Destiny of the Republic (44 page)

Chapter 20: Terror, Hope, and Despair

1
“This fighting with disease”: Garfield to Lucretia Garfield, February 23, 1862, quoted in Shaw
, Crete and James
, 126.

2
“They will not be allowed to get large”: “The Doctors’ Reasons for Hope,”
New York Times
, Aug. 30, 1881.

3
“facilitate the escape of pus”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 301.

4
Using a long surgical knife with an ivory handle: Garfield exhibit at National Museum of Health and Medicine.

5
“a profuse discharge”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 53.

6
“without an anæsthetic”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 301.

7
Neither the incisions: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 67–71; Rutkow,
James A. Garfield
, 119–20.

8
“It is thought that some pus”: “Steps Toward Recovery,”
New York Times
, August 13, 1881; D. W. Bliss to [??], August 13, 1881.

9
“Not the minutest symptom”: “The Surgeons’ Confidence,”
New York Times
, August 20, 1881.

10
What did cause Bliss apprehension: The infection contributed to Garfield’s starvation by itself consuming calories.

11
In less than two months: Herr, “Ignorance Is Bliss,” 459.

12
The barrel-chested: Ibid.;
The Death of President James A. Garfield
, National Museum of Health and Medicine.

13
“the limit of what a man can lose”: “The Doctors’ Reasons for Hope,”
New York Times
, August 30, 1881.

14
“at the best meal”:
New York Herald
, August 16, 1881, quoted in Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 100.

15
Most days, Garfield was able: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 89.

16
Although Garfield found it difficult: Ibid.; Comer,
Harry Garfield’s First Forty Years
, 60.

17
The White House cook: Seale,
The President’s House
, 525.

18
Realizing that he urgently needed: “Dr. Bliss Reassured,”
New York Times
, August 17, 1881.

19
For a stretch of eight days: Prichard and Herring, “The Problem of the President’s Bullet,” 628.

20
Then Bliss began altering the mixture: Ibid.; Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 101.

21
The danger was that: Author interview with David Lounsbury, MD; Eltorai, “Fatal Spinal Cord Injury of the 20th President of the United States,” 336.

22
At first, Garfield seemed: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 101.

23
As well as being malnourished: Author interview with David Lounsbury, MD; Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
.

24
While newspapers continued: “The Fight for Life,”
Evening Star
, August 23, 1881.

25
“This dreadful sickness”: Harriet S. Blaine and Beale
, Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine
, 233–34.

26
It seemed that everyone: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 93.

27
“darkness,” she told her family: Harriet S. Blaine and Beale,
Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine
, 225.

28
“Your father [is] much exercised”: Ibid., 236–37.

29
The Constitution was of no help: The government did not tackle the issue of presidential disability until 1967, when it finally ratified the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment had been spurred by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy four years earlier.

30
Finally, Blaine sent a cabinet member: Ackerman,
Dark Horse
, 421.

31
“Disappoint our fears”: Julia Sand to Chester Arthur, August 27, 1881, Chester Arthur Papers.

32
“Dear Mother”: Garfield to his mother, August 11, 1881.

33
“I wonder”: Theodore Clarke Smith,
The Life and Letters of James A. Garfield
, 2:1193.

34
He dreamed of returning: “Longing to Be at Lawnfield,”
New York Times
, August 21, 1881.

35
“I have always felt”: Garfield,
Diary
, June 19, 1881, 4:613.

36
“It would not now be prudent”: Medical Bulletin, August 25, 1881.

37
“It’s all right now”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 68.

38
Lucretia had been so sick: Seale,
The President’s House
, p. 526.

39
“banished despair”:
Evening Star
, August 1881.

40
“one prolonged, hideous nightmare”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield,” 101.

41
“despair,” a reporter noted:
Evening Star
, August 1881.

42
Brown rarely left the White House:
Sunday Herald
, July 5, 1881;
Evening Critic
, July 19, 1881.

43
“During all this terror, hope, despair”:
Evening Critic
, July 15, 1881.

44
“until control of her voice”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield,” 101.

45
“anguished face”: Ibid.

Chapter 21: After All

1
Although he had returned: Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 347.

2
“strong and healthy little fellow”: Gray,
Reluctant Genius
, p. 222.

