Gideon Welles

Gideon Welles(July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878), nicknamed "Father Neptune", was theUnited States Secretary of the Navyfrom 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supportingAbraham Lincolnin the1860 election.Although opposed to theUnion blockadeof Southern ports, he duly carried out his part of theAnaconda Plan,largely sealing off the Confederate coastline and preventing the exchange of cotton for war supplies. This is viewed as a major cause of Union victory in theCivil War,and his achievement in expanding the Navy almost tenfold was widely praised. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of theMedal of Honor.

Gideon Welles
Wellesc.1855–1865
24thUnited States Secretary of the Navy
In office March 7, 1861 – March 4, 1869
President	Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	Isaac Toucey
Succeeded by	Adolph E. Borie
Comptroller of Connecticut
In office 1842–1844
Governor	Chauncey Fitch Cleveland
Preceded by	Henry Kilbourn
Succeeded by	Abijah Carrington
In office 1835–1836
Governor	Henry W. Edwards
Preceded by	Roger Huntington
Succeeded by	William Field
Personal details
Born	(1802-07-01)July 1, 1802 Glastonbury,Connecticut, U.S.
Died	February 11, 1878(1878-02-11)(aged 75) Hartford,Connecticut, U.S.
Resting place	Cedar Hill Cemetery
Political party	Democratic(before 1848) Free Soil(1848–1854) Republican(1854–1878)
Spouse	Mary Jane Hale
Children	8
Education	Norwich University(BA)
Signature

Early political career

Gideon Welles, the son of Samuel Welles and Ann Hale,was born on July 1, 1802, inGlastonbury, Connecticut. His father was a shipping merchant and ferventJeffersonian;he was a member of the Convention, which formed the first stateConnecticut Constitutionin 1818 that abolished the colonial charter and officially severed the pre-American Revolutionpolitical ties to England. In contrast to theFundamental Orders of Connecticut,the successor constitution of 1818 provided for freedom of religion. He was a member of the seventh generation of his family in America. His original immigrant ancestor wasThomas Welles,who arrived in 1635 and was the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. He was also the transcriber of the Fundamental Orders. Welles was the second great-grandson of Capt. Samuel Welles and Ruth (Rice) Welles, the daughter ofEdmund Rice,a 1638 immigrant toSudburyand founder ofMarlborough, Massachusetts.

He married on June 16, 1835, at Lewiston, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania,Mary Jane Hale,who was born on June 18, 1817, in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the daughter of Elias White Hale and Jane Mullhallan. Her father, Elias, graduated fromYale Collegein 1794 and practiced law in Mifflin and Centre Counties, Pennsylvania.She died on February 28, 1886, in Hartford, Connecticut, and was buried next to her husband in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford. Gideon and Mary Jane were the parents of six children.

He was educated at theEpiscopal Academy at Cheshire, Connecticut,and earned a degree at the American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy at Norwich, Vt. (laterNorwich University).He became a lawyer through the then-common practice of reading the law, but soon shifted to journalism and became the founder and editor of theHartford Timesin 1826. After successfully gaining admission, from 1827 to 1835, he participated in theConnecticut House of Representativesas a Democrat. Following his service in theConnecticut General Assembly,he served in various posts, including State Controller of Public Accounts in 1835,PostmasterofHartford(1836–41), and Chief of theBureau of Provisions and Clothingfor the Navy (1846–49).

Welles was aJacksonian Democratwho worked very closely withMartin Van BurenandJohn Milton Niles.His chief rival in the Connecticut Democratic Party wasIsaac Toucey,whom Welles would later replace at the Navy Department. While Welles dutifully supportedJames K. Polkin the 1844 election, he would abandon the Democrats in 1848 to support Van Buren'sFree Soilcampaign.

Mainly because of his stronganti-slaveryviews, Welles shifted allegiance in 1854 to the newly establishedRepublican Partyand founded a newspaper in 1856 (theHartford Evening Press) that would espouse Republican ideals for decades thereafter. He was the Republican nominee for governor in the1856 Connecticut gubernatorial election,coming in third behindWilliam T. MinorandSamuel Ingham.

Secretary of the Navy

First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President LincolnbyFrancis Bicknell Carpenter(1864)(Clickable image—use cursor to identify.)

The Running Machine:
An 1864 cartoon takes a swing at the Lincoln administration. It features Welles,William P. Fessenden,Edwin M. Stanton,Abraham LincolnandWilliam H. Seward.

Welles' strong support ofAbraham Lincolnin the1860 presidential electionmade him the logical candidate from New England for Lincoln's cabinet. In March 1861, Lincoln named Welles hisSecretary of the Navy.

