The Civil War Diary of Gideon Welles, Lincoln's Secretary of the NavyGideon Welless 1861 appointment as secretary of the navy placed him at the hub of Union planning for the Civil War and in the midst of the powerful personalities vying for influence in Abraham Lincolns cabinet. Although Welles initially knew little of naval matters, he rebuilt a service depleted by Confederate defections, planned actions that gave the Union badly needed victories in the wars early days, and oversaw a blockade that weakened the Souths