Gideon Welles, 24th Secretary of the Navy
Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 - February 11, 1878), nicknamed Father Neptune, was the Secretary of the Navy from 1861-69, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed to the Union blockade of Southern ports, he duly carried out his part of the Anaconda Plan, largely sealing off the Confederate coastline and preventing the exchange of cotton for war supplies. This is viewed as a major cause of Union victory in the Civil War, and his achievement in expanding the Navy almost tenfold was widely praised. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of the Medal of Honor. After leaving politics, Welles returned to Connecticut and to writing, editing his journals, and authoring several books before his death, including a biography, Lincoln and Seward, published in 1874. Towards the end of 1877, his health began to wane. In 1878 a streptococcal infection of the throat killed Gideon Welles at the age of 75. Study for First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Francis Bicknell Carpenter, 1863
