ORIGINAL MOURNING RIBBON PRESIDENT JAMES GARFIELD AND CIVIL WAR GENERAL 1881

Description

Up for sale is an original period mourning ribbon for the 20th President James A. Garfield who dies at the hand of an assassin. Shot on July 2nd 1881, and died on September 19th 1881. The ribbons ink is still very bold, and shows only minor edge wear and fraying. It measures 6 1/2" in length. This along with several other items I currently have listed came from an estate with ties to the Garfield family.
Please view photo's for condition, and ask any questions before close of auction. Thank you
No out of country shipping. > SORRY
James Abram Garfield
(November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th
president of the United States
, serving from March to September 1881. Garfield was
shot by an assassin
four months into his presidency and died two months later. He is the only sitting member of the
United States House of Representatives
to be elected to the presidency.
[1]
After
Abraham Lincoln
's election as president, several Southern states announced their
secession
from the Union to form a new government, the
Confederate States of America
. Garfield read military texts while anxiously awaiting the war effort, which he regarded as a holy crusade against the
Slave Power
.
[33]
In April 1861, the rebels
bombarded Fort Sumter
, one of the South's last federal outposts, beginning the
Civil War
. Although he had no military training, Garfield knew his place was in the Union Army.
[33]
At Governor
William Dennison's
request, Garfield deferred his military ambitions to remain in the legislature, where he helped appropriate the funds to raise and equip Ohio's volunteer regiments.
[34]
Afterward, the legislature adjourned and Garfield spent the spring and early summer on a speaking tour of northeastern Ohio, encouraging enlistment in the new regiments.
[34]
Following a trip to Illinois to purchase muskets, Garfield returned to Ohio and, in August 1861, received a commission as a
colonel
in the
42nd Ohio Infantry
regiment.
[35]
The 42nd Ohio existed only on paper, so Garfield's first task was to fill its ranks. He did so quickly, recruiting many of his neighbors and former students.
[35]
The regiment traveled to
Camp Chase
, outside
Columbus, Ohio
, to complete training.
[35]
In December, Garfield was ordered to bring the 42nd to Kentucky, where they joined the
Army of the Ohio
under
Brigadier General
Don Carlos Buell
.
[36]