Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878) was the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Secretary of the NavyThe United States Secretary of the Navy is the civilian head of the Department of the Navy. The position was a member of the President's Cabinet until 1947, when the Navy, Army, and newly created Air Force were placed in the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy was placed under the...
from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the
NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
to successfully execute
blockadeA blockade is an effort to cut off the communications of a particular area by force. It is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city. Also, a blockade historically took place at sea, with the blockading power seeking...
s of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
.
Gideon Welles, the son of Samuel Welles and Ann Hale, was born on July 1, 1802 in
Glastonbury, ConnecticutGlastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the English Glastonbury. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, south east from Hartford. The town center is also defined by the U.S...
.
His father was a shipping merchant and fervent Jeffersonian; he was a member of the Convention which formed the first state
Connecticut ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Connecticut is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was approved by referendum on 14 December 1965 and proclaimed by the governor as adopted on 30 December. It is the second constitution that the state has had...
in 1818 that abolished the colonial charter and officially severed the political ties to England.
Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878) was the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Secretary of the NavyThe United States Secretary of the Navy is the civilian head of the Department of the Navy. The position was a member of the President's Cabinet until 1947, when the Navy, Army, and newly created Air Force were placed in the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy was placed under the...
from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the
NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
to successfully execute
blockadeA blockade is an effort to cut off the communications of a particular area by force. It is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city. Also, a blockade historically took place at sea, with the blockading power seeking...
s of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
.
Biography
Gideon Welles, the son of Samuel Welles and Ann Hale, was born on July 1, 1802 in
Glastonbury, ConnecticutGlastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the English Glastonbury. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, south east from Hartford. The town center is also defined by the U.S...
.
His father was a shipping merchant and fervent Jeffersonian; he was a member of the Convention which formed the first state
Connecticut ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Connecticut is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was approved by referendum on 14 December 1965 and proclaimed by the governor as adopted on 30 December. It is the second constitution that the state has had...
in 1818 that abolished the colonial charter and officially severed the political ties to England. The constitution is also notable for having reversed the earlier Orders and provided for freedom of religion.
He was a direct descendant of Gov.
Thomas WellesThomas Welles is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary...
, the Fourth Colonial Governor of Connecticut and the transcriber of the Fundamental Orders.
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 Hale and Jane Mullhallan. Her father, Elias, graduated from
Yale CollegeYale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
in 1794, and was a lawyer. She died on February 28, 1886 in Hartford, Connecticut and was buired next to her husband in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut. Gideon and Mary Jane were the parents of six children.
He was educated at the
Episcopal Academy at Cheshire, ConnecticutCheshire Academy is a college preparatory school located in Cheshire, Connecticut. Founded in 1794 as the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, it was the tenth private academy founded in the United States....
, and earned a degree at the American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy at Norwich, Vt. (later
Norwich UniversityNorwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont. There is a Corps of Cadets and a smaller traditional student population. The University was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy...
). He became a
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
through the then-common practice of reading the law, but soon shifted to
journalismJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
and became the founder and editor of the
Hartford Times in 1826. After successfully gaining admission, from 1827-1835, he participated in the
Connecticut House of RepresentativesThe Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing nearly 22,600 residents...
as a Democrat. Following his service in the
Connecticut General AssemblyThe Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member lower Connecticut House of Representatives and the 36-member upper Connecticut Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford...
, he served in various posts, including State Controller of Public Accounts in 1835,
PostmasterA postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
of
HartfordHartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state, south of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its 2006 population of 124,512 ranks Hartford as the state's second-largest city, after Bridgeport. New...
(1836-41), and Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing for the Navy (1846-49).
Welles was a Jacksonian Democrat, who worked very closely with
Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. Before his presidency, he served as the eighth Vice President and the 10th Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson...
and
John Milton NilesJohn Milton Niles was a lawyer, editor, author and politician from Connecticut, serving in the United States Senate and as United States Postmaster General 1840 to 1841....
. His chief rival in the Connecticut Democratic Party was
Isaac TouceyIsaac Toucey was an American statesman who served as a U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Navy, Attorney General of the United States and Governor of Connecticut....
, whom Welles would later replace at the Navy Department. While Welles dutifully supported
James K. PolkJames Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States .Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, but mostly lived in and represented the state of Tennessee...
in the 1844 election, he would abandon the Democrats in 1848 to support Van Buren's Freesoil campaign.
Mainly because of his strong anti-slavery views, Welles shifted allegiance in 1854 to the newly-established Republican Party, and founded a newspaper in 1856 (the
Hartford Evening Press) that would espouse Republican ideals for decades thereafter. Welles' strong support of
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
in 1860 made him the logical candidate from New England for Lincoln's cabinet, and in March 1861 Lincoln named Welles his
Secretary of the NavyThe United States Secretary of the Navy is the civilian head of the Department of the Navy. The position was a member of the President's Cabinet until 1947, when the Navy, Army, and newly created Air Force were placed in the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy was placed under the...
