Welles, Gideon (1802-1878), served as secretary of the Navy under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Although a Democrat for 30 years, Welles joined the Republican Party when it was organized in 1854. Lincoln, a Republican, appointed him Navy secretary at the start of the American Civil War in 1861. Welles worked to boost morale and create an efficient administration. Under his supervision, the Union Navy added about 600 ships and grew from 7,500 sailors to more than 50,000. It also set up a blockade along the Confederate coast and formed a fleet of gunboats and ironclad vessels on the Mississippi River. Welles vigorously upheld President Johnson’s moderate policy toward the South after the war.
Welles was born on July 1, 1802, in Glastonbury, Connecticut. From 1826 to 1836, he edited the Hartford (Connecticut) Times. He also advised President Andrew Jackson on affairs in Connecticut. During the Mexican War (1846-1848), Welles served as chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing of the U.S. Navy Department. He died on Feb. 11, 1878.
