In June 1874, President Grant appointed Benjamin Bristow as Secretary of Treasury, with 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.