1863 THREE CIVIL WAR LETTERS TO NAVY SECRETARY GIDEON WELLES—NAVAL ACADEMY APPOINTMENTS
A fascinating group of three original Civil War–dated letters addressed to Gideon Welles, President Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the Navy, concerning congressional appointments to the United States Naval Academy.
The letters were written during 1863, when the expanding Union Navy urgently required new officers and the Naval Academy had been temporarily relocated from Annapolis to Newport, Rhode Island.
The most historically significant letter was written from Fort Monroe, Virginia, on July 22, 1863, by Joseph Eggleston Segar, one of Virginia’s most prominent wartime Unionists. Segar refused to follow his state into secession and represented Union-controlled Virginia in Congress.
Segar advises Secretary Welles that Virginia’s newly established congressional districts must be considered in selecting midshipmen for the Naval Academy. He asks for information concerning the appointment available to his district and directs Welles to the relevant apportionment provisions in an accompanying publication.
The reverse bears the revealing contemporary identification:
“Hon. Jos. Segar—M.C. Virginia—Union man.”
The second letter, dated May 21, 1863, is written by newly elected Connecticut Congressman John Henry Hubbard. He asks Welles to confirm whether Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District has a vacancy at the Naval School so that he may submit a candidate. Hubbard became a strong congressional supporter of Lincoln and served from 1863 through 1867.
The third letter, written at Princeton on July 20, 1863, recommends William A. Johnson of Trenton, New Jersey, for admission to the Naval Academy. The writer describes Johnson as a young man of excellent health, character and education who earnestly wished to qualify himself for naval service.
Together, these letters offer an uncommon view of the political appointment system through which Civil War–era midshipmen entered the Naval Academy. They also connect Unionist Virginia, Connecticut and New Jersey political figures directly with Lincoln’s Navy Department.
Condition: Three manuscript letters, each approximately one page, with integral blank leaves or docketing where present. Expected folds, light toning, scattered stains and minor edge wear. Ink remains strong and legible. The letters are addressed to Gideon Welles but are not written or signed by him. Please examine the photographs.
An appealing Civil War naval and political archive highlighted by Joseph Segar’s Fort Monroe letter and his contemporary identification as a “Virginia Union man.”
A fascinating group of three original Civil War–dated letters addressed to Gideon Welles, President Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the Navy, concerning congressional appointments to the United States Naval Academy.
The letters were written during 1863, when the expanding Union Navy urgently required new officers and the Naval Academy had been temporarily relocated from Annapolis to Newport, Rhode Island.
The most historically significant letter was written from Fort Monroe, Virginia, on July 22, 1863, by Joseph Eggleston Segar, one of Virginia’s most prominent wartime Unionists. Segar refused to follow his state into secession and represented Union-controlled Virginia in Congress.
Segar advises Secretary Welles that Virginia’s newly established congressional districts must be considered in selecting midshipmen for the Naval Academy. He asks for information concerning the appointment available to his district and directs Welles to the relevant apportionment provisions in an accompanying publication.
The reverse bears the revealing contemporary identification:
“Hon. Jos. Segar—M.C. Virginia—Union man.”
The second letter, dated May 21, 1863, is written by newly elected Connecticut Congressman John Henry Hubbard. He asks Welles to confirm whether Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District has a vacancy at the Naval School so that he may submit a candidate. Hubbard became a strong congressional supporter of Lincoln and served from 1863 through 1867.
The third letter, written at Princeton on July 20, 1863, recommends William A. Johnson of Trenton, New Jersey, for admission to the Naval Academy. The writer describes Johnson as a young man of excellent health, character and education who earnestly wished to qualify himself for naval service.
Together, these letters offer an uncommon view of the political appointment system through which Civil War–era midshipmen entered the Naval Academy. They also connect Unionist Virginia, Connecticut and New Jersey political figures directly with Lincoln’s Navy Department.
Condition: Three manuscript letters, each approximately one page, with integral blank leaves or docketing where present. Expected folds, light toning, scattered stains and minor edge wear. Ink remains strong and legible. The letters are addressed to Gideon Welles but are not written or signed by him. Please examine the photographs.
An appealing Civil War naval and political archive highlighted by Joseph Segar’s Fort Monroe letter and his contemporary identification as a “Virginia Union man.”
