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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message Icon:                             Message: Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by James N.[/i] [br]Diana, I haven't seen the new book, but based on a couple of things I've read previously about him, I'd say getting shot in the back was nothing but a piece of sweet "poetic justice" for the scumball Garfield. First, there was a biography of his former friend and commander, William S. Rosecrans, called [i]The Edge of Glory[/i] by William Lammers; second was a damning article about their relationship in an old issue of [i]Civil War Times Illustrated[/i]. I'll try to boil down the gist of the matter for you. James A. Garfield was the graduate of an Ohio protestant Christian Academy, studying for the ministry but becoming instead a teacher. By the time of the Civil War had done well and was thinking about entering politics, but instead went into the army, where he showed a talent for administration. He had risen to the rank of colonel and command of an Ohio regiment when at the beginning of 1863, he was tapped to become the Chief-of-Staff for the Army of the Cumberland commanded by Rosecrans, whose previous chief-of-staff, Peter Gareshe, had been decapitated by a cannonball. When he reported for duty ( and a promotion to Brigadier General ), this good Baptist was supposedly unhappy about serving "Old Rosey", a devout Catholic who, like Presbyterian Stonewall Jackson in the Confederate army, held prayer meetings for members of his staff. ( Remember this was soon after the anti-Catholic "Know-Nothing" movement of the 1850's. ) Garfield feigned friendship toward Rosecrans and apparantly was a good chief-of-staff until the fall of 1863 when he decided to run for a seat in Congress from his home district in Ohio as a Republican. ( Rosecrans was a Democrat. ) Before his election victory and Garfield's leave to take his seat in Congress, Rosecrans maneuvered the Confederates out of middle Tennessee and into northern Georgia where, reinforced, they turned on him in what became the Battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19 - 20, 1863. In that battle Rosecrans army was pierced, through no fault of his, and half of it driven back in confusion to Chattanooga, while the other half stood its ground successfully; unfortunately, Rosecrans had the misfortune to be among the half streaming rearward! He was headed back to the portion continuing to resist when he encountered Garfield who convinced him to continue on to Chattanooga to rally the routed portion and prepare a defense of the town, which Rosecrans successfully accomplished. Safely back in Chattanooga, Garfield commenced a smear campaign against the unaware Rosecrans, reporting to the War Department how he had fled the field along with his men. This curried favor with their superior, the unforgiving U.S. Grant, who held a grudge against Rosecrans from the previous year, giving him the excuse to relieve the hapless Rosecrans of his command. Old Rosey was then "exiled" to command troops in California, his career all but over. Of course the faithless Garfield subsequently resigned his comission and went on to Washington, taking his "rightful" place among the ranks of the Radical Republicans. That is, until Fate caught up with him in the Washington railroad station, dealing him a long-deserved finale to his perfidy. [/quote]    Upload an Image File From Your PC For Insertion in Your Post    -  HTML is OFF | Forum Code is ON   Check here to include your profile signature. Check here to subscribe to this topic.