Dictionary.net

(1802-1878), was from 1826 to 1854 an editor of the Hartford Times which became the chief organ of the Democratic party in Connecticut. He was a member of the Connecticut Legislature from 1827 to 1835, and State Comptroller in 1835, 1842 and 1843. He was an ardent opponent of slavery, and identified himself with the Republican party when it was organized. He was Secretary of the Navy in the Cabinets of Lincoln and Johnson from 1861 to 1869. He was an unsparing critic of official conduct. He wrote "Lincoln and Seward."