In Memoriam: President Garfield's Funeral March Station in Washington, D.C., President of the United States James Garfield was shot at close range by Charles J. Guiteau who, upon being apprehended by police, yelled, "Arthur is now President"! Garfield, then the third youngest president in American history, died 79 days later in Elberon, New Jersey where he had been taken to recover. The announcement of Garfield's death came as a surprise to the public as news accounts prior to that point had reported he had been recovering satisfactorily. Both John Philip Sousa and Garfield were members of the same Masonic lodge. While reclining in bed, Sousa heard
1880 Republican National Convention agenda to visitors. Garfield enlisted the support of the other candidates from the convention to help with the campaign. The 1880 Democratic National Convention chose Winfield Scott Hancock as the presidential candidate and William Hayden English as his vice-presidential running mate. The election featured a very close popular vote that put Garfield ahead with a majority of less than 10,000; some sources put the margin as low as 2,000. However, Garfield won the election with 214 of the 369 electoral votes in the country. On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by a former Chicago lawyer named Charles J. Guiteau