Home > Gideon Welles

Born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, Welles intended, as a young man, to become a lawyer, but soon shifted to journalism and became the founder and editor of the Hartford Times in 1826. Quickly thereafter he became a member of the Connecticut state legislature as a Democrat. His support of the Democratic Party earned him several political offices later in his career, including State Controller of Public Accounts in 1835, Postmaster of HartfordHartford is the capital of the state of Connecticut, in Hartford County. It is located on the Connecticut River, near the center of the state. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 121,578. It is the second largest city in the state, after (1836-41), and Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing for the Navy (1846-49).

Welles shifted allegiance in 1854 to the newly-founded Republican Party, and founded a newspaper in 1856 (the Hartford Evening Press ) that would espouse Republican ideals for decades thereafter. In gratitude for his support, Welles was made Secretary of the Navy by Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln ( February 12, 1809 April 15, 1865) was the 16th ( 1861- 1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. The election of Lincoln, who staunchly opposed the expansion of slavery, polarized the nation, the first Republican president, in 1861. When war broke out between the Union and the Confederacy, Welles's department was responsible for the difficult task of blockading the entire southern coastline of the United States (which stretched to over 3,500 miles), in order to weaken the Confederacy economically (a strategy known as the Anaconda PlanThe Anaconda Plan was drawn up by General Winfield Scott to end the American Civil War in favor of the North. The plan was adopted in 1862, involving four main parts. Blockade the coast of the South to prevent the export of cotton, tobacco, and other cash). While the blockade was never completely effective, its economic impact on the South proved large enough to contribute significantly towards ending the war.

Despite his successes, Welles was never at ease in the United States Cabinetorder of precedence. The Cabinet is a part of the executive branch of the U. federal government consisting of the heads of federal executive departments. Despite having evolved as one of the most powerful organs of the contemporary U. government, the term. His anti-English sentiments caused him to clash with William Seward, Secretary of StateUnited Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a senior Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department. Secretary of State positions can be created without primary legislation; and legislation refers to 'Secretary of State', which is, and Welles's conservative stances led to arguments with Salmon P. ChaseSalmon Portland Chase ( January 13, 1808 May 7, 1873) was an American political figure in the Civil War era who served as Chief Justice of the United States and as U. Treasury Secretary under Abraham Lincoln. Biography Chase was born in Cornish, New Hamps and Edwin Stanton, the Secretaries of the Treasury and of War, respectively. Welles ultimately left the Cabinet in 1869, having returned to the Democratic Party in 1868: his criticisms of Andrew Johnson and the federal policies of reconstruction had given fuel to his leaving.

After leaving politics, Welles returned to writing, authoring several books before his death, including Lincoln and Seward in 1874. His diary (posthumously published in 1911) remains a unique and fascinating insight into the personalities and problems of the men who coordinated the Northern efforts in the Civil War. Welles died in 1878 in Hartford, Connecticut.