"ADMIRED BY NATION FOR HER CALM & COURAGE"

LUCRETIA GARFIELD DIES AT 85

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) On March 13, 1918, former First Lady Mrs. James A. (Lucretia) Garfield* passed away at her home in South Pasadena at the age of 85.  The cause of death was given as pneumonia.

Mrs. Garfield won the admiration and respect of the Nation for her "calm and courage" during her husband's long months of agony suffering from an assassination attempt of July 2, 1881.  

Mrs. Garfield attended the inauguration of her husband's successor, Chester A. Arthur, but supported the Progressive Party in 1912.  She moved to South Pasadena in 1901.

*Lucretia Rudolph Garfield (1832-1918) was born in Garrettsville, Ohio & attended Geauga Seminary and Hiram College.  LRG taught French, Algebra & Latin.  She served as 1st Lady March-Sept 1881.

SOURCES 

 "First Ladies Biography:  Lucretia Garfield," National First Ladies Library, www.firstladies.org/ 

"Widow of Martyred President Garfield Dies In California," The Wyoming Tribune, March 13, 1918, www.lexanteinternet.blogspot.com/

Lucretia Garfield

Brady & Handy Photo

Library of Congress

"MY GOD, WHAT IS THIS?"

PRESIDENT GARFIELD HIT TWICE BY ASSASSIN'S BULLETS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On July 2, 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot in the back while walking through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Station here in the Nation's Capital en route to New Jersey for a summer vacation on the seashore.

The President was shot by Charles J. Guiteau twice, once in the shoulder and once in the back.  As he was taken into custody by police officer Patrick Kearney, Guiteau said...

"I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts!  Arthur is president now!"

According to Dr. Howard Markel, the first bullet merely grazed the President's arm but the second passed through the spine lodging in the abdomen.

The President cried out...

"My God, what is this?" 

Mr. Garfield died of complications from his wounds on September 19, 1881 in Elberon, New Jersey.  He was 49 years of age.  Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the new POTUS.

Guiteau was found guilty and executed in June 1882.

SOURCE

"The dirty, painful death of President James A. Garfield," by Dr. Howard Markel, September 16, 2016, www.pbs.org/

 

 

President Garfield is Shot

 by A. Berghaus & C. Upham

Frank Leslie's Illustrated

July 16 1881

 

"WHY AM I MADE TO SUFFER THIS CRUEL WRONG?"

PRESIDENT GARFIELD DIES FROM ANEURYSM

Elberon, New Jersey (JFK+50) At 10:35 p.m. on September 19, 1881, President James A. Garfield passed away here in Elberon.  The President died from complications of a wound he suffered in an assassination attempt in Washington almost 3 months earlier.

Mr. Garfield's wife, Lucretia, was by his side at the end.  She said..."Why am I made to suffer this cruel wrong."  Garfield, who was 49 years old, served as President only four months before the shooting.

According to Robert J. Donovan, the President had "begged his doctors for a chance of scene...in the desperate hope that sea air might help him."  Mr. Garfield was taken by train from Washington on September 6th.  On the 19th, the President awoke with a "piercing pain...caused by the breaking of the aneurysm*." 

*aneurysm:  an excessive localized enlargement of an artery caused by a weakening of the artery wall.

SOURCE

"The Assassins," by Robert J. Donovan, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York, 1955.

President Garfield's Casket

           

WHY AM I MADE TO SUFFER THIS CRUEL WRONG?

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

           

WHY AM I MADE TO SUFFER THIS CRUEL WRONG?

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2437

PRESIDENT GARFIELD DIED 136 YEARS AGO

Elberon, New Jersey (JFK+50) 136 years ago at 10:35 Eastern time this evening, September 19, 1881, James A. Garfield became the second President of the United States to die by assassination.*

Mr. Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881 as he walked through the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station.  Charles J. Guiteau fired two shots from a British Bulldog revolver hitting the President in the shoulder and 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, New Jersey on September 6, 1881.

Lucretia Garfield was by the President's side at the end.  She said...

"Why am I made to suffer this cruel wrong." 

*Four POTUS have died by assassination:  Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley & John F. Kennedy.  JFK is the only one, however, to die on the same day he was shot.

**On the morning of the shooting, 38 year old Guiteau, lodging at the Riggs House, 15th & G Streets in Washington, D.C., wrote..."The President's tragic death was a sad necessity, but it will unite the Republican Party and save the Republic."  At his trial, Guiteau insisted the act was inspired by God who "left all the details of the assassination to him."  Guiteau had written on June 20, 1881...

"The President's nomination was an act of God.
His election was an act of God.
His removal is an act of God."

JFK+50 NOTE 

An autopsy disclosed that pressure from Garfield's internal wound created an aneurysm which was determined to be the cause of death.  Garfield's assassin was found guilty of murder and hanged on June 30, 1882.

SOURCE

"The Assassins," by Robert J. Donovan, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1952.

President Garfield Is Shot

by A. Berghaus and C. Upham

Frank Leslie's Illustrated

July 16, 1881

           

DEATH OF JAMES A. GARFIELD

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2074

SECOND PRESIDENT TO DIE BY THE HAND OF AN ASSASSIN

Elberon, New Jersey (JFK+50) Abraham Lincoln, the first president of the United States to be shot by a would-be assassin, died the following day, April 15, 1865.  One century and thirty-five years ago today, 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 reportedly 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, New Jersey 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.  Garfield's assassin, Charles J. 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

           

MR. GARFIELD'S BEEN SHOT DOWN LOW

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1998

PRESIDENT GARFIELD SHOT 135 YEARS AGO

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) 135 years ago this morning, July 2, 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot as he walked through the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station here in the nation's capital.

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 reportedly 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.  On September 6, 1881, the President was taken to the seashore at Elberon, New Jersey where he died on September 19.  He was 49 years old.

Chester A. Arthur became President. The assassin, Guiteau, was found guilty and hanged in June 1882.

If the Stalwarts hoped that one of their own as president would oppose civil service reform, they were to be bitterly disappointed.  President Arthur signed into law the Civil Service reform bill.

*Garfield had political ties to the conservative wing of the Republican Party.  One of the motives for the assassination was that Garfield had refused to give Guiteau a government position.

President Garfield Is Shot

by A. Berghaus and C. Upham

Frank Leslie's Illustrated

July 16, 1881