GIDEON WELLES - MANUSCRIPT LETTER SIGNED 07/16/1866 - HFSID 31388
Price: $700.00
GIDEON WELLES
As Secretary of the Navy, he advises the commander of the US European
squadron to expect the arrival of the USS Swatara on a training
cruise.
Manuscript Letter signed: "G. Welles" as Secretary of the
Navy, 2 pages (integral leaf), 15½x9¾ open flat, 8x9¾ closed. Navy
Department, Washington, 1866 July 16. To L. M. Goldsborough commanding,
European Squadron, Lisbon, Portugal. In full: "The U.S.S. Swatara,
comdr. Wm. N. Jeffers, having on board a complement of midshipmen who stand a
regular watch on the engineering department of the vessel, left Norfolk on the
20th ult. for a short cruise on the European station. Cmdr. Jeffers will proceed
to Lisbon and report to you. The Department desires that the Swatara should
visit Portsmouth, Cherbourg, Brest and any other of the principal naval depots
of Europe that would be likely to present objects of interest and lend to the
instruction of these young men in their profession, while assisting in Squadron
duties. Very respectfully". Docketed on integral leaf.Gideon
Welles (1802-1878), formerly a Jacksonian Democrat, joined the newly founded
Republican Party in 1854 because of his strong opposition to slavery. An able
administrator, he served as Secretary of the Navy throughout the Presidencies
of Abraham Lincoln (who called him "Neptune") and Andrew Johnson
(1861-1869). Welles generally supported Johnson's policies, including
Johnson's reluctance to impose far-reaching changes and full rights for
African-Americans during the Reconstruction of the South. While the
Swatara had embarked on a training cruise, visits to French ports by
American warships may have had a secondary purpose. During the American Civil
War, a European prince had been installed as Emperor of Mexico, in defiance of
the Monroe Doctrine. Besieged by Mexican republican forces led by Benito Juarez,
Maximilian was kept in power in large measure by French troops. The Confederacy
defeated, the US had begun pressuring France to withdraw its support by covertly
aiding Juarez, and deploying large US forces under the command of aggressive
General Phillip Sheridan on the Mexican border. These measures convinced French
Emperor Napoleon III to withdraw his troops from Mexico, and soon thereafter to
the collapse of Maximilian's government and his death by firing squad. A
reinforced US naval presence in European waters complemented this US effort to
vindicate the Monroe Doctrine. Normal mailing folds. Lightly worn on folds.
Slightly toned. Fine condition.
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