A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln’s Cabinet: Navy Secretary Gideon Welles Chronicles the Civil War

Chapter 3: Welles on Lincoln

48 Chapter 3 Welles on Lincoln The first section of this chapter presents some of Welles’s judgments about Lincoln as president – judgments in which admiration and commendation are leavened with criticism. The excerpts in Section II illustrate Lincoln’s sense of humor, his knack for making a serious point by telling an amusing story, his compassion (some would say soft-heartedness), and his accessibility to members of the general public. I Chapter 1 [undated, p. 25 of the published diary]: President Lincoln never shunned any responsibility and often declared that he, and not his Cabinet, was in fault for errors imputed to them. September 16, 1862: The President has good sense, intelligence, and an excellent heart, but is sadly perplexed and distressed by events. He distrusts his own administrative ability and experience, and I think Seward encourages this distrust. . . . On September 24, 1862, just two days after issuing the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln, without consulting the cabinet, issued a proclamation suspending the writ of habeas corpus in cases of civilians arrested and detained by the military for acts that allegedly impeded the war effort or otherwise aided the rebellion. This prevented such detainees from petitioning a judge to determine whether their arrest was warranted and if the judge determined that it was not, ordering their release. The following entry reflects Welles’s longstanding concern about the potential abuse of power by the central government. Welles on Lincoln 49 September 25, 1862: The President has issued a proclamation on martial law – suspension of habeas corpus he terms it, meaning, of course, a suspension of the privilege of habeas corpus. Of this proclamation I knew nothing until I saw it in the papers, and am not sorry that I did not. I question the utility of a multiplicity of proclamations striking deep on great questions. July 7, 1863: The president . . . said he had spoken to Halleck and urged that the right tone and spirit should be infused into officers and men, and that General Meade especially should be reminded of his (the President’s) wishes and expectations [that Meade would vigorously pursue Lee’s battered army as it retreated from Gettysburg.] But General Halleck gave him a short and curt reply, showing that he did not participate and sympathize in this feeling, and, said the President, “I drop the subject.” This is the President’s error. His own convictions and conclusions are infinitely superior to Halleck’s – even in military operations more sensible and more correct always – but yet he says, “It being strictly a military question, it is proper I should defer to Halleck, whom I have called here to counsel, advise, and direct in these matters, where he is an expert.” I questioned whether he should be considered an expert. I look upon Halleck as a pretty good critic of other men’s deeds and acts, but as incapable of originating or directing military operations. . . . [Shortly after returning] to the Navy Department I was handed a dispatch from Admiral [David Dixon] Porter [commander of the Mississippi River Squadron], communicating the fall of Vicksburg on the fourth of July. . . . I immediately returned to the Executive Mansion. The President was detailing certain points relative to Grant’s movements on the map to Chase and two or three others, when I gave him the tidings. Putting down the map, he rose at once, said we would drop these topics, and “I myself will telegraph this news to General Meade.” He rose and seized his hat, but suddenly stopped, his countenance beaming with joy; he caught my hand, and, throwing his arm around me, exclaimed: “What can we do for the Secretary of the Navy for this glorious intelligence? He is always giving us good news.1 I cannot, in words, tell you my joy over this result. It is great, Mr. Welles, it is great!” We walked across the lawn together. “This,” said he, “will relieve [General Nathaniel] Banks [who was besieging Port Hudson, Louisiana, 1 Other naval “good news” Lincoln probably had in mind included Admiral Du Pont’s seizure of Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, in November 1861 and of Fort Pulaski in Georgia the following April, Flag Officer (later Admiral) Andrew Hull Foote’s capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River in February 1862, and Admiral Farragut’s successful campaign to take New Orleans in April 1862. 50 Welles on Lincoln about 200 miles south of...