SAUGUS — As a town founded in 1815, Saugus is rich in history, home to America’s first barber shop, the Saugus Iron Works, and a key figure in the purchase of Alaska.
The United States purchased Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867. It was Secretary William Seward who agreed to the $7.2 million purchase, which the Senate would later approve on April 9, and President Andrew Johnson signed a treaty on May 28. However, within this chain of events, there is another name that must be included: Gustavus Vasa Fox.
Fox was born in Saugus in 1821, before his family moved to Lowell during his early years. He would later become an officer of the Navy, beginning his career as a midshipman in 1838. Fox served during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. During the Civil War, Fox was appointed the first Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President Abraham Lincoln.
The Saugonian was deemed extremely important while serving, earning compliments from Lincoln and being seen as a brilliant mind for the Navy.
John S. Barnes, another officer of the Navy, wrote in response to the “Diary of Gideon Welles,” who was the Secretary of the Navy, “Little or no credit is given to the real Secretary of the Navy, and the mastermind of the Navy Department, Gustavus V. Fox — without whose professional assistance and advice in all matters relating to the Navy, Mr. Welles would have been like the master of a ship without compass or rudder…It would be reasonable and interesting to all to have Mr. Welles’s private opinion and estimate of this gentleman, who, more than all others, was his ‘fidus Achates’ from first to last; and who was recognized by all naval officers as the real head of the Navy.”
Barnes’ comments emphasized that though Fox was labeled the assistant secretary, he had become more so the heart of operations, proceeding Welles in this aspect.
Fox’s part in the Civil War remains heavily unknown, according to Rear Admiral John D. Hayes of the U.S. Navy. Hayes stated that while Fox overshadowed Welles during his career, it was Welles who was able to control much of the narrative through his publications after the war.
One trip would set Fox apart from the rest, though, as he made the excursion to Russia on the Miantonomoh, the first American warship to cross the Atlantic. It is believed that during this trip Fox was able to ensure the US’s purchase of the 49th state.
This trip to Russia had Fox meeting with Czar Alexander II to thank the country for supporting the Union and congratulate the Czar on escaping an assassination attempt.
In Horace H. Atherton’s “The History of Saugus Massachusetts,” he writes “On May 16, 1866, Congress passed a resolution of greeting to the Emperor of Russia, and Fox was selected to carry a copy to the Russian ruler.”
Atherton logs another historical moment that came to fruition thanks to Fox, as his report back to the US was the first message ever sent through the Atlantic Cable connecting the two countries.
According to Robert C. Winthrop during a presentation to the Massachusetts Historical Society, Fox was “in a large measure responsible for altering the national boundaries when through the instrumentality of his mission to Russia, the vast territory of Alaska, then the property of that empire, was added to the domain of the American Republic.”
Fox’s prowess in the Navy led to a single turret monitor being named the USS Saugus. Three ships were also named the USS Fox in his honor.
