When Garfield had organized his regiments, the Governor asked him to accept the post of colonel to one of them.  But Garfield at first mistrusted his own powers in this direction.  How should he, who had hitherto been poring chiefly over the odes of Horace (his favourite poet), now take so suddenly to leading a thousand men into actual battle?  He would accept only a subordinate position, he said, if a regular officer of the United States army, trained at the great military academy at West Point, was placed in command.  So the Governor told him to go among his own farmer friends in his native district, and recruit a third regiment, promising to find him a West Point man as colonel, if one was available.  Garfield accepted the post of lieutenant-colonel, raised the 42nd Ohio regiment, chiefly among his own old pupils at Hiram, and set off for the seat of operations.  At the last moment the Governor failed to find a regular officer to lead these raw recruits, every available man being already occupied, and Garfield found himself, against his will, compelled to undertake the responsible task of commanding the regiment.  He accepted the task thus thrust upon him, and as if by magic transformed himself at once from a schoolmaster into an able soldier.

In less than one month, Colonel Garfield took his raw troops into action in the battle of Middle Creek, and drove the Confederate General Marshall, with far larger numbers, out of his intrenchments, compelling him to retreat into Virginia.  This timely victory did much to secure the northern advance along the line of the Mississippi.  During the whole of the succeeding campaign Garfield handled his regiment with such native skill and marked success that the Government appointed him Brigadier-General for his bravery and military talent.  In spite of all his early disadvantages, he had been the youngest member of the Ohio Senate, and now he was the youngest general in the whole American army.

Shortly after, the important victory of Chickamauga was gained almost entirely by the energy and sagacity of General Garfield.  For this service, he was raised one degree in dignity, receiving his commission as Major-General.  He served altogether only two years and three months in the army.

But while Garfield was at the head of his victorious troops in Kentucky, his friends in Ohio were arranging, without his consent or knowledge, to call him away to a very different sphere of work.  They nominated Garfield as their candidate for the United States House of Representatives at Washington.  The General himself was unwilling to accede to their request, when it reached him.  He thought he could serve the country better in the field than in Congress.  Besides, he was still a comparatively poor man.  His salary as Major-General was double that of a member of the House; and for his wife’s and children’s sake he hesitated to accept the lesser position.  Had he continued in the army to the