A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln’s Cabinet. Gideon Welles
A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln’s Cabinet
Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, 1861–1869.
Engraving of a photograph taken ca. 1865.
Source: The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT
A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln’s Cabinet
Navy Secretary Gideon Welles Chronicles the Civil War
Edited by J. Ronald Spencer
The Acorn Club
Hartford, Connecticut
Published by The Acorn Club c/o Richard Malley, Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105
Distributed by Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT 06459
Book design by David Wolfram
© 2014 The Acorn Club
All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.
5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878.
A Connecticut yankee in Lincoln’s cabinet : Navy Secretary Gideon Welles chronicles the Civil War / Gideon Welles ; edited by J. Ronald Spencer.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-615-96103-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-8195-7498-5 (ebook)
1. Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878—Diaries. 2. United States—Politics and government—1861-1865. 3. United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Naval operations. 4. United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Sources. 5. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865—Friends and associates. 6. Cabinet officers—United States—Diaries. I. Spencer, J. Ronald. II. Title.
E467.1.W46A3 2014
973.7092--dc23
2014004776
In Memory of
Milton P. DeVane, 1929 – 2012
Donald B. Engley, 1917 – 2012
Ellsworth S. Grant, 1917 – 2013
Edward W. Knappman, 1944 – 2011
Edward W. Sloan III, 1931 – 2012
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln’s Cabinet is the thirty-seventh publication of the Acorn Club, which was founded in 1899 to publish books of enduring value in Connecticut history. The book is dedicated to the five former