3
“Little boy born prematurely”: Bell to his father, August 15, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

4
“Nothing will ever comfort me”: Bell to Mabel Bell, December 12, 1885, Bell Family Papers.

5
After his son’s funeral: Tainter, “Home Notes,” 37.

6
Just three days after Edward’s death: Tainter, “Home Notes,” 37. Bell’s attachment for the induction balance was, in Tainter’s words, “an electrical attachment to be made to the ordinary exploring needle so that when the point of the needle touched the bullet it would be indicated upon a telephone placed in the circuit.”

7
Bliss refused to let Tainter: Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 347.

8
“Heartless science”: Bell, “Science and Immortality,”
The Christian Register Symposium
, 96.

9
“stopped the proceedings immediately”: McCabe,
Our Martyred President
, 592.

10
In the city, it was 90 degrees: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 57.

11
“Well,” he said, “is this the last day”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 302.

12
“No, no,” he said: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 80.

13
At two o’clock the next morning: Ibid.

14
“in the hope”: Crook,
Through Five Administrations
, 274.

15
The train, which pulled four cars: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 80.

16
The president’s car, number 33: Ibid.; Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 105.

17
“determine,” Bliss explained: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 302.

18
It was, she would later write, “the saddest”: Edson, “The Sickness and Nursing of President Garfield,” 620.

19
“by no strange hands”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 302.

20
“A last token of amity”: Crook,
Through Five Administrations
, 274.

21
The train ride to Elberon: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 81.

22
“No sound of bell or whistle”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 303.

23
“At every station”: Ibid.

24
“It was indeed”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 82.

25
When the train finally reached Elberon:
United States v. Guiteau
, 124.

26
“I am willing that you should ruin”: Brown,
The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield
, 241.

27
Before the train could reach: Ackerman,
Dark Horse
, 425.

28
“Instantly hundreds of strong arms”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 303.

29
When he was carried into his room: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 84.

30
“This is delightful”: Ibid., 89.

31
“Throughout his long illness”: Rockwell, “From Mentor to Elberon.”

32
When Bliss told him that a fund: The fund had been started by Cyrus W. Field, an American financier who helped found the Atlantic Telegraph Company, the first company to attempt to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic. The fund for Lucretia eventually reached $350,000. She used it not only to live on and to send her children to college, but to help establish Garfield’s library, the first presidential library, in their home in Mentor.

33
“What?”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 301.

34
“Doctor, you plainly show”: Ibid., 303.

35
“from a labor and responsibility”: Medical Bulletin, September 8, 1881, 6:00 p.m.

36
“clearer road to recovery”: Quoted in Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 107.

37
“Despite the announcements”: Quoted in ibid., 98.

38
“may live the day out”: Peskin,
Garfield
, 606.

39
“Do you think my name”: Ibid., 607.

40
Rockwell was again with Garfield: Ibid.

41
“Well, Swaim”; Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 95.

42
“wonderful productions”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 304.

43
Moments later, Lucretia: Ibid.

44
“hear the long, solemn roll”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield,” 101.

45
“the witnesses of the last sad scene”: Bliss, “The Story of President Garfield’s Illness,” 304.

46
“A faint, fluttering pulsation”: Ibid.

47
“All hearts,” Bliss would write, “were stilled”: Ibid.

48
“begged her to retire”: Ibid., 305.

Chapter 22: All the Angels of the Universe

1
“Extra Republican!”: Bell to Mabel Bell, September 19, 1881, Bell Family Papers. Bell began this letter to Mabel earlier in the evening of the 19th. As he was writing, it turned midnight, and soon after he heard the newsboy’s cry, announcing Garfield’s death.

2
“Please hunt in the study”: Ibid.

3
“How terrible it all is”: Ibid.

4
“the final agony”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield,” 101.

5
In the end, the autopsy: “The Result of the Autopsy,”
New York Times
, September 21, 1881.

6
“The missile”: Bliss et al., “Record of the Post-mortem Examination of the Body of President J. A. Garfield,” 4.

7
“this long descending channel”: Ibid.

8
“no evidence that it had been penetrated”: Ibid., 3.

9
Evidence of the proximate cause: Ibid.; Author interview with Dr. David Lounsbury, June 29, 2010.

10
“The initial point of this septic condition”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 97.

