In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant was elected the 18th President of the United States. In 1869, the 33-year-old Babcock was militarily assigned, rather than publicly appointed, Grant's
personal secretary, to bypass Congressional approval. As one of a few men who had daily access to Grant in the White House, and one who had been close to Grant during the war, Babcock had unprecedented power and influence, entrusted by Grant, which extended directly and indirectly into many agencies and departments. His influence was so great that when cabinet positions and other appointments became available, Grant often acted on Babcock's recommendations. Suspected of using that influence for his own ends, Babcock was often at odds with reformers and opponents of corruption, including Secretary of State
Hamilton Fish, Secretary of the Treasury
Benjamin Bristow, and U.S. Attorney General
Edwards Pierrepont, all who desired to save Grant's reputation from scandal. While Grant admired Babcock for his
Civil War service, Babcock's relative youth and ambitious nature led Grant's critics to consider him the
Iago of the Grant administration.
Gatekeeper to Grant While serving in the White House, Babcock retained his position in the U.S. Army, an arrangement made between Grant and his successor as head of the Army,
William T. Sherman. Babcock did not require Senate confirmation for his appointment and retained his military salary, which made it difficult for Congress to exercise oversight when Babcock became the subject of controversy and scandal. Babcock's duties included involvement in patronage matters, finding negative information on critics of the Grant administration, and feeding political stories to pro-Grant newspapers. Babcock was part of a team of Grant's personal secretaries. Including Babcock, were Grant's brother-in-law
Frederick Dent,
Horace Porter, and
Robert Douglas, the son of former presidential candidate and Senator,
Stephen A. Douglas. Dent greeted White House guests, deciding who would see Grant or one of his Cabinet secretaries. Babcock's White House office was in a second-floor anteroom that led to President Grant's private office, a circumstance that caused many to resent Babcock's insider role, and created a negative perception among contemporaries that overrode Babcock's positive attributes. Babcock also opened and answered most of Grant's personal letters, and historian
Allan Nevins argued that Babcock's position was as at least as important as the Cabinet secretaries, and more powerful than most.
Santo Domingo During the summer of 1869, Grant dispatched Babcock, Grant's special agent, to the mostly mixed-race and white, Spanish-speaking
Caribbean island country of the
Dominican Republic (
18,655 mi2), then commonly called
Santo Domingo. At this time, federal land speculation was not uncommon, as Congress had in March 1867
purchased Alaska (
663,300 mi2) from the
Russian Empire. Like his predecessor
Andrew Johnson, Grant received inducements from speculators interested in Caribbean expansion, particularly for
Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Speculators William L. Cazneau and Joseph W. Fabens formed the
Santo Domingo Company in New York to attract financial supporters for annexing the Dominican Republic. Grant's Secretary of State
Hamilton Fish, was doubtful concerning Dominican annexation, believing the country was politically unstable, and became suspicious when Fabens asked him to support a plan of American annexation of the Dominican Republic. Grant desired to investigate the island and find out whether the people wanted annexation. After two other candidates were excluded, Grant and Fish agreed to send Babcock on a secret reconnaissance mission to the Dominican Republic. Although Babcock was not fluent in Spanish and did not have extensive knowledge of the West Indies, he was well qualified at gathering information, having done a
Report on Military Posts (1866) and a
Report on the South (1867). Babcock's official instructions, signed by Fish, were to gather knowledge of local conditions, but without diplomatic status. Grant, however, wanted Babcock to find out Santo Domingo President
Buenaventura Báez's condition to purchase the island. In addition, he was to investigate the nation's agriculture and mineral wealth, as well as determine whether the government was stable and whether the people desired annexation. He was also instructed to find out about the country's economy, including the interest rate on the national debt and the strength of the Dominican currency. Although Grant gave Babcock verbal orders to find out the terms for Dominican annexation, Fish had not authorized Babcock to formally negotiate an agreement. This caused doubt about Babcock's legal diplomatic authority, and later a rift in Grant's own Cabinet.
