This book investigates why Secretaries Gideon Welles and Stephen Mallory were able to remain in office for the entire span of the Civil War, while most of their contemporaries did not last their full term. The book explores Secretaries Mallory's and Welles' approach to their jobs and their Departmental policies that contributed to their success and failures. Naval warfare played a key role during the Civil War, for without the efforts of the Navy Secretaries, the war's outcome could have been significantly different. This book explores their backgrounds, actions taken during the war, and personal relationships between them and others within the administration. This study explains that the longevity of Mallory and Welles can be attributed to their departmental policy decisions and by roles and played within the administration of their respective Presidents. Both Secretaries demonstrated high levels of initiative and effectiveness with their administrative methods, departmental policies, and approach to naval warfare. It was these strengths that significantly contributed to their longevity.