Not sure if this one has been posted before:
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Officers of the highest rank were also dismissed summarily, particularly if they, like Captain Isaac Mayo, took the trouble to attack the Lincoln administration. Writing from his Maryland estate on May 1, he asserted:
For more than half a century it has been the pride of my life to hold office under the Government of the United States. For twenty-five, I have engaged in active sea-service and have never seen my flag dishonored, or the American arms disgraced by defeat. It was the hope of my old age that I might die, as I had lived, an officer in the Navy of a free Government. This hope has been taken from me. In adopting the policy of coercion, you have denied to millions of freemen the rights of the Constitution and in its stead you have placed the will of a sectional Party. As one of the oldest soldiers of America, I protest--in the name of humanity-against this "war against brethren!" I cannot fight against the Constitution while pretending to fight for it. You will therefore oblige me by accepting my resignation.
The Mayo resignation letter had a tragic aftermath. Whether he actually intended to serve the Confederate States Navy may never be known. Secretary Welles' letter dismissing him from the service was dated May 18. On that same day, Mayo committed suicide. Although it cannot be asserted with certainty, it is possible that he had heard of the dismissal.
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From Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations & Dismissals On the Eve of the Civil War
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Officers of the highest rank were also dismissed summarily, particularly if they, like Captain Isaac Mayo, took the trouble to attack the Lincoln administration. Writing from his Maryland estate on May 1, he asserted:
For more than half a century it has been the pride of my life to hold office under the Government of the United States. For twenty-five, I have engaged in active sea-service and have never seen my flag dishonored, or the American arms disgraced by defeat. It was the hope of my old age that I might die, as I had lived, an officer in the Navy of a free Government. This hope has been taken from me. In adopting the policy of coercion, you have denied to millions of freemen the rights of the Constitution and in its stead you have placed the will of a sectional Party. As one of the oldest soldiers of America, I protest--in the name of humanity-against this "war against brethren!" I cannot fight against the Constitution while pretending to fight for it. You will therefore oblige me by accepting my resignation.
The Mayo resignation letter had a tragic aftermath. Whether he actually intended to serve the Confederate States Navy may never be known. Secretary Welles' letter dismissing him from the service was dated May 18. On that same day, Mayo committed suicide. Although it cannot be asserted with certainty, it is possible that he had heard of the dismissal.
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From Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations & Dismissals On the Eve of the Civil War
Bringing the