Visited island Babcock boarded the steamship
Tybee in New York and departed for the Dominican Republic on July 17, 1869. He was accompanied by Fabens and annexation supporter California Republican Senator
Cornelius Cole. On the voyage the
Tybee stopped at Samaná Bay and observed there was a "splendid coal station" on the island. The indigenous people were upset over a recent raid by the rebel Haitian warship
Telégrafo. Noting the soil to be fertile, Babcock believed the Dominican Republic could feed 4 million people. Babcock, however, said the people of the Dominican Republic were "indolent and ignorant." Babcock's view, however, of the mixed-race white people, did not impede his vision of Santo Domingo's inclusion by the United States. Babcock was a Reconstruction man, who was "nicely color-blind" to opportunism, in the post-Civil War world. Babcock's next visited Santo Domingo City but found that President
Buenaventura Báez was not there. Babcock was entertained by Cazneau and his wife at their plantation house. After his stay in Santo Domingo City, Babcock reboarded the
Tybee and voyaged to Azua, 60 miles away, where President Báez was staying. Babcock recorded that Báez was in favor of friendly relations with the United States. Nothing, however, was talked about annexation, until Babcock and Báez returned to Santo Domingo City.
Treaty negotiations With doubtful diplomatic authorization, Babcock entered negotiations with Báez for annexation on August 7, with Cazneau serving as Babcock's interpreter. Babcock was informed of a large loan with unfavorable terms that the Dominican government had taken from financier Edward Herzberg Hartmont. With annexation, the United States would be burdened by this loan, meaning this debt could hinder ratification in the Senate. Babcock believed the loan was a backhanded way by the British to take over the Dominican Gulf, presuming the Dominican government failed to pay it back. Babcock and Báez began significant negotiations in the second week of August and asked Cazneau and Fabens for assistance. Babcock told Báez he was a representative of President Grant, and he was called to the Dominican Republic to discuss a union of the two republics. Báez said he believed annexation would stabilize the country that he believed had gone backward and asked Babcock to draw up a written plan for annexation. By September 1869, Babcock and Cazneau drew up plans for annexation and submitted them to Báez, who generally approved. According to the drafts, Samaná Bay would be sold to the United States for $2 million or the whole country would be annexed to the United States after the U.S. paid off the Dominican Republic's national debt of $1.5 million. Báez told Babcock that before returning to Santo Domingo with a formal treaty, he should be assured by a sufficient number of Senators that they would ratify it. Babcock replied that President Grant, "would not enter into any treaty without weighing the matter well, and feeling assured that it would be approved." Babcock was a supporter of Congressional
Reconstruction and he saw Santo Domingo as a source of new opportunities in a post-war world. Babcock asked Báez to put in writing an annexation proposal he could transmit to Grant. After Báez agreed to do so, Gautier prepared a formal memorandum to be sent back to Washington. When Babcock returned to the White House with a draft of a treaty, Fish and Secretary of Interior
Jacob D. Cox were alarmed, since Babcock had no official standing. Fish told Cox "Babcock is back...I pledge you my word he had no more diplomatic authority than any other casual visitor to the island." At the next cabinet meeting Babcock was there in person and Grant told his silenced cabinet that Babcock was back and that he (Grant) approved of the treaty. Cox spoke up and said, "But Mr. President, has it been settled, then, that we
want to annex Santo Domingo ?" Grant was embarrassed and began puffing on his cigar, while the other cabinet members said nothing, Cox's question remained unanswered. Fish threatened to resign over the matter, but Grant convinced him to stay on the administration, telling Fish he would not go around him again and he needed Fish's guidance and support. Fish agreed to remain on the cabinet, although he hoped Grant would drop the Santo Domingo annexation treaty. Grant did not drop the treaty, believing annexation would help alleviate violent suppression of
African Americans in the Southern states by providing in Santo Domingo a place where they could live and work undisturbed. Fish sent Babcock back to the Dominican Republic on November 18, accompanied by Major General
Rufus Ingalls, a high-ranking Quartermaster officer. This time, Babcock had official State Department status and instructions to draw up two formal treaties, which were signed on November 29, 1869. Grant, however, kept the treaties secret from Congress and the public, until mid-January 1870. After the earnest public discussion, the treaties were formally submitted to Congress in March, whereupon Senators joined in the debate.
