In 1869, Jay Gould, an unethical director of the Erie Railroad who had made his fortune as a cotton smuggler during the Civil War, sought to corner the gold market with the connivance of Abel Corbin, a financier with a shady past who was President Grant's brother-in-law. They worked to persuade the President to stop Boutwell from releasing weekly gold (but not affecting those routine gold sales for the sinking fund) from the Treasury Department in order to raise the gold price. James Fisk, another unethical director, controlled the Erie Railroad in conjunction with Gould. He would join the conspiracy in force later on. The first step in Corbin and Gould's plan was to recruit Daniel Butterfield, a former Major General and war hero during the Civil War who lacked any experience in finance. Both Corbin and Gould lobbied successfully for Butterfield's appointment as the assistant treasurer, through whom Boutwell gave orders to sell Treasury Department gold. Gould bribed Butterfield with a $10,000 check, more than Butterfield's annual salary of $8,000. Butterfield agreed to tip the men off when the government intended to sell gold.