that an investigation would be incompatible with the public service, Conkling delivered a speech calling the battle "the most atrocious military murder ever committed in our history as a people," gaining national attention. His persistent criticism led to the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War to provide civilian oversight of the war effort. Conkling was a consistent opponent of issuing paper currency to pay for the war effort, unsuccessfully voting against the Legal Tender Act of 1862 and proposing bond issuances redeemable in gold as substitutes. He remained a consistent opponent of monetary expansion throughout his career. Out of office Conkling was renominated by party faithful at Rome on September 26, 1862. He was opposed by his former teacher in law, Democrat Francis Kernan, running on a ticket with his brother-in-law Horatio Seymour for Governor. Local Democrats quoted criticism of Conkling by radical Representative Elihu Washburne and cited Conkling's brother Frederick's vote against an expansion of the Erie Canal which would have benefitted the upstate district. Some anti-Conkling Republicans, upset by the cold shoulder he had given him, also campaigned against Conkling; their campaign may have been especially effective among the Welsh population of the district. He may also have suffered from the disproportionate enlistment of Republican voters in the Union Army and a growing sentiment opposed to the war in general. Conkling was ultimately narrowly defeated by Kernan by 98 votes, and Seymour was once again elected Governor. Conkling ran behind the Republican gubernatorial candidate, radical James S. Wadsworth, in Oneida. After leaving office, Conkling returned to Utica and resumed a solo law practice. He continued to give public speeches on occasion. From 1863 to 1865, he acted informally as a judge advocate of the War Department, investigating alleged frauds in the recruiting service in western New York. In the summer of 1863, he and Kernan were opposing counsel in a case regarding an Army deserter. In 1864, Conkling remained an active supporter of President Lincoln and endorsed his re-nomination and re-election. He rebuffed efforts, including a direct appeal from Horace Greeley, to replace Lincoln on the ticket with a more radical candidate. Conkling was re-nominated on the Union ticket, despite some opposition, on September 22. At the district convention, Ward Hunt produced a letter from Lincoln claiming no other candidate "could be more satisfactory to me" than Conkling. He was nominated by a