[ Autographs ] Gideon Welles 1802-1878 Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy who proposed the blockade of Southern ports and the construction of an ironclad fleet. Ornate war-date D.S. 1p. folio on parchment, Washington, July 24, 1862, an appointment of Richard D. Dodge to be aThird Assistant Engineer in the Union navy. Attractive, with vignettes of an armed frigate, eagle, flags, cannons, etc. Folds, with a few marginal spots and light soiling.