11
“irregular form”: Bliss et al., “Record of the Post-mortem Examination of the Body of President J. A. Garfield,” 5.

12
This, they realized: “Official Bulletin of the Autopsy,” 1.

13
“slipped entirely through”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield,” 101.

14
“I daren’t ask him”: Reeves,
Gentleman Boss
, 247.

15
“All the noble aspirations”: Ibid., 244.

16
“the people and the politicians”: Ibid., 245.

17
“And so Garfield is really dead”: Julia Sand to Chester Arthur, September 28, 1881, Chester Arthur Papers.

18
Garfield’s body, which was returned: Ridpath,
The Life and Work of James A. Garfield
, 657.

19
“The whole city was draped in mourning”: Mollie Garfield diary, September 29, 1881, quoted in Feis
, Molly Garfield in the White House
, 101.

20
“in many respects”: “Looking Upon the Dead,”
New York Times
, September 23, 1881.

21
Only one man had no place: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 48.

22
More than a week earlier:
United States v. Guiteau
, 599.

23
“a great big musket-bullet”: After hitting the wall, the bullet was said to have been flattened into a nearly perfect likeness of Guiteau’s profile. An enterprising man, R. A. Whitehand, made molds from the bullet and sold facsimiles, whose authenticity was certified by John Crocker, the warden of the District Jail, and by Guiteau himself.

24
Although he would later: There was an outcry against Mason’s sentence, and a fund was established for his defense.

25
He was tired, he said: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 107.

26
“There is an American judge”: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 50–52.

27
“Mama says he ought”: Quoted in Feis
, Molly Garfield in the White House
, 95.

28
“For this man Guiteau”: “Gen. Sherman’s Timely Counsel,”
New York Times
, September 19, 1881.

29
“All a man would need”: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 98.

30
The legal standard for determining insanity: There is considerable disagreement about the spelling of M’Naghten’s name. Richard Moran, who wrote what is likely the definitive book on the case—
Knowing Right from Wrong
—devotes several pages to a discussion of this controversy. His conclusion is that the correct spelling is “McNaughtan,” and he makes a very compelling argument. However, the most common spelling is M’Naghten.

31
“gradual failure of heart’s action”: Moran,
Knowing Right from Wrong
, 186.

32
“We have seen the trials”: Quoted in ibid., 21.

33
“at the time of the committing”: Ibid., 22–24.

34
In America, it became known: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 118.

35
In 1859, Congressman Daniel Edgar Sickles: Mitchell, “The Man Who Murdered Garfield,” 470.

36
“I plead not guilty to the indictment”: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 116.

37
“Guiteau should have a fair trial”: “Guiteau’s Trial,”
New York Times
, November 14, 1881.

38
“If I didn’t think the unfortunate man was insane”: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 117.

39
“I think he ought to be hung”: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 114.

40
It took three days: Ibid., 116.

41
“for the first time in anyone’s memory”: Taylor, “Assassin on Trial,” 3.

42
The courtroom itself had been renovated: Ibid.

43
The rest were first come, first served: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 121–22.

44
Guiteau had planned to make: Ibid., 122.

45
“General Garfield died from malpractice”: Quoted in ibid., 122–23.

46
“I deny the killing”:
United States v. Guiteau
, 226.

47
“Now, don’t spoil the matter”: Ibid., 1730.

48
“The rich men of New York”: Ibid., 1110.

49
Finally, Scoville himself asked the court: Ibid., 163.

50
“could not have been prevented”: Ibid., 2330–31.

51
“All the links in the chain are there”: Beard, “The Case of Guiteau,” 22.

52
Before the trial had ended: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 71–72.

53
“with his hereditary history”: Taylor, “Assassin on Trial,” 5. The psychiatrist George Beard, who was convinced that Guiteau was not only insane now, but had been since he was eighteen years old, would go even further. Those who knew Guiteau best, he said, and had failed to have him admitted to an asylum, were to blame for his actions. “On his friends rests the real responsibility for the assassination,” Beard charged. “Mr. Scoville is the real murderer of President Garfield.”

54
“Did you have any question”:
United States v. Guiteau
, 965.

55
“A man may become profoundly depraved”: Taylor, “Assassin on Trial,” 6.

56
“disease of the brain”:
United States v. Guiteau
, 1591.