.
Tenure in Lincoln's Cabinet
Welles found the
Naval DepartmentThe United States Department of the Navy was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide administrative and technical support, and civilian leadership to the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps...
in disarray, with Southern officers resigning en masse. His first major action was to dispatch the Navy's most powerful warship, the
USS PowhatanThe first USS Powhatan was a sidewheel steam frigate in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Powhatan, a Native American chief of eastern Virginia. She was one of the last, and largest, of the United States Navy's paddle frigates.Powhatans keel was laid on 6...
, to relieve Fort Sumter. Unfortunately, Lincoln had simultaneously ordered the Powhatan to both
Fort SumterFort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
and Pensacola, Florida, ruining whatever chance
Major Robert AndersonRobert Anderson was an American military leader. He served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, known for his command of Fort Sumter at the start of the war. He is often referred to as Major Robert Anderson, referring to his rank at Fort Sumter.-Early life:Anderson was born in...
had of withstanding the assault. Several weeks later, when
William H. SewardWilliam Henry Seward, Sr. was a Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
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 7600 sailors in 1861, by 1865 the Navy expanded almost tenfold. His implementation of the Naval portion of the
Anaconda PlanThe Anaconda Plan is the name widely applied to an outline strategy for subduing the seceding states in the American Civil War. Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi River to cut the South...
strongly weakened the Confederacy's ability to finance the war through 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 "
NeptuneNeptune is the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology, a brother of Jupiter and Pluto. He is analogous with but not identical to the god Poseidon of Greek mythology. The Roman conception of Neptune owed a great deal to the Etruscan god Nethuns....
".
Despite his successes, Welles was never at ease in the
United States CabinetThe United States Cabinet is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States...
. His anti-English sentiments caused him to clash with
William H. SewardWilliam Henry Seward, Sr. was a Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
,
Secretary of StateSecretary of State is a commonly used title for a member of government. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the government.In many countries, a Secretary of State is a mid-level post...
, and Welles's conservative stances led to arguments with
Salmon P. ChaseSalmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and Governor of Ohio; as U.S...
and
Edwin M. StantonEdwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer, politician, United States Attorney General in 1860-61 and Secretary of War through most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era.-Early life and career:...
, the Secretaries of
the TreasuryThe United States Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, concerned with finance and monetary matters, and, until 2003, some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United States is analogous to the...
and of
WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
, respectively.
Tenure in Johnson's Cabinet
After Lincoln's assassination Welles was retained by President
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
as 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 fall. 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 to the end, even congratulating him in 1875 when Johnson, now an ex-president, was launching a comeback political bid with his election to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee.
Welles ultimately left the Cabinet on March 3, 1869, having returned to the Democratic Party after disagreeing with
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
's reconstruction policies but supporting him during his impeachment trial.
Later Life and Death
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. Towards the end of 1877, his health began to wane. A streptococcal infection of the throat killed Gideon Welles at the age of seventy-five on February 12, 1878. His body was interred at
Cedar Hill CemeteryCedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut is located at 453 Fairfield Avenue. It was designed by landscape architect Jacob Weidenmann who also designed Hartford's Bushnell Park. Its first sections were completed in 1866 and the first burial took place on July 17, 1866...
in
Hartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state, south of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its 2006 population of 124,512 ranks Hartford as the state's second-largest city, after Bridgeport. New...
.
The Diary of Gideon Welles
Welles' three-volume diary, documenting his Cabinet service from 1861-1869, is an invaluable archive for Civil War scholars and students of Lincoln alike, allowing readers rare insight into the complex struggles, machinations and inter-relational strife within the President's War Cabinet. Although offering a unique and quite non pareil portrayal of the immense personalities and problems facing the men who led the Union to ultimate victory, the first edition (published in 1911) suffers from rewrites by Welles himself and after his death, by his son; the 1960 edition is drawn directly from his original manuscript. The 1911 version of his diary may be found on Google Books:
Vol. I (1861-March 30, 1864),
Vol. II (April 1, 1864-Dec. 31, 1866),
Vol. III (Jan. 1, 1866-June 6, 1869).
Posthumous Dedications
Two ships have been named
USS WellesTwo ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Welles for Gideon Welles.* The first Welles was a Clemson-class destroyer, commissioned in 1919 and transferred to the Royal Navy in 1940 where she served as HMS Cameron until 1944.* The second Welles was a Gleaves-class destroyer,...
in his honor. The Dining Commons at
Cheshire AcademyCheshire Academy is a college preparatory school located in Cheshire, Connecticut. Founded in 1794 as the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, it was the tenth private academy founded in the United States....
and the Gideon Welles School in
Glastonbury, ConnecticutGlastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the English Glastonbury. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, south east from Hartford. The town center is also defined by the U.S...
are also named after him.
External links