Watt was the gentleman who, according to the White House servant Thomas Stackpole, “had in the beginning of the Administration suggested to Mrs. Lincoln the making of false bills so as to get pay for private expenses out of the public treasury and had aided her in doing so.” It is not clear just when Watt and the First Lady began conspiring to defraud the government. John P. Usher, assistant secretary of the interior, informed Browning in late July 1861 of scandals involving Mrs. Lincoln. The first known example of her padding bills occurred the following month, when she tried to charge a state dinner for Prince Napoleon to the manure fund (paid by Congress), but Watt charged it to his account. He billed the Interior Department $900, but the secretary of that department, Caleb B. Smith, rejected the claim. Finding the cost exorbitant, Smith consulted with Secretary of State Seward, who had also given a dinner for the prince, involving an equal number of guests, and providing the same meal that had been served at the White House. Both dinners had been catered by the same restaurant, which charged Seward $300. Mrs. Lincoln asked for a $900 reimbursement. Thwarted by Smith’s refusal, the First Lady then instructed Watt to prepare a bill for plants, flowers, pots, and other gardening expenses totaling $900. She vouched for it herself and received the money. This legerdemain created a scandal.
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃
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