me of his cruel death.
Causes a Bloody Battle.
But sorrow deeper than this was re-
served for me when years after, engaged
npon the life of General George III.
Thomas, came upon Garfield's conf
DENTAL letter to Salmon p. Chase, writ
ten from Rosecran's headquarters at
Murfreesboro. This letter was the
cause of the bloody battle of Chiclsa,
mauga and all the loss we suffered in
the terrible two days fighting. l write
TINS with reluctance now. But these
are facts that must sooner or later pass
to public record. / did not know how
tenderly attached it was to this eminent
man until reading his letter by the lurid
Light of disastrous events it was forced
to take out all vestige of affection from
my heart. was driven to the painful
conclusion that the man to whom had
gwen so many years of disinterested de-
votion was not a living reality, but q
creature of my imagination.
The Alleged Crime.
Garfeld's crime was this: When
Lieutenant Colonel Garusche, General
Rosecrans' chief of staff, was killed at
the battle of Stone river, Garfield,
through Salmon p. Chase, then secre-
tary Of the navy, made application for
the assignment and Garfield was ap-
pointed Rosecrans' chief of staff. Rose
Grams found Garfield positively loyeabIe,
for Garfield labored to secure his chiefs
confidence and yet Garfield, in the midst
OF Rosecrana' trouble with the war de-
partment arising out of his demand for
supplies and reinforcenents, sat down
IN solitude of his tent and wrote con-
Ahohtieh 1Ntt6I W L, SluSe, IN
which he denounced his general as an
imbecile utterly incapable of command
ing such an army as that of the Cum
p berlapd.
A Treaoherous Letter.
The letter in itself was treacherous,
but in its results it was fatal. 1t hit
Rosecrans' ono available friend in the
government. Chase was at first stunned
and then deInoraiized. He admired
Stanton, and anyway felt reluctance
70 interfere in his department, especially
against its head. He dropped the con
test and left Rosecrans to his fate and
without the reinforcements necessary to
protect his fanks when he crossed three
ranges Of almost inaccessible mountains,
q deep, wide river and Unanswered
Bragg out Of the grand gateway of the
south that, when taken as Thoms had
promised, brought the deadly conflict
TO close, Had Rosecrans been given
what he had u reasonable right to de-
mand (the mounted infantry he would
[hsye occupied Chattanooga without tho
loss Of man. All the blood of those
two awful days came from the one
freacherous letter that demoralized one
friend and nearly destroyed the other.