The Life and Work of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States: Embracing an Account of the Scenes and Incidents of His Boyhood; the Struggles of His Youth; the Might of His Early Manhood; His Valor As a Soldier; His Career As a Statesman; His Election to the Presidency; and the Tragic Story of His Death.Ridpath, John Clark
History
The Life and Work of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States: Embracing an Account of the Scenes and Incidents of His Boyhood; the Struggles of His Youth; the Might of His Early Manhood; His Valor As a Soldier; His Career As a Statesman; His Election to the Presidency; and the Tragic Story of His Death.
Ridpath, John Clark
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
Rosecrans has said that he was prejudiced against Garfield before his
arrival. He had heard that he was a Campbellite preacher, and fond of
theological debate, and a school teacher. These three things were enough
to spoil any man for Rosecrans. So he gave Garfield a cool enough
reception on the January morning when the latter presented himself at
head-quarters. Rosecrans, of course, had the option of taking the man
whom the Department had sent him, to be his confidential adviser or not.
Garfield’s appearance, to be sure, was not that of the pious fraud, or
the religious wrangler, or the precise pedagogue. In the book, _Down in
Tennessee_, we find the following superb description of his appearance
at this time, by one who saw him:
“In a corner by the window, seated at a small pine desk—a sort of
packing-box, perched on a long-legged stool, and divided into
pigeonholes, with a turn-down lid—was a tall, deep-chested,
sinewy-built man, with regular, massive features, a full, clear blue
eye, slightly tinged with gray, and a high, broad forehead, rising
into a ridge over the eyes, as if it had been thrown up by a plow.
There was something singularly engaging in his open, expressive
face, and his whole appearance indicated, as the phrase goes, ‘great
reserve power.’ His uniform, though cleanly brushed and sitting
easily upon him, had a sort of democratic air, and every thing about
him seemed to denote that he was ‘a man of the people,’ A rusty
slouched hat, large enough to have fitted Daniel Webster, lay on the
desk before him; but a glance at that was not needed to convince me
that his head held more than the common share of brains. Though he
is yet young—not thirty-three—the reader has heard of him, and if he
lives he will make his name long remembered in our history.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account