Gideon Welles: Lincoln's Neptune and the Tenfold Growth of the Union Navy

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Gideon Welles was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, on July 1, 1802, into a family of state officeholders. He read law, then in 1826 founded the Hartford Times and served as a Jacksonian Democrat in the Connecticut House. From 1846 to 1849 he ran the Navy's Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, learning procurement and how to spot fraudulent invoices. His opposition to slavery led him to the Free Soil Party in 1848 and to help found the Republican Party, and in March 1861 Abraham Lincoln named him Secretary of the Navy as Southern officers resigned en masse.

Welles's first mission was sabotaged when Secretary of State William Seward diverted the USS Powhatan away from Fort Sumter. He opposed calling the closure of Southern ports a blockade, arguing the term implied Confederate sovereignty, but carried out the Anaconda Plan once Lincoln decided. From 76 ships and 7,600 sailors he built a navy about ten times larger by buying and converting merchant ships. Under Andrew Johnson he joined Seward in the National Union Party, privately deplored the Swing Around the Circle tour, and testified for Johnson at his impeachment trial.

His ancestor Thomas Welles is the only person to hold all four of Connecticut's top offices.
Lincoln nicknamed him Neptune for his management of the naval buildup.
He championed ironclads including the USS Monitor and helped create the Navy's Medal of Honor.
His wartime diaries remain a key source on the Lincoln and Johnson cabinets.
He died in 1878 at 75, and two Navy warships were later named USS Welles.

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