 In a story recounted by David Davis, Draper obtained the collector's post after paying $20,000 (about $320,000 in 2018) to Mary Todd Lincoln so that she would persuade her husband to appoint him to this lucrative post.Draper and Mrs. Lincoln both denied Davis's claim, and nothing was ever proved against them.During the American Civil War, Draper was an agent of the federal government, responsible for receiving cotton captured in the Confederate states, storing it, and then selling it on the government's behalf.