Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 90
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3
Irvin McDowell Laments President James A. Garfield's Assassination
Irvin McDowell Laments President James A. Garfield's Assassination
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3
Description:

Garfield James



Irvin McDowell Laments President James A. Garfield’s Assassination

Major General Irvin McDowell writes to his friend New York patent attorney Edwin W. Stoughton about his health and the recent death of President James A. Garfield. Stoughton died just over three months after McDowell wrote this letter.

 


Autograph Letter Signed, to Edwin W. Stoughton, October 1, 1881, San Francisco, California. 4 pp., 5" x 8". Expected folds; very good.

 

Complete Transcript


Hdqrs. Mil. Div. Pacific & Dept. Cal.,


presidio of san francisco, cal.,

                                                                       
October 1, 1881

>My dear Mr. Stoughton,

           
The papers had it that you had gone to Europe and were staying somewhere in Switzerland for your health, which, I was pained to hear, was not good; But a day or two ago Mr. Bierstadt, who came on me most unexpectedly, said you were in New York—at Sharon I think—and that both you and Mrs Stoughton were in better health than had been reported. And now, to-day telegrams from New York report you in the city, calling on the new President!

           
In the mean time spring and summer have passed and the Stoughtons have not made the promised visit to California: and now I fear they will not come at all, or, if they do, we will no longer be in position here to receive them for Garfields death has taken from me the tower of strength on which I so much relied.

           
I trust the change will not be to your hurt, and hope the new President will gratify your friends and do a good service to the country by placing you on the Supreme Court bench.

           
Miss Helen is now east on a visit for her health and when last heard from was at Beverly Mass. on her way to Lenox. She is to stay in New York, before she returns and I will write to her to call on Mrs. Stoughton. When she does I hope Mrs Stoughton will have her sing, for I think few amateurs have a finer voice or better method.

           
Mrs. McDowell is only in tolerable health, but Jeannette is better than she has been for years

           
Please make my kindest regards to dear Mrs. Stoughton—she I trust is now quite well—and believe me ever

                                                                        Yours sincerely

                                                                        Irvin McDowell / M.G.


His Exy E. W. Stoughton [?]

 

Historical Background


Former Civil War Brigadier General and Ohio Congressman James A. Garfield won election as President of the United States as a Republican in November 1880. He and Vice President Chester A. Arthur took office in March 1881. On July 2, 1881, disappointed office seeker Charles J. Guiteau shot Garfield at a railroad station in Washington, D.C. Although the wound was not initially fatal, an infection developed that caused Garfield’s death eleven weeks later, on September 19.

 

Vice President Chester A. Arthur was at his home in New York City when Garfield died, and a New York Supreme Court judge administered the oath of office to Arthur early in the morning of September 20. He participated in Garfield’s funeral at Long Branch, New Jersey, on September 21 before returning to Washington to assume his new duties. On December 19, 1881, Arthur appointed Massachusetts judge Horace Gray to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat opened by the death of Nathan Clifford on July 25, 1881.

 

McDowell refers in this letter to Garfield as his “tower of strength on which I so much relied.” Fellow Ohioans Garfield and McDowell first met in 1862, when Garfield was assigned to the court-martial trial of Fitz John Porter, at which McDowell testified. Both Garfield and McDowell were Republicans and deeply despised Democratic General George B. McClellan. Porter had been one of McClellan’s allies, and court-martialing him was viewed as a direct attack on McClellan. Garfield immediately liked McDowell, and they developed a lifelong friendship. On August 3, 1870, James Garfield and his wife Lucretia named their fifth child Irvin McDowell Garfield. In November 1880, three weeks after Garfield’s election as president, McDowell visited Garfield in Ohio.

 

McDowell also praises his daughter Helen Eliza McDowell (1851-1937) for her singing abilities.

 


Irvin McDowell (1818-1885) was born in Ohio and attended college in France before graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1838. He was a tactics instructor at West Point, then acted as an aide to General John E. Wool during the Mexican War. From 1848 to 1861, he served as a staff officer to various leaders including Winfield Scott and developed experience in logistics and supply. In May 1861, he received a promotion to brigadier general and command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. Although he developed a good strategy for the First Battle of Bull Run, his inexperienced troops could not carry it out, and his army suffered an embarrassing defeat. He then became a division commander in the Army of the Potomac under the overall command of General George B. McClellan and later a division commander in the Army of Virginia commanded by General John Pope. Because of his actions at Cedar Mountain, McDowell received a brevet promotion to the rank of major general in the regular army. He was later blamed for the Union disaster at the Second Battle of Bull Run, but he escaped full blame by testifying against Major General Fitz John Porter, whom Pope court-martialed for insubordination during the battle. In July 1864, President Abraham Lincoln gave McDowell command of the Department of the Pacific, a position he held until the end of the war. He held a series of regional commands after the war, including the Department of California (1865-1868), the Department of the East (1868-1872), the Division of the South (1872-1876), the Division of the Pacific (1876-1882). Congress imposed a mandatory retirement age for military officers in 1882, and McDowell retired in October 1882. After retirement, he served as Park Commissioner of San Francisco until his death.

 

Edwin W. Stoughton (1818-1882) was born in Vermont and moved to New York City in 1836 to study law. He gained admission to the bar and began a law practice there. He became a famous patent lawyer, especially in his work for Charles Goodyear on the vulcanization of rubber. He defended President Ulysses S. Grant’s use of federal troops in Louisiana during Reconstruction and represented Rutherford B. Hayes before the Electoral Commission appointed to settle the disputed 1876 presidential election. Hayes appointed Stoughton as U.S. Minister to Russia, a position he held from 1877 to 1879, when ill health forced his resignation. He died in New York City on January 7, 1882, and former President Ulysses S. Grant was one of his pallbearers.

 

 


WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!
Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS. ALSO, ALL PACKAGES SHIPPED FROM OUR OFFICES REQUIRE A DIRECT SIGNATURE UPON DELIVERY.*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000