Failed to pass Senate Senator
Charles Sumner strongly opposed the annexation treaties objecting to Babcock's secret negotiations, his use of naval power, and desiring to keep Santo Domingo an autonomous nation rather than annexation and potential statehood as Grant had proposed. The people of Santo Domingo overwhelmingly desired annexation voting 15,169 to 11 in its favor, according to a plebiscite held by Báez. Senate Republicans led by Sumner split the party over the treaty while Senators loyal to Grant supported the treaty and admonished Babcock. The treaties however failed to pass the Senate causing continued bitterness and hostility between Grant and Sumner, both stubbornly trying to control the Republican Party. Although Babcock was suspected of being given investment land on Samaná Bay, a Congressional investigation found no conclusive evidence that Babcock would financially gain from the country's annexation. Babcock in the minority report was criticized for acquiescing in the imprisonment of Davis Hatch, an American abroad, who was an open critic of Báez.
Corruption Gold corner (1869) In 1869, Babcock invested money in
Jay Gould's
Gold Ring, a scam by wealthy New York
tycoons Jay Gould and
James Fisk to profit by
cornering the market on gold. Starting in late April, Secretary of the Treasury
George S. Boutwell had regulated the price of gold by monthly sales from the Treasury in exchange for
greenbacks. As part of the Gold Ring's effort, Gould convinced Grant not to increase the Treasury's September gold sale, helping make it scarce and inflating the price. Gould and Fisk then set up a buying operation, the New York Gold Room, where traders in their employ purchased as much gold as they could acquire, which artificially drove up the price. When Grant became aware of the full extent of the attempt to corner the market in late September 1869, he ordered the release of $4,500,000 in Treasury gold, which caused the price to collapse. Gould and Fisk were thwarted but at the expense of a decline in the stock market and the overall economy. Babcock and other individuals who secretly invested with him lost $40,000 (about $750,000 in 2018). To satisfy his creditors, Babcock had to sign a
trust deed on his property, which named
Asa Bird Gardiner as trustee. The extent of Babcock's involvement was not revealed to Grant until 1876 when his complicity in the Gold Ring was uncovered during the investigation of his involvement in the Whiskey Ring.
New York Customs House (1872) In 1872, Babcock and
Horace Porter, Grant's other military private secretary, were alleged to have taken payoffs from George K. Leet, a member of Grant's staff during the war. Leet had moved to
New York City, where he worked under successive
Collectors of the Port of New York Moses H. Grinnell and
Thomas Murphy as the operator of a scheme that enabled the
New York Customs House to charge exorbitant fees for storing goods in private warehouses until the receivers took possession. Congress investigated, and Grant requested Murphy's resignation and Leet's firing. Murphy's replacement,
Chester A. Arthur, implemented reforms directed by Secretary of Treasury
George S. Boutwell, including stricter record-keeping and an end to private storage.
Whiskey Ring (1875–1876) cartoon depicting the
Whiskey Ring, published in ''
Harper's Weekly'' (March, 1876) Dating back to the Presidency of
Abraham Lincoln it was common for distillers and corrupt Internal Revenue agents to make false whiskey production reports and pocket unpaid tax revenue. However, during the early 1870s, the corruption became more organized by distillers, who used the illegally obtained money for bribery and illegal election financing, to the point where every agent in St. Louis was involved in corruption. This organized network, known as the
Whiskey Ring, extended nationally and involved "the printing, selling, and approving of forged federal revenue stamps on bottled whiskey." In June 1874, President Grant appointed
Benjamin Bristow as Secretary of Treasury, with the authority to investigate the Whiskey Ring and prosecute wrongdoers. Bristow, a Kentuckian, and Union Army veteran was known for his honesty and integrity and had served as the nation's first Solicitor General, also appointed by Grant. Bristow immediately discovered whiskey tax evasion among distillers and corrupt officials in the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Bureau. Bristow and
Bluford Wilson, the
Treasury Solicitor obtained Grant's permission to use secret agents appointed from outside the Treasury Department; as a result of the evidence they obtained, on May 10, 1875, Treasury Department agents raided and shut down corrupt distilleries in St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee, seizing company financial records and other files. Bristow then prosecuted the offenders by working with Grant's newly appointed Attorney General,
Edwards Pierrepont, a popular New York reformer who had been involved in shutting down New York City's corrupt
