General William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, July 2, 1881—3 p.m.

THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH Co.,        

Dated, WASHINGTON, D.C., July 2, 1881.    

Received at MANSFIELD, OHIO,

3 P.M.                    

To Honorable John Sherman:

President Garfield was shot in the back toward the right side, the ball ranging downwards - not yet found. Pulse good and appearances favorable.

Has been brought to the White House. The assassin is from Chicago, an ex-consul at Marseilles, described as a lawyer, politician, and theologian. He is in custody. All sorts of rumors afloat, but the above is all that is known to me. I went in person to the depot immediately, and found all his Cabinet present.

W. T. SHERMAN,

General.        

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 350