Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station held at Platz's Saloon. On July 2, 1881, it was announced in the local newspapers that President James A. Garfield would be leaving for his summer vacation. En route to board a train to New Jersey, he was shot in the back by assassin Charles Guiteau while walking across the lobby of the Baltimore and Potomac station with James G. Blaine. While the president survived the initial shooting, doctors subsequently probed his wounds with non-sterilized objects in a frantic search for the bullet. The bacterial infections they introduced to the wound were the likely cause of his eventual death in
Charles J. Guiteau life. Although none of his fellow passengers on the "Stonington" were injured, the incident left Guiteau believing that he had been spared for a higher purpose. Guiteau's interest then turned to politics. During the 1880 presidential campaign, the Republican Party was largely split into factions -- the Stalwarts, led by Roscoe Conkling, who supported Ulysses S. Grant for a third term, and the Half-Breeds, who supported James G. Blaine. Guiteau wrote a speech in support of Ulysses S. Grant called "Grant against Hancock", which he revised to "Garfield against Hancock" after Garfield (not affiliated with either faction) won the Republican