Gideon Welles

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Gideon Welles

Gideon Welles War-Dated Letter Signed - 1864

Civil War-dated Letter Signed, one page, lightly lined, on Navy Department letterhead dated September 26, 1864. To Major W. B. Slack, Quarter Master for the Marine Corps Headquarters. Measures 7.5″ x 9.5″ visible, framed with a bust portrait of Welles.

Gideon Welles (1802-1878) was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War. Welles was an influential early Republican leader and intimate to President Abraham Lincoln, and was also instrumental in the Navy’s creation of the Medal of Honor.