Made a selection of midshipmen for Naval School. An immense
number of applicants and, of course, many disappointments. Some of the young
men, and among them probably those who are deserving, feel this first
disappointment grievously. It is a pleasure to bestow the favor in many
instances, but not sufficient to counterbalance the pain one feels for those
who are rejected. Last year there were captious and censorious Members of
Congress who abused me for filling the school; the same will probably be the
case this year. Were I, however, to omit filling the school, the same persons
would blame me for neglect of duty, — not without cause, —and I should not be
satisfied with myself for this omission.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles,
Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30,
1864, p. 393
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