PRESIDENT GARFIELD DIES 80 DAYS AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Elberon, New Jersey (JFK+50) On September 19, 1881, President James A. Garfield passed away due to the complications from the wounds he suffered in an assassination attempt 80 days earlier.
Mr. Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881 as he walked through the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. The would-be assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, fired two shots from a British Bulldog revolver. The President, accompanied by his two sons and Secretary of State James G. Blaine, was hit once in the shoulder and once in the back.
Guiteau, who had a cab waiting outside, was captured by police officer Patrick Kearney. As he was taken into custody, Guiteau said...
"I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts! Arthur is president now!"
Garfield was taken to the White House where his condition worsened over the rest of the summer. His weight dropped from 200 to 135. The President was transferred to the seashore here at Elberon on September 6, 1881.
First Lady Lucretia Garfield was by the President's side at the end. She said..."Why am I made to suffer this cruel wrong."
An autopsy disclosed that pressure from Garfield's internal wound created an aneurysm which was determined to be the cause of death. Guiteau was found guilty of murder and hanged on June 30, 1882.
President Garfield Is Shot
by A. Berghaus and C. Upham
Frank Leslie's Illustrated
July 16, 1881
President Garfield's Casket
