Mourning James A. Garfield

This exhibit explores the power of black cloth as part of public and private displays of bereavement at the White House. Between 1841 and 1963, eight American presidents died while in office. By examining the fabrics used to decorate the White House for their funerals, as well as the mourning fashions of their spouses, one can track displays of grief through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and observe the mourning traditions that were either preserved or discarded to meet the needs of a growing, modernizing nation.

James A. Garfield
Died on September 19, 1881

James A. Garfield did not die immediately of his wounds; the twentieth president clung to life for nearly eighty days. The public, more prepared for his passing than they had been for the previous presidents who died in office, showed their grief by organizing and participating in massive mourning rites. Over 70,000 Americans waited in line at the Capitol to pay their respects. The city of Washington was said to be so bedecked in black cloth that the buildings were nearly hidden from view. "The whole city was draped in mourning," Garfield's daughter Mollie remarked. "Even the shanties where the people were so poor that they had to tear up the[ir] clothes in order to show people the deep sympathy and respect they had for Papa...All persons are friends in this deep and great sorrow."

James A. Garfield’s marriage to Lucretia Garfield was a happy one. In 1881, he complained of a two-week separation from her in his diary: “I have no doubt I have grown morbid over her long absence...Her train will go directly to Cleveland. I found that her train was an hour late. [So] I rode down the [farm] lane and caught a sight of her face as her train passed [Mentor, Ohio]. At six she came with Major Swaim, and my joy was full." After his assassination, Mrs. Garfield chose to wear mourning attire in public for the rest of her life—she died thirty-seven years after the president. As a result, she was frequently called 'The Lady in Black.'

Gallery

The Attempted Assassination of the President

Date: July 8, 1881
Creator: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
Medium: Engraving

This engraving shows President Garfield’s bedroom at the White House, where he was brought after he was shot. First Lady Lucretia Garfield is at his side. Mrs. Garfield may have worn a similar dress to the one depicted here during her mourning period.

White House Historical Association/White House Collection

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Tragedy at Washington - The Night-Watch Before the Executive Mansion

Date: 1881
Creator: Thure de Thulstrup
Medium: Engraving

This 1881 wood engraving depicts the vigil outside the White House as President James Garfield fought for his life due to an assassination attempt. Thousands gathered again to witness his funeral procession to the Capitol Rotunda to lie in state after the president succumbed to his wounds.

White House Historical Association

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In Memoriam (Garfield’s Funeral March)

Date: 1881
Creator: John Philip Sousa
Medium: Audio

Famous composer and head of the Marine Band John Philip Sousa was shocked by President Garfield’s death: “With the event weighing heavily on his mind he walked all through the night and into the next morning. When he returned home he immediately committed the dirge ‘In Memoriam’ to paper.” The U.S. Marine Band played the march as the president’s body proceeded through Washington, as well as when the president was laid to rest in Cleveland, Ohio.

United States Marine Band/YouTube

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North View of the White House Draped in Mourning for President Garfield

Date: 1881
Creator: Unknown
Medium: Photograph

This is the clearest nineteenth-century depiction of the White House draped in mourning, possibly because the extent of decoration was remarkable even for the time. Not only are the North Portico columns wrapped, as they were for Abraham Lincoln, but great lengths of black cloth hang from the roof and windows on all sides.

White House Historical Association/White House Collection

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Date: ca. 1910
Creator: Unknown
Medium: Photograph

This photograph shows Lucretia Garfield still in mourning toward the end of her life. On her head she wears what appears to be a widow’s close-fitting “Marie Stuart” cap or bonnet. This type of headwear was characterized by a small V-point shaped down over the center forehead, and was a style introduced by Queen Victoria after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. The widowed queen took inspiration from portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots, who wore heart-shaped headdresses. By the early 1900s, when this photograph was taken, this style was very much out of date; a 1905 issue of *Harper’s Bazaar* mentioned that “only on elderly women is the close-fitting small bonnet with long veil seen.”

Family of Abram Garfield; the Gramentine Family/James A. Garfield National Historic Site

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Letter Written by Lucretia Garfield on Mourning Stationery (Page 1 of 3)

Date: January 2,1917
Creator: Lucretia Garfield

This letter written by Lucretia Garfield is on black-bordered paper, a common mourning accessory. Its envelope has a matching mourning stripe along its edge as well. For decades after his death, Mrs. Garfield continued to write on mourning stationery when discussing her husband.

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Letter Written by Lucretia Garfield on Mourning Stationery (Page 2 of 3)

Date: January 2,1917
Creator: Lucretia Garfield

This letter written by Lucretia Garfield is on black-bordered paper, a common mourning accessory. Its envelope has a matching mourning stripe along its edge as well. For decades after his death, Mrs. Garfield continued to write on mourning stationery when discussing her husband.

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Letter Written by Lucretia Garfield on Mourning Stationery (Page 3 of 3)

Date: January 2,1917
Creator: Lucretia Garfield

This letter written by Lucretia Garfield is on black-bordered paper, a common mourning accessory. Its envelope has a matching mourning stripe along its edge as well. For decades after his death, Mrs. Garfield continued to write on mourning stationery when discussing her husband.

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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