The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-11-28

t., General Shields. I make this state
ment on the authority Of General
Shields himself. Following his victory
at Winchester. he said, member Of
the cabinet arrived in his camp and on
the part Of the President proposed to
him the command of the Army of the
Potomac. The reasons suggested for
this tender appeared to be, as I recall
them, the necessity for a change Of
leaders owing to previous i'll success;
Shields established capacity for high
command as shown by his career In
Mexico. his recent campaign and the
enthusiasm and confidence his appoint
ment would arouse in the ranks of the
army, but the controlling motive ap-
peared to be a political consideration
that Shields, because Of his foreign
birth, could not in the event Of his sue
cess become political factor or rival
in the field Of national politics-that is
t" say, in no event would it be possi-
BILE to make of Shields a candidate Tor
the presidency.
The suggestion appears to have been
given to Shields in this same inter-
view that the President was then con-
templattng and preparing to issue the
emancipation proclamation. This lat
ter determined Shields decision. He
rnioctaI ho =,
This, in substance, is my recollection
of the statement made by the general
during one OF his visits to Chicago la;e
in the 70s. Others besides the writer
heard General Shields make this state
ment at the time.
The President sent Shields name to
the senate for confirmation as major
general, and as the appointment was
not ratified by that body, Shields re-
signed and withdrew from the army
Likely this may have been partly in
protest against the threatened enan:i..
patton policy. At all events Shields
returned to California. From there he
shortly afterward removed to Missouri,
settling on a farm near Carrollton in
that state, and devoting himself to the
laborS and duties Of farm life. In
1877 he, was elected member Of the gen.
eral assembly of Missouri, and the
same year appointed adjutant general
Of the state militia. The death Of Sem
ator Bogg the next year caused a va
ri In the United States senate, and
General Shields was appointed. thus
giving him the distinction Of having
served in the United States senate
from three different states.
The term was short, and with it's
termination may be said ended Gem
eral Shields public service as leg;s-
lator and statesman. He nevertheless
continued an interesting figure before
the public, appearing on many occa-
sions in different cities as lecture,
and for addresses on various subjects
OF general interest. 1t was while en-
gagged in a lecturing tour that the erd
came. He died suddenly while visit
Ing a convent in Ottumwa, Iowa, June
1. 1879.
Few men in public life have Allied so
many and so various offices and era-
pigments. He has been schoolteack-
Ell. lawyer. legislator, jurist, stare au-
ditor. land commissioner, general in
the Mexican and in the civil wars
United States senator, adjutant gem
eral, farmer and lecturer. He might
have been governor Of Oregon, COM
nander of the papal army and of the
army Of the Potomac (possibly), and
he could have led the Fenians in their
foolish raid on Canada had not his
good common sense rejected the offer
and condemned the project.
General Shields was warm and earn
est In his Irish sympathies, and he
showed this on many public occasions
He was a devoted, practical Catholic. 1t
il to his honor that he lived and died
a poor man. He never prof1ted or lid
he seek to profit by the multiplied OPP
portunities for personal gain which
must have been open to him during
his public career In his old age, after
ill his notable services, he was receiv-
ing pension Of only $34 per month,
and when he died all that he left his
family was the farm. the swords voted
to him by Illinois and South Carolina
and an untarnished name.
Illinois has since honored the mem-
DRY Of her one-ume senator and GER
eral by causing his statue to be placed
in the National capitol. This was due
largely to the active efforts and en-
thusiasm Of well-known Chicago at
torney, William H. Condor, since dead.
who also published the life Of General
James Shields.