57
“Hanging is too good for you”: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 50.

58
A farmer from Maryland tried: “A Shot at the Assassin,”
New York Times
, November 21, 1881. Additional men had been assigned to guard Guiteau, and he was moved to a different cell, but he grew increasingly nervous. He attempted to hide a knife, asked to be vaccinated as protection against infection that might reach him through the mail, and insisted on making another announcement in court. “I understand that there are one or two disreputable characters hanging around this court, intending to do me harm,” he said, interrupting testimony about the gun he had used to shoot the president. “I want to notify all disreputable persons that if they attempt to injure me they will probably be shot dead by my body-guard. . . . There has been considerable loose talk on this subject this week, and I wish the public to understand it.”

59
“My blood be on the head”: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 223.

60
“I am willing to DIE”: Quoted in ibid., 233–34.

61
“Whatever your impressions may be”: John Guiteau to Charles Guiteau, June 20, 1882.

62
“The public have never had the facts”: John Guiteau to Charles Guiteau, May 31, 1882.

63
“an audience before a decision”: John Guiteau to Chester Arthur, June 23, 1882.

64
Arthur refused to see John: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 141.

65
“no grounds to justify”: “The President’s Decision in Guiteau’s Case,”
New York Herald
, June 25, 1882.

66
“Dear Madam: Humbly I address you”: Frances Guiteau to Lucretia Garfield, February 12, 1882, quoted in unnamed newspaper found in the Hiram College Archives.

67
When she could wait no longer: Mollie Garfield diary, June 29, 1882, quoted in Feis,
Mollie Garfield in the White House
, 107.

68
“dared to come”: Ibid., 106.

69
By the day of his execution: Rosenberg,
The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau
, 234n.

70
“I’m fully resigned”: “A Great Tragedy Ended,”
New York Times
, July 1, 1882.

71
“With the events of the past year”: “The Drop Falls,” unnamed newspaper, “Special Dispatch to the Inquirer,” June 30, 1882.

72
After Crocker had finished: “Final Moments of Life,”
Washington Post
, July 1, 1882; Fox,
The Crime Avenged
, 62.

73
A few minutes later, Hicks: “The Drop Falls,” unnamed newspaper, “Special Dispatch to the Inquirer,” June 30, 1882, Hiram College Archives.

74
Twenty thousand people: “The Gallows Prepared,”
New York Times
, June 30, 1882.

75
“I stubbed my toe”: “The Drop Falls,” unnamed newspaper, “Special Dispatch to the Inquirer,” June 30, 1882, Hiram College Archives;
Alienist and Neurologist
4 (October 1882): 554.

76
“Except ye become”: “Final Moments of Life,”
Washington Post
, July 1, 1882.

Epilogue: Forever and Forever More

1
After the doors were opened: “Guiteau’s Grave,”
Washington Post
, July 2, 1882.

2
“His ultimate place in history”: “Garfield and Arthur,”
New York Times
, Sept. 25, 1881.

3
“I fear coming generations”:
Century Magazine
(April 1884): 807.

4
“Garfield does not belong”: Quoted in Comer,
Harry Garfield’s First Forty Years
, 62–63.

5
“This morning from the depth”: Quoted in Comer,
Harry Garfield’s First Forty Years
, 62–63.

6
In fact, Secret Service agents: Congress had allowed Secret Service agents to guard Grover Cleveland during his second term, in the mid-1890s, but it had not been an official assignment. Melanson,
The Secret Service
, 138.

7
The day McKinley was shot: Although Robert Todd Lincoln was not at Ford’s Theatre when his father was shot, he was by his side when President Lincoln died.

8
“We do not think”: Quoted in Hoogenboom,
Outlawing the Spoils
, 209.

9
“fresh grief to me”: Ackerman,
Dark Horse
, 448.

10
“outrageous”: Hudson,
Random Recollections of an Old Political Reporter
, 125–27.

11
“When I saw him
afterwards
”: Reeves,
Gentleman Boss
, 256–57.

12
“disdained roast beef”: Ibid., 296.

13
“Gentlemen, you have been misinformed”: Chidsey,
The Gentleman from New York
, p. 374.

14
“His Accidency”: Chidsey,
The Gentleman from New York
, 357.

15
“He didn’t crumble”: Ibid., 384.