Tweed Ring. Information was soon discovered that Babcock was informing ring leader John McDonald in St. Louis of inspections by Bristow's agents, giving them time to hide incriminating evidence before agents arrived. Bristow believed Babcock received cash in exchange for this information, in one instance two five-hundred-dollar bills hidden inside a cigar box. McDonald was indicted in June when Bristow obtained indictments against 350 distillers and government officials. In July 1875, Bristow and Pierrepont met Grant, who was vacationing at Long Branch and gave him evidence that Babcock was a member of the ring. Grant told Pierrepont "Let no guilty man escape..." and said if Babcock was guilty then it was the "greatest piece of traitorism to me that a man could possibly practice." In October, Babcock was summoned in front of Grant, Bristow, and Pierrepont at the White House to explain two ambiguous telegrams handwritten by Babcock and signed "
Sylph", an apparent code name for Babcock. The first message said, "
I have succeeded. They will not go. I will write you." (December 10, 1874) and the second one said, "
We have official information that the enemy weakens. Push things." (February 3, 1875) Bristow had shown these messages to Grant at a cabinet meeting the same day. Babcock said something to Grant, unintelligible to Bristow and Pierrepont, and Grant appeared satisfied by Babcock's interpretation of the telegrams. Pierrepont and Bristow, believing the matter to be crucial, insisted Babcock send a message to his telegraphic correspondent demanding that this individual come to Washington to give his version of the messages. After Babcock seemed to be taking too long, Pierrepont went to check on him and found Babcock writing a warning to revenue agent
John A. Joyce, his St. Louis confederate, to be on his guard. Infuriated, Pierrepont grabbed Babcock's pen and dashed through his message yelling "You don't want to send your argument; send the fact, and go there and make your explanation.
I do not understand it." Grant, on the other hand, was divided between the loyalty he had for Babcock, and his desire for Bristow and Pierrepont, trustworthy members of his cabinet, to prosecute the Whiskey Ring. Since Babcock had no acceptable explanation for his messages, he was indicted for tax fraud on November 4, 1875. As an Army officer, on December 2, 1875, Babcock requested of Grant a
court-martial, believing that a military tribunal would be favorable to his defense. Grant agreed and saw to it that a pro-Babcock panel was appointed, including
Asa Bird Gardiner, who had a clear conflict of interest based on his business dealings with Babcock. Panel member
Winfield Scott Hancock pointed out that Babcock was facing identical charges in federal court, and persuaded the court-martial to yield to civilian authorities. On December 8, 1875, U.S. Attorney
David Dyer followed Bristow's instructions and set Babcock's St. Louis jury trial for February 1876. When Babcock's trial date came up, Grant decided to testify in Babcock's defense. By this time, Grant said his critics were using Babcock to go after his own presidency. After cabinet members objected to Grant testifying in St. Louis as unseemly for a President, it was settled that Grant would give a deposition at the White House.
St. Louis trial On February 8, 1876, Babcock went on trial, an event that lasted eighteen days. Babcock's defense team was noted for its prowess and included Grant's former Attorney General
George Williams, a top criminal defense lawyer, Emory Storrs, and a former appeals judge (New York),
John K. Porter. It took place at the U.S. Post Office and Customs House located at 218 North Third Street, and the status of the defendant made the trial a popular and well-attended spectacle. Demand to attend the proceedings was so great that only persons with signed passes and Whiskey Ring defendants were allowed in. Babcock arrived in civilian clothes, including sky-blue pants, a silk hat, and a light jacket. When court was not in session, Babcock stayed at the newly rebuilt
Lindell Hotel on Sixth Street and Washington Avenue. Grant's White House deposition took place on February 12; it was notarized by Chief Justice
Morrison Waite and witnessed by both Bristow and Pierrepont. In his statement, Grant fully supported the Whiskey Ring prosecutions, but willfully refused to testify against Babcock, despite having been informed by Bristow of Babcock's duplicity. Instead, Grant praised Babcock, saying he had "great confidence" in Babcock's integrity, and that his confidence in Babcock was "unshaken". On February 17, Babcock's defense counsel read President Grant's deposition to the jury, which severely weakened any chance of Babcock being convicted. The same day, General
William T. Sherman testified that Babcock's "character has been very good." Grant's deposition, Sherman's in-person testimony, and the evidence presented by Babcock's shrewd defense counsel led to his acquittal on February 25. A rumor spread that Pierrepont had leaked information to Babcock that aided in his acquittal, but Pierrepont denied this and suggested that Babcock himself had started the rumor. A few months later Grant's appointed anti-corruption team broke up. Pierrepont resigned office on May 21, 1876, and was appointed by Grant
United States Minister to the United Kingdom on July 11, 1876. Enmity between Grant and Bristow over Babcock, pressured Bristow to leave office, rather than be fired by Grant. Bristow resigned from Grant's cabinet on June 20, 1876.
