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Porterfield by name.
It was hoped thereby to work great damage to, and bring much distrust upon, the Federal finances.
The Southern sympathizers in the North had, in obedience to request, converted much paper money into gold and withdrawn it from circulation.
This, however, caused the price of gold to rise until it reached 290, which great figure naturally caused a change of policy.
When the precious metal had fallen as low as 180, Mr. Porterfield went from Montreal, his temporary residence, to New York and began purchasing and exporting gold, selling it for sterling bills of exchange, and reconverting this into gold, the amount lost in trans-shipment being met out of the funds placed at his disposal by the commissioners.
About two million dollars was thus exported, but before any perceptible disaster had been wrought upon the national finances, General Butler, in New York, arrested a former partner of Porterfield, and the latter prudently returned to Montreal.
About the 1st of September, Thompson's force of secret workers in the Southern cause had been joined by Colonel Robert M. Martin, who had been a brigade commander in Morgan's cavalry, and myself, who had served on Martin's staff.
We had been detached for this service by the Secretary of War.
We expected to take an active part in an attempt by the Sons of Liberty to inaugurate a revolution in New York city, to be made on the day of the presidential election, November 8th.
Thompson sent Martin with seven selected Confederate officers, myself included, to report for duty to the leaders.
Martin was in charge of the whole thing.
The plot was exposed by Northern secret-service agents, and General Butler with ten thousand troops arrived, which so disconcerted the Sons of Liberty that the attempt was postponed.
We remained in the city awaiting events, but the situation being chaotic we had nothing to do.
When Sherman burned Atlanta, November 15th, Martin proposed to fire New York city.
This was agreed to by
Review of Reviews. New York. 1912.
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