Jedediah Hyde Baxter Columbian University (now George Washington University Law School) with an LL.B. degree. Baxter's duties included serving as personal physician to the President of the United States. He attended James A. Garfield's family, but was out of town when Charles J. Guiteau shot Garfield in July 1881. As a result, Baxter did not examine Garfield following the shooting or treat him during his subsequent illness. By the time he rushed back to Washington, Doctor Willard Bliss had taken charge and would not let Baxter see the wounded President. According to contemporary accounts, Bliss stated that Baxter was attempting to see Garfield
Assassination of James A. Garfield the station, but he collided with policeman Patrick Kearney who was entering the station after hearing the gunfire. Kearney apprehended Guiteau and was so excited at having arrested the man who had shot Garfield that he neglected to take his gun from him until after they arrived at the police station. Kearney demanded, "In God's name, what did you shoot the president for?" Guiteau did not respond. The rapidly gathering crowd screamed, "Lynch him", but Kearney and several other police officers took the assassin to the police station a few blocks away. As he surrendered to authorities, Guiteau uttered the