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Civil War Soldiers - Garfield
| Garfield, James A., major-general,
U.S. Army, was born in a one-room log house in Orange township,
Cuyahoga county, Ohio, Nov. 19, 1831. His father's death occurring
when Garfield was only two years old, the boy spent his youth in
alternate periods of study and hard manual labor on the farm.
Obtaining money for his higher education by teaching school, he
attended Geauga seminary at Chester, Ohio, and the Western Reserve
eclectic institute (now Hiram college) at Hiram, Ohio, entered
Williams college, Mass., in 1854, and was graduated with distinguished
honor in 1856. He was also, before entering college, a preacher in the
Disciples church, though never ordained to preach. He was for a time
instructor in ancient languages and literature in the Western Reserve
eclectic institute, was its president from 1857-61 and studied law at
Hiram, although he entered his name as a law student with a firm of
lawyers in Cleveland. He joined the new Republican party and spoke for
Fremont and Dayton in 1856, and was from 1860-62 member of the Ohio
legislature. At the outbreak of the Civil war he gave up the practice
of law, which he had but just begun, and in Aug., 1861, was
commissioned by Gov. Dennison lieutenant-colonel of the 42nd Ohio
volunteers, a regiment which Garfield had enlisted at Hiram from the
alumni of the institution. Col. Garfield brought his regiment to a
state of discipline, was elected its colonel and led it to the front
in December, reporting to Gen. Buell at Louisville, Ky. He was at once
assigned by Gen. Buell to command a brigade of 2,500 men, and was
commissioned to drive Gen. Humphrey Marshall from the state. In this
he had to attack, in a region where a majority of the people were
hostile, a general with a force twice outnumbering his own and
strongly entrenched in a mountainous country. Garfield concentrated
his force, confused Marshall by sudden, rapid moves, and by false
information skilfully prepared for him, so that the Confederate
general abandoned his large store of supplies at Paintville and
allowed himself to be caught in retreat by Garfield, who charged the
full force of the enemy and maintained a hand-to-hand fight with it
for five hours. He was then reinforced by Gens. Granger and Sheldon,
and Marshall was forced to give way, leaving Col. Garfield victor at
Middle creek, Jan. 10, 1862, one of the most important of the minor
battles of the war. In recognition of these services President Lincoln
made him brigadier-general, dating his commission from the battle of
Middle creek. He was assigned to the command of the 20th brigade and
ordered to join Gen. Grant, who was opposing Gen. A. S. Johnston.
Reaching the battle-field of Shiloh on the second day of the fight,
April 7, 1862, he aided in repulsing the enemy and then joined Gen.
Sherman in his attack on the rear guard of the Confederate army. After
rebuilding the bridges on the Memphis & Charleston railroad, and
repairing the fortifications at Hartsville, Tenn., Gen. Garfield was
forced to return home on sick leave, July 30, 1862. He remained at
Hiram until Sept. 25, when he was ordered on court-martial duty at
Washington, where he so displayed his ability that on Nov. 25 he was
assigned to the case of Gen. Fitz-John Porter. Returning to the Army
of the Cumberland in Feb., 1863, he was made chief-of-staff to Gen.
Rosecrans, and so won that general's confidence and respect that when,
on June 24, every one of the seventeen general officers except
Garfield advised against an advance, Rosecrans disregarded their
opinions and ordered the advance. Gen. Garfield wrote out all the
orders for the battle of Chickamauga except the fatal one which lost
the day, and, after the defeat of the right of the army, carried the
news of the defeat, though exposed to constant fire, to Gen. Thomas on
the extreme left, thus enabling that general to save the Army of the
Cumberland. For this action Garfield won promotion to the rank of
major-general of volunteers, Sept. 19, 1863, which rank was conferred
upon him "for gallantry on a field that was lost." He then declined
command of a division urged upon him by Gen. Thomas and, at the urgent
request of President Lincoln, gave up ambitions for a military career
and took his seat in Congress, Dec. 7, 1863, to which he had been
elected in Oct., 1862, serving until the end of the war as a member of
the military committee, and winning respect as an expert, experienced
and careful authority on military affairs. While on the military
committee he opposed the bill that increased bounty paid for raw
recruits, favored the draft and favored liberal bounties to veterans
who re-enlisted. Gen. Garfield's career from this point, although
always illustrious, is not concerned with the history of the Union
army and will be but briefly sketched. He continued to sit in
Congress, term after term, until 1880, being one of the leaders of his
party, for several terms its candidate for speaker when the party was
in the minority, taking particular interest in bills relating to the
currency, and on Jan. 13, 1880, was chosen United States senator from
Ohio. At the Republican national convention, held in Chicago in 1880,
Garfield supported John Sherman of Ohio against Grant, Blaine and
others. Although not himself a candidate at first, he so won the
admiration of the delegates from all sections that, after thirty
ballots had been cast without a choice, he was elected on the
thirty-sixth ballot. He took the stump in his own behalf and was
elected in November, receiving the electoral votes of all but three of
the northern states. President Garfield, early in his administration,
incurred the enmity of Senator Conkling of New York — who had secured
New York to the Republican column — by nominating W. H. Robertson for
collector of the port of New York in direct opposition to the senators
from that state. Both Senators Conkling and Platt resigned their seats
in the senate and failed at re-election, and the senate confirmed the
president's nomination. President Garfield was shot by Charles Jules
Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker, in the station of the Baltimore
& Potomac railroad, July 2, 1881, while on his way to attend the
commencement exercises at Williams college. The president lingered
between life and death at the White House, and subsequently at Elberon,
N. J., and died at Elberon, Sept. 19, 1881. He was buried at
Cleveland, Ohio, and over the spot where his remains lie an imposing
monument was erected by popular subscription at a cost of over
$155,000. Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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