WELLES, Gideon (1802-1878). Letters and document associated with Welles, and other naval commanders.

Incomplete autograph letter signed ("Gideon Welles") to his brother-in-law George D. Morgan. N.p., [1864?]. 4pp, 8vo, (missing pages 1-2, creased, pencil marks). To “Geo D[?] Morgan Esqr.”

A sensitive personal letter to his brother-in-law, trying to salvage a political/familial relationship threatened by a difference of opinion: “You believe that the disappointed men who slandered and abused Smith and Southall were more correct in their expressed[?] views than I was in trusting them. Unless you know of something specifically wrong in their public affairs, would it not be as wise to encourage me in my estimate of them as to yield to their defamers? And when, not only myself but nine of as good officers as there are in the Navy, sitting as judges, have found Wilkes guilty, and any other Board of officers come to the same result,-- [illegible word] it strange that I said that you need not trouble yourself on his behalf .“

Early in the war, Welles wanted to quickly build the Navy and so hired his brother-in-law George D. Morgan, a partner with Morgan’s cousin, Edwin D. Morgan, in a commodities export business and other enterprises. Edwin D. Morgan also happened to be Governor of New York. George was to function as a ship purchasing agent for the Navy, and to receive a 2.5% fee on each sale. US Senators Seward and Hale decried the arrangement and created a nepotism scandal, though George D. Morgan was not found to have abused his position. It is unclear specifically what this particular disagreement was about, but it likely was written after the court martial and conviction of naval officer Charles Wilkes. The Welles Archives at the Huntington Library and the Library of Congress, which include letters between the Morgan and Welles, could perhaps identify additional information related to the correspondence.

[With:] A group of 2 immediate post-war documents signed by Gustavus V. Fox (1821-1883), as Assistant Secretary of the US Navy, to Frank Moore, editor of The Rebellion Record. FOX, Gustavus. Letter signed ("G.V. Fox"), Navy Department, Washington, 18 Oct. 1865. 2 pp., 4to. Addressed to Frank Moore Esq, editor of The Rebellion Record, New York. Fox is returning “herewith corrected proofs of the correspondence &c. relating to the expedition for the relief of Fort Sumter” as well as specified additional correspondence [not present]. The latter documents “are essential to a full understanding of the Fort Sumter Expedition, and I have to ask that you will append them to it—as separate papers however. / You can also say that orders, now on file in the Navy Department, were given by the President to the Secretary of the Navy on the 29th of March to fit out the Expedition for the relief of Fort Sumter.” -- Letter signed ("G.V. Fox"), Navy Department, Washington, 19 October 1865. Marked “Unofficial.” Also addressed to Frank Moore, sending just-discovered telegrams [not present] “which form an important part of my statement. I will thank you to append them thereto, and send the Department twenty five numbers containing the Fort Sumter statement.”

Frank Moore (1828-1904) was an American journalist and writer. He edited The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives and Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, etc., a twelve volume report on the American Civil War. An interesting group of letters demonstrating the extent to which the history of the Civil War was already being examined, reevaluated, and documented during the war and its immediate aftermath.

[With:] A group of 2 documents related to Commander Johnston B. Creighton (1822-1883) and the USS Mahaska.
Partly printed document, with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles’s printed signature, appointing Creighton Commander on the Active List from 23 Sept. 1862, and enclosing his Commission [not present], dated 21 February 1863. Navy Department, [Washington, DC], 11 April 1863. To Commander J.B. Creighton, US Navy, US Gun Boat Mahaska, N.[orth] A.[tlantic] B.[lockading] Squadron. 1p, 8 x 9 3/4 in. (folds, purple ink bleed near center left). -- Partly printed document, with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles’s printed signature, notifying Creighton of his appointment as Lieutenant Commander on the Active List from 16 July 1862 and enclosing his Commission [not present] dated 21 February 1863. Navy Department, [Washington, DC], 18 April 1863. To Lieutenant Commander Johnston B. Commander, US Navy, who is assigned command of the USS Mahaska, Baltimore.

The Mahaska was a side-wheel steamer of the third rate, commissioned 5 May 1862. After Creighton assumed command, the Mahaska was on special duty in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron during which time it joined in the blockade of Charleston and participated in the attacks on the forts and batteries in that harbor: Fort Wagner, 8 and 18 August; Morris Island, 13 to 17, and 20 August; and Fort Sumter, 21 August 1863. After the war, Creighton ultimately achieved the rank of Rear Admiral and served as Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Shipyard.

[With:] WELLES, Gideon (1802-1878). Letter signed ("Gideon Welles") for telegraphic transmission to Captain [J.M.] Berrien. Washington, D.C. 21 May 1865. 1p, 7 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (ink bleed, verso with adhesive residue). On printed "Office U.S. Military Telegraph" stationery.

Welles writes to Captain Berrien, Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard: "You may grant leaves to visit Washington to see the review to those who can be spared." A Grand Review of the Armies was held on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. from May 23-24, 1865, following the Union victory in the Civil War.

[Also with:] An incomplete letter, a war-date letter, and copy print of unidentified woman.

The Richard B. Cohen Civil War Collection

This lot is located in Cincinnati.