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 Summary: Gideon Wells and Stephen P. Lee revoke an appointment at the end of the war.
Gideon Wells. Letter Signed as Secretary of the Navy, Navy Department, Washington, June 16, 1865. Co-signed by Samuel Phillips Lee, Rear Admiral in command of Mississippi Squadron, June 20th, 1865. On Navy Department stationery, to Worcester Haddock. 1 p. Inventory # 21893 $ 900 Complete Transcript:
Flag Ship “Tempest”
June 20th /65
S.P. Lee
A. R. Adml Comdg Miss Squad
Navy Department
Washington June 16 1865. Sir:
Your services being no longer required, your appointment as an Acting Third Assistant Engineer in the Navy of the United States, on temporary services, is hereby revoked.
Very Respectfully,
G. Welles
Secy of Navy.
Mr. Worcester Haddock,
Late Actg 3d Asst Engineer, U.S.N.
Miss Squadron
(A.R.A. Lee)
Historical Background:
Gideon Welles (1802-1878). Connecticut native, journalist, Democratic state legislator, Hartford Postmaster, Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing for the Navy in his early career. In the 1848 presidential election, Welles left the Democratic Party over the issue of the expansion of slavery. Welles founded an influential Republican organ, the Hartford Evening Press, in 1856. Welles was appointed Secretary of the Navy by Abraham Lincoln, and was highly effective in mobilizing the resources of the country for an extensive blockade and offensive operations in the Confederacy. Lincoln nicknamed Welles his “Neptune.” Stephen Phillips Lee (1812-1897) was born in Virginia, and was a third cousin of Robert E. Lee. He joined the Navy in November, 1825, and served in the Mexican-American War. Lee rose to Acting Rear Admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron (flagship, Philadelphia) from 1862 to October, 1864. In the final year of the Civil War, he commanded the Mississippi River Squadron. Lee was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1870, and retired in 1873.
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