| June 11 |  |
Editor says, what if Charles J. Guiteau had died on the SS Stonington? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the August 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1880, on this day the paddle steamer Narragansett nearly collided with her sister ship the SS Stonington near the mouth of the Connecticut River in Long Island Sound.
American Heroes: Charles J. GuiteauSignificant controversy followed the collision, as the captains of the two ships gave different accounts of the accident and the events leading up to it, and the crew of the Narragansett faced accusations of neglecting its duty. The only fact they agreed upon was the circumstances of the single fatality arising from the accident. As the Stonington veered to avoid contact, steam swept across the deck, killing a solitary passenger called Charles J. Guiteau who had the courage to raise the alarm in the heavy fog.
Although Guiteau had failed at everything he had ever tried, he believed that he had a glorious future ahead of him. And as fate transpired, his misery had saved hundreds of lives because he wandered above deck in an attempt to find some peace of mind.
This is an article from our American Heroes thread.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: American Heroes Source: Wikipedia Labels: Charles J. Guiteau, James Garfield., President, Assassination, Premature Death. Editor says, in reality Guiteau was on deck at the time of the collision, and afterwards believed that he had been miraculously spared to punish President James A. Garfield who he assassinated over a year later.
~ Perhaps the greater miracle lay in his sacrifice...
~ Garfield surviving? Difficult to say, at best. He wasn't POTUS long enough to really make a mark, but he might have been a good one.
~ So, Guiteau was so steamed up he shot Garfield? Hmmmmmm. Seems like a melodrama ready to happen. Some script writer should get creative with some of the facts of the Guilded Age. What if Teddy Roosevelt had gone off in other directions a little later, too? An errant shot from one of his guns on a hunting trip could have changed US history considerably, accidentally rubbing out a foreign dignitary, one of his own cabinet ministers...
The fog here leaves many similar possibilities. Anyone could have emerged, or even another boat. Is the time frame right to where the real Jack the Ripper could have been caught in the act, away from London, and for an instant thinking the fog would not lift while he was slicing up another victim? The imagination gets some real juice in this one.
~ Garfield might've been able to get some of his reform policies through (which might've caught up VP Arthur... grounds for conspiracy?)
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
