The shooting of President James Garfield 4 months after his inauguration on July 2, 1881, was a grievous blow to a nation still recovering from the Civil War and the trauma of President Lincoln's assassination only 16 years earlier. Garfield was struck by 2 bullets fired at close range as he was preparing to board a train for Williams College, one injuring his right arm, the other piercing his right flank and coming to rest behind his pancreas. He died 11 weeks later of complications from his injuries.