It, in Congress and out of Congress, now is that .... The gold

bill is doing nothing but mischief ; and I have communications, and

other Senators have received them, from New York especially, beg-

ging that that bill shall be repealed. I do not know any member

of the Senate who formerly was willing to give that bill his sanction

who is not now just as willing to repeal it. It has had its trial and

has failed to produce anything but mischief.*

Later in the same day the bill for repeal was passed by

the House without any discussion. 6 It was signed by Presi-

dent Lincoln July 2 ; 8 the 3d was Sunday, and the 4th Inde-

pendence Day, but on the 5th the gold room was reopened

and the business of dealing in gold resumed its wonted

course. 7

The great fall of the currency, shown by the spectacular

advance of the premium in June and July, was by no

means due solely to the gold-bill blunder. Military news

was unfavorable. After his frightful losses in the Wilder-

1 See his own account of what he said to Fessenden in regard to the matter,

WAEDEN, p. 619.

2 Compare Part I, chap, v, sec. ii, p. 124, above.

3 Congressional Globe, 38th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 3160. 7Wd., p. 3446.

s Ibid., p. 3468. The vote was : yeas, 87 ; nays, 29 ; not voting, 66.

f > 13 Statutes at Large, p. 344.

i At the stock exchange, however, transactions in gold were never regularly

resumed after June 20. Cf. Commercial and Financial Chronicle, Vol. I, p. 168.

SPECIE VALUE OF THE PAPER CURRENCY 233

ness and at Spottsylvania, Grant had been compelled to

give up his plan of taking Richmond by assaults on Lee's

lines. The bloody repulse at Cold Harbor, June 3, was fol-

lowed by ten days of inaction. When Grant crossed the

James in the middle of the month, Lee merely fell back on

Richmond and seemed as safe as before. The attempt to

secure the Weldon railway south of Petersburg by swinging

Infantry corps to the left was foiled by Ewell's fierce attacks,

and though Wilson's cavalry succeeded in cutting the rail-

way, they were afterward defeated and the damage repaired.

On the last day of June the mine was exploded at Peters-

burg, but the assault through the breach failed miserably.

Meantime Hunter, advancing on Lynchburg, was compelled

to retreat into West Virginia by the sudden appearance of

Early on his front with a superior force. This move opened

the way for Early's dash on Washington in the first fort-

night of July, which was almost successful. Though miss-

Ing this prize, the Confederates operated in the Shenandoah

for the rest of the month and on the 30th burned Chambers-

burg in Pennsylvania. Grant in the meanwhile was reduced

to acting on the defensive ; for he had been compelled to

send an army corps and two divisions of cavalry to confront

Early. In the South Sherman seemed to be making slow

progress against the wary Johnston in his campaign about

Atlanta, and all attempts to capture Forrest's cavalry in

Mississippi proved futile. It seemed, indeed, in June and

July that almost no progress was being made toward sub-

duing the Confederacy, despite the prodigious expenditure

of money and blood.

The financial outlook was no better. In contrast with

the five-twenty loan which had closed in January, the ten-

forty loan was a dismal failure. Another loan on seventeen-

year bonds advertised June 25 met with so unflattering a

reception that it had to be withdrawn on the 2d of July.