Return to Washington D.C. When Babcock returned to Washington, he went back to his White House office, as if there had been no trial. Grant's Secretary of State,
Hamilton Fish, was furious and pressured Grant to force Babcock to leave, saying that Grant merely had to dismiss Babcock, because as a military officer Babcock was subject to orders and had no recourse. Additionally, Treasury Solicitor Wilson informed Grant that Babcock had been involved with the 1869 plot to
corner the gold market. Grant finally dismissed Babcock from the White House and appointed his son
Ulysses Jr. in Babcock's place. It was later discovered that Babcock used his Whiskey Ring kickbacks to purchase from
Henry Shelton Sanford on Christmas Day, 1874 a home and over 50 acres of grove land near what became the city of
Sanford, Florida.
Aftermath Another Union officer, General
John McDonald, was found guilty of being the Saint Louis Whiskey Ring kingpin and sent to federal prison. McDonald believed Babcock deserved to be in prison with him and in 1880 he published a salacious tell-all book
Secrets of the Great Whiskey Ring, in which he claimed that Babcock and Grant were part of the ring. According to historian
William McFeely, although there was substantial evidence Babcock was, McDonald gave no evidence to implicate Grant. McDonald also accused Babcock of adultery and revealed the origin of the "Sylph" signature. According to McDonald, when Babcock had attended the annual
St. Louis Fair with
John A. Joyce, they saw a very attractive woman while they were walking on 5th Street, whom Babcock nicknamed "Sylph" for her beauty. Although Babcock was married, he reportedly said to Joyce, "She is the most beautiful and bewitching woman I ever saw; for heaven's sake; let us turn the corner and meet her again so that you can give me an introduction.". Later, at Freund's restaurant, Joyce introduced Babcock to the woman, whose name was Louise "Lu" Hawkins, and they developed an intimate relationship. Babcock later used "Sylph" as a code signature in correspondence with Joyce.
Safe burglary conspiracy (1876) On April 15, 1876, fifty-one days after his acquittal in the Whiskey Ring trial, Babcock was indicted again, this time for involvement in the
Safe Burglary Conspiracy. In 1874, Richard Harrington, an Assistant
United States Attorney for
Washington, DC attempted to
frame Columbus Alexander, leader of the Memorialists, a reform organization critical of D.C. governor
Alexander Robey Shepherd's management of the city. Harrington hired dishonest
Secret Service agents to break into the U.S. Attorney's safe, using explosives to make it obvious that a burglary had occurred. To entrap Alexander, the conspirators took materials that were supposedly stolen from the safe to his home at night, intending to give them to him and then later arrest him for their possession. Alexander thwarted this effort by refusing to answer the door. At that point, the Secret Service agents arrested two other conspirators who pretended to be the supposed burglars and had them sign false affidavits implicating Alexander in the burglary. The conspiracy collapsed when the Secret Service agents admitted at Alexander's trial that the charges were false, and Alexander was acquitted. The conspiracy was alleged to have included Babcock as the liaison between Harrington and the Secret Service agents because Babcock wanted to silence Alexander, a prominent Grant administration critic. Babcock was exonerated of direct involvement. However, his continued ties to scandal and corruption turned public opinion against him, while he was viewed as a foe of Washington D.C. reform. ==Public buildings and grounds (1873–1877)==