Photographic History of the United States Navy
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NavSource Naval History Photographic History of the United States Navy |
DESTROYER ARCHIVE |
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Size | Image Description | Contributed By |
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55k | Gideon Welles was appointed chief of the Navy's Bureau of Provisions and Clothing in 1846. During his three years in that office, he acquired valuable administrative experience and made enduring friendships. After an unsuccessful bid in 1850 for a Senate seat, Welles devoted his energies and considerable talents as a journalist to the fight against slavery. He broke with the Democratic party over this burning issue and helped organize the Republican party in Connecticut. In 1856, Welles was defeated in a bid for the governorship; but he became a Republican national committeeman that year. Staunchly supporting President Abraham Lincoln's policies, Welles became Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy on 7 March 1861. At the onset of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, the Union Navy was in poor shape, with its ships scattered on various stations throughout the world. Some of its officers, feeling strong ties to their states, resigned their commissions. Welles, however, soon turned the situation around. A man of unusual energy, he rapidly doubled the size of the Navy and took an active part in the direction of the naval war against the South. Early in the conflict, he established a blockade of the Confederate coast with the limited number of ships available, and he constantly strengthened it until the South was almost completely sealed off from the rest of the world. Welles early recognized the need for ironclad warships and vigorously pushed their development, improvement, and construction. His ideas influenced the designs of ordnance, machinery, and armor. He urged improvement in navy yards—both existing and planned. He not only contributed to governmental policies but administered them as well. Shrewd, methodical, and knowledgeable, the Union's remarkable Secretary of the Navy remained poised and calm throughout the tempestuous times engendered by the Civil War. Following Lincoln's death by assassination in April 1865, Welles remained in the cabinet as Secretary of the Navy under Andrew Johnson. After the new President ran into difficulties, Welles loyally and enthusiastically supported him throughout the impeachment proceedings. At the end of Johnson's administration, Welles returned to private life; and, although he never again occupied public office, he remained politically active and wrote prolifically until his death on 11 February 1878. C. A. Dana, in Recollections of the Civil War, wrote of Welles that he was "a very wise, strong man ... he understood his duty and did it efficiently, continually, and unvaryingly." Digital ID: cwpb 04842, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 16k | Undated, location unknown. | Don Scott | |
| 56k | USS Dobbin (AD-3) with (L to R) USS Lovering (DE-39), USS Welles (DD-628), USS Mustin (DD-413) and the USS Fletcher (DD-445) moored in Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, date unknown. Photo from United States Destroyer Operations of World War II, by Theodore Roscoe. | Robert Hurst | |
| 230k | USS Welles seen from USS Santee, 1943. Photo NA 80G203315. | John Chiquoine | |
| 141k | As above. Photo NA 80G203317. | John Chiquoine | |
| 222k | As above. Photo NA 80G203319. | John Chiquoine | |
| 253k | As above. Photo NA 80G203330. | John Chiquoine | |
| 69k | Puget Sound Navy Yard August 31 1943. | Tracy White | |
| 153k | USS Welles seen from USS Mission Bay, 1944. Photo NA 80G364356. | John Chiquoine | |
| 170k | As above. Photo NA 80G364357. | John Chiquoine | |
| 87k | USS Welles (DD-628), USS Gillespie (DD-609), USS Hobby (DD-610) and USS Kalk (DD-611) in Norfolk for New Year's 1944. | John Chiquoine | |
| 207k | USS Welles seen from USS Sargent Bay, 1945. Photo NA 80G334966. | John Chiquoine | |
| 214k | As above. Photo NA 80G334968. | John Chiquoine | |
| 129k | Probably at New York in October 1945. | David Buell | |
| 250k | This view from USS Hobby is at a New York pier during Navy Day week, 1945. All four participated in the Presidential Fleet Review on 27 October 1945. Seen are left to right; USS Bache (DD-470), USS Welles (DD-628), and USS Renshaw (DD-499). From the collection of USS Hobby son Pete Carucci. | Gary Edmisten and John Chiquoine | |
| 159k | A view of Welles taken during the week of the Fleet Review for Navy Day 1945 in the New York area. | John Chiquoine | |
LCDR Doyle Murray Coffee Aug 16 1943 - Aug 24 1944 CDR John Sim Slaughter Aug 24 1944 - Jan 2 1946
The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.
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This page was created by Fred Willishaw (ex ARG-4, AS-11 & DD-692) and is maintained by David L. Wright
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