Welles found theNaval Departmentin disarray, with Southern officers resigning en masse. His first major action was to dispatch the Navy's most powerful warship, theUSSPowhatan,to relieve Fort Sumter on Lincoln's instructions. Unfortunately, Secretary of StateSewardhad just ordered thePowhatantoFort Pickens,Florida on his own authority, ruining whatever chance MajorRobert Andersonhad of withstanding the assault. Several weeks later, when Seward argued for a blockade of Southern ports, Welles argued vociferously against the action but was eventually overruled by Lincoln. Despite his misgivings, Welles' efforts to rebuild the Navy and implement the blockade proved extraordinarily effective. From 76 ships and 7,600 sailors in 1861, the Navy expanded almost tenfold by 1865. His implementation of the Naval portion of theAnaconda Planstrongly weakened the Confederacy's ability to finance the war by limiting the cotton trade, and while never completely effective in sealing off all 3,500 miles of Southern coastline, it was a major contribution towards Northern victory. Lincoln nicknamed Welles his "Neptune."

After Lincoln's assassination, Welles was retained by PresidentAndrew Johnsonas Secretary of the Navy. In 1866, Welles, along with Seward, was instrumental in launching the National Union Party as a third party alternative supportive of Johnson's reconciliation policies. Welles also played a prominent part in Johnson's ill-fated "Swing Around the Circle"campaign that autumn.Although Welles admitted in his diary that he was dismayed by Johnson's behavior on the trip, particularly the president's penchant for invective and engaging directly with hecklers, Welles remained loyal to Johnson, and supported him duringhis impeachment.On April 17 and 18, 1868, Welles testified inthe impeachment trial of Johnson,having been called as a witness by Johnson's defense team.His son Edgar also testified that day.

Later life and death

Gideon Welles

After leaving politics, Welles returned to Connecticut and to writing, editing his journals, and authoring several books before his death, including a biography,Lincoln and Seward,published in 1874.

He was a Third Class Companion of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.While the Loyal Legion did consist predominantly of Union officers who had served in theAmerican Civil Warthe Order's constitution provided for honorary members (i.e. Third Class Companions) who were civilians who had made significant contributions to the war effort. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of theMedal of Honor.

Towards the end of 1877, his health began to wane. Welles died from a streptococcal throat infection, at the age of seventy-five, on February 12, 1878.His body was interred atCedar Hill CemeteryinHartford, Connecticut.

Legacy

Two ships have been namedUSSWellesin his honor. The Dining Commons atCheshire Academyand the Gideon Welles School inGlastonbury, Connecticut,are also named after him.In theLincoln Squareneighborhood of Chicago,Welles Parkwas dedicated in his honor in 1910,and an adjacent restaurant, opened in 2014, was also named after Gideon Welles.

He was not an ancestor ofOrson Wellesas the actor had claimed onThe Dick Cavett Show.

See also

• Bibliography of early American naval history

References

• Boulard, Garry "The Swing Around the Circle—Andrew Johnson and the Train Ride that Destroyed a Presidency" (iUniverse, 2008)
• Earle, Jonathan Halperin (2004).Jacksonian antislavery and the politics of free soil, 1824-1854.Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.ISBN978-0-8078-2888-5.OCLC1098629620.Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2016.RetrievedJuly 7,2016.
• Hale, Oscar Fitzalan (1909).Ancestry and descendants of Josiah Hale: fifth in descent from Samuel Hale of Hartford, Conn., 1637.Rutland, VT: Tuttle.OCLC608535741.
• Niven, John (1973).Gideon Welles; Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195016932.OCLC797990.
• Norton, Frederick Calvin (1905).The governors of Connecticut: biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history.OCLC958732197.
• Siemiatkoski, Donna Holt.The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut, 1590–1658, and His Wife, Alice TomesBaltimore: Publisher, Gateway Press, 1990.
• Winters, John(1963).The Civil War in Louisiana.Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.ISBN978-0-8071-0834-5.OCLC1391726.

Further reading

• Welles, Gideon(1911).Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy under Lincoln and Johnson.Vol. I. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Welles, Gideon (1911).Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy under Lincoln and Johnson.Vol. II. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Welles, Gideon (1911).Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy under Lincoln and Johnson.Vol. III. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

External links

• Lincoln and Seward:by Gideon Welles, New York: Publisher, Sheldon and Company, 1874.
• Mr. Lincoln's White House: Gideon Welles
• Gideon WellesArchivedAugust 22, 2007, at theWayback Machineat theNaval Historical Center
• Welles Family Association, Inc.
• Biographical sketch of Thomas Welles Connecticut State Library
• Lost Letters of Gideon Welles
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library,Emory University:Welles family papers, 1712-1871