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James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 am on Saturday, July 2, 1881. He died in Elberon, New Jersey, two and a half months later on September 19, 1881. The shooting occurred less than four months into his term as president.
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On July 2, 1881, newly inaugurated President James A. Garfield was mortally wounded by a deranged gunman as he prepared to board a train in Washington, D.C.
On the morning of July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield arrived at the Baltimore and Potomac train station for a much-needed holiday. Just four months had passed since the former Union general and Ohio congressman had been sworn in as the nation’s 20th president, but his term had already gotten off to a rocky start. He had clashed with Republican power brokers over patronage appointments to his administration, and had endured a brush with tragedy after his wife contracted a near-fatal case of malaria.
With the first lady now on the mend, Garfield was eager to escape the sweltering capital for a summer trip to New England, where he planned to give a speech at his alma mater, Williams College. Along with his two teenaged sons and Secretary of State James G. Blaine, he had left the White House and taken a carriage ride to the station entrance near the National Mall. Like most presidents up to that point, he was not accompanied by bodyguards or a security detail.
James Garfield's Presidency
As Garfield’s carriage pulled up outside the Baltimore and Potomac, Charles Guiteau paced the waiting room inside, ready to fulfill what he believed was a mission from God. For weeks, the 39-year-old had stalked the president across Washington, patiently waiting for a chance to gun him down. Family members and acquaintances had long suspected that Guiteau was insane, but he had planned the crime with chilling precision. He had conducted target practice with an ivory-handled .44 caliber pistol—specially purchased because Guiteau thought it would look nice in a museum one day—and had even tried to take a tour of the district jail, which he assumed would be his new home after he was arrested.
In his pocket, Guiteau carried a letter addressed to the White House. “The president’s tragic death was a sad necessity,” it read, “but it will unite the Republican Party and save the Republic. Life is a fleeting dream, and it matters little when one goes.”
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Mar 4, 2022 · James A. Garfield died on September 19, 1881 in New Jersey. A special train slowly took the dying President to the seashore and cooler weather. An autopsy showed that Dr. Bliss had badly mishandled the case.
When President James A. Garfield was shot in the back by an assassin on July 2, 1881, the news electrified the country. Garfield was entering the Washington, D.C. train station, headed for...
Sep 16, 2016 · The assigned causes of death include a fatal heart attack, the rupture of the splenic artery, which resulted in a massive hemorrhage, and, more broadly, septic blood poisoning.
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Sep 15, 2024 · James A. Garfield (born November 19, 1831, near Orange [in Cuyahoga county], Ohio, U.S.—died September 19, 1881, Elberon [now in Long Branch], New Jersey) was the 20th president of the United States (March 4–September 19, 1881).
