GARFIELD, JAMES ABRAM (1831-81). Twentieth President of the United States. He was born at Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, November 19, 1831 ; was early left fatherless, and spent his youth in alternate periods of study at school and hard manual work for his'own sup port. He worked on a farm; is said to have driven horses for a time on the Ohio Canal; learned the carpenter's trade, and worked at it during his school vacation in 1850. He had al ready entered the Geauga Seminary at Chester, Ohio, where he began the study of Latin, Greek, and algebra. In 1851 he entered the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College) at Hiram, Ohio, and in 1854 entered Williams College, Mass., where he graduated with dis tinguished honor in 1856. He then became teacher of Latin and Greek in the .institute at Hiram, Ohio, of which he was elected the head one year later. Before entering college, he had united with the Disciples Church, in which he had been brought up, and. according to the usage of that denomination, though never formally ordained to the ministry, he often preached. In 1858 he entered his name as a student with a law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, though his study was carried on by himself at Hiram. Having taken some part as a Republican in the campaign of 1856, he was in 1859 elected to represent the counties of Port age and Summit in the State Senate. In August, 1861, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of vol unteers, and in September colonel. In December he reported for duty to General Buell at Louis ville, Ky., and was ordered in command of a brigade of four regiments of infantry, to repel the Confederates under General Marshall from the valley of the Big Sandy River. He accom plished the task in January, 1862, defeating Marshall in the battle of Middle Greek, and forc ing him to retreat from the State. He was com missioned brigadier-general, was placed in com mand of the Twentieth Brigade, and was ordered to join General Buell. He reached, with his brigade, the field of Shiloh on the second day of the battle, and aided in the final repulse of the enemy; and next day, at the front with Sherman, took part in the attack on the enemy's rear guard. He participated in the siege of Corinth, and, af ter its evacuation, was detailed to rebuild the railroad to Decatur. In October, 1862, he served on a court of inquiry, and in November on the court-martial which tried General Fitz-Jahn Por ter. In February, 1863, he joined the Army of the Cumberland under Rosecrans, just after the battle of Stone River, and was appointed chief of staff. In the discussion with regard to a forward movement, Garfield, as chief of staff, collated the written opinions of the seventeen corps, di vision, and cavalry generals, and summarized their substance with cogent arguments of his own. This report induced Rosecrans to move for ward, contrary to the opinions of most of his generals, in the Tullahoma campaign, opening the way for the advance on Chattanooga. In the battle of Chickamauga, September 19th, Garfield issued the orders, as chief of staff, and after the retreat of the right of the army rode under fire across country, and took word to Thomas, com manding the left wing, of the necessities of the situation, and, under Thomas, assisted in re trieving the disaster. Garfield was sent to Wash
ington with dispatches, and was promoted to be a major-general for his services in the battle.
Having been elected a Representative in Con gress, he resigned his commission December 3, 1863, and took his seat in the House of Repre sentatives, where he served as member of the Military Committee until the close of the war. Largely through his efforts and a uments, the commutation clause of the Enroll' nt Act was repealed, and the draft enforced at a time when otherwise the army would have been fatally de pleted. In 1865 he was .assigned to the Commit tee of Ways and Means, and on March 16. 1866, made an elaborate speech on the' public debt and specie payments. In 1867-68, as also later, he took strong ground against the improper inflation of the currency. In December, 1867, he returned to the Military Committee as chairman, and held that place during the discussions on the reconstruction of the Southern States, delivering a speech January 17, 1868, on the power of Con gress in this relation, in which he severely criti cised the action of the President, and the course of Major-General Hancock in his celebrated `Order No. 40.' He also sustained the motion to impeach the President. Later he was chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency. and of a special committee to investigate the cause of the gold panic in September, 1869, which cul urinated in the crisis of `Black Friday.' He also draughted a bill for the taking of the census of 1S70, which was rejected by Congress, but was made the basis of the-law passed ten years later for the census of 1880. In 1871-75 he served as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, and in this capacity introduced many important reforms. In 1873 charges of corruption were made against him in relation to the Credit Mo biller (q.v.). These attracted attention through out the country, and especially in his own Con gressional district. After earnest discussion he was renominated by the three-fourths vote of the convention, and was reelected by a large major ity. The charges were renewed two years later, but were met with greater strength. In 1870 there was no opposition in the convention, and in 1878 be was reelected by a large majority. In the Forty-fourth Congress (1875-77) the Demo cratic Party was in the majority. Garfield be came a member of the Committee of Ways and Means. He was a frequent and careful speaker on important measures, and was recognized as one of the leaders of the minority. After the Pres idential election of 1876, he was one of the prominent Republicans requested to witness the counting of votes in Louisiana, and one of two Republican members appointed by the HouAe of Representatives to sit in the Electoral Coin mission (q.v.). In December, 1876, he was nomi nated by his party for Speaker of the House of Representative, and received the same nomina tion on two subsequent occasions. In the Forty fifth Congress (1877-79) he earnestly advocated the resumption of specie payments, and spoke against the Bland Silver Bill. In 1880 he was elected by the Ohio Legislature United States Senator for six years from March 4, 1831.