born July 1, 1802, Glastonbury, Conn., U.S.
died Feb. 11, 1878, Hartford, Conn.
U.S. politician.
Cofounder and editor the Hartford Times (182636), he founded one of the first Republican Party newspapers in New England, the Hartford Evening Press (1856). In 1861 he was appointed secretary of the navy by Pres. Abraham Lincoln , and in the American Civil War he built a large Union navy from a few ships, supported development of the ironclad s, and helped form the strategic naval blockade. His Diary of Gideon Welles (published 1911) contains valuable insights into the Civil War.