Note on the Assassination of President Garfield, 1881
Scope and Contents
A brief note on lined paper dated July 3rd 1881 concerning the shooting of president James A Garfield: “The President was shot yesterday at Washington, when about taking the cars to come North. His case was hopeful at 4.06 this morning. The assassin after shooting him said ‘We are all right now! Arthur is president! I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts.’” The paper appears to have been torn from a notebook, and has various notes and calculations on the verso. Whether the author was an eyewitness or simply relaying information is unclear, though it appears they had an inside line on events. The note is signed “S St J G” and the name J.W. Johnston appears on the verso of the note: this could be Virginia senator John W. Johnston (1818-1889), suggesting a potential link between the author of the letter and Johnston’s office.
Dates
- 1881
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) was the 20th president of the United States. He died in office in September of 1881, after being shot by Chares Guiteau (1841-1882) on July 2nd of that same year.
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (68 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu