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Creator
Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878
Call number
MssCol 3275
Physical description
1.75 linear feet (7 boxes); 4 microfilm reels
Language
Materials in English
Preferred Citation

Gideon Welles papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Gideon Welles (1802-1878) was an American politician and editor. He served as Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson after having political positions in Connecticut as a member of the Democratic Party. He left the party over the slavery question and became a Republican supporter. He edited and wrote political commentary for several newspapers in Connecticut. Collection consists of correspondence, official papers and writings of Welles. Bulk of the collection is correspondence mainly related to his public life and duties. Topics include political issues, the Civil War, operations of the Navy Dept., his political and literary endeavors, and family matters. Official papers contain memoranda, charters, contracts, and lists of ships and officers. Writings are drafts of articles, congressional reports, and notes on politics and the Civil War.

Biographical/historical information

Gideon Welles (1802-1878) was a public servant, editor, and Secretary of the Navy from 1861-1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. Born in Connecticut, and educated there and in Vermont, Welles studied law, but became in 1826 part owner and editor of the Hartford Times. A staunch Jeffersonian Democrat, and an early supporter of Andrew Jackson in New England, Welles served in the Connecticut Legislature from 1827-1835, as Connecticut State Comptroller in 1835, and again from 1841-1843, and as the Postmaster in Hartford from 1835-1841. He was also Chief of the Navy Bureau of Provisions and Clothing from 1841-1843

Welles left the Democratic Party over the slavery question, and in 1856 helped to found the Republican Hartford Evening Press, for which he served as a political writer in the years before the Civil War. He also became a Republican national committee member. After Lincoln's election, Welles was designated the "New England" member, of the cabinet as Secretary of the Navy, where his task was to build an effective force from a widely scattered Navy, which had lost great numbers of officers, and amounts of material to the rebellious states. Welles was an early supporter of ironclad ships in the face of political opposition, and though he was a very active and influential Republican, the Navy Department was remarkably free of political favoritism.

Welles also contributed to general government and war policies, including foreign policy, currency questions, and the abolition of Slavery. He opposed the suspension Habeas Corpus, and the suppression of the Chicago Times. After the war he favored Lincoln's moderate policy toward the South, against the prevailing Republican policy, and was an ardent supporter of Johnson in the impeachment proceedings. Welles returned to the Democratic Party in 1868, and then again to the Republicans in 1872. From his retirement until his death in 1878, he wrote political commentary for the Galaxy.

Scope and arrangement

The Gideon Welles Papers are comprised of three principal series: Correspondence, Official Papers, and Writings. The bulk of the papers is correspondence, most of which is related to Welles' public life and duties. The fortunes of the Connecticut and national Democratic parties are the subjects of many of the letters, with issues ranging from local election results to the admission of Texas to the United States. Also discussed is the business of the Hartford Post Office, and the Navy Bureau of Clothing and Provisions, both headed by Welles. The Civil War and the operations of the Navy Department also figure prominently in the correspondence. Subjects include: patronage requests, ship specifications, contracts, War and Navy Department policies, and charges of corruption and mismanagement in the Navy Department. The post-war correspondence refers to the re-employment of rebel personnel in Naval and Naval shipyard positions, as well as Welles' personal political and literary endeavors and interests. There is also a small amount of family correspondence. Correspondents include: W. C. Church, Charles Ingersoll, George D. Mason, J. M. Niles, and William Seward.

The official papers consist of memoranda, charters, contracts, and lists of ships and officers relating to Welles' government positions as Postmaster, Chief of the Navy Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, and Secretary of the Navy.

Finally, the writings are drafts of articles, congressional reports and notes on politics and Civil War issues.

Arrangement

Three series: I. Correspondence; II. Official Papers; III. Writings

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

1924, Received from Purchase, Stan. V. Henkels

Processing information

Accessioned by CRK, 1-14-87

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Access restrictions

Positive microfilm must be used.

Alternative form available

Entire collection available on microfilm; New York Public Library; *ZL-442