United States Secretary of War

"Secretary of War" redirects here. For other uses, see Secretary of War (disambiguation).

This article is about the historical position (1789–1947). For the modern position, see United States Secretary of Defense.

Template:Infobox official post The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 and 1789. Benjamin Lincoln and later Henry Knox held the position. When Washington was inaugurated as the first president under the Constitution, he appointed Knox to continue serving as secretary of war.

The secretary of war was the head of the War Department. At first, he was responsible for the United States Army and the Navy. In 1798, the secretary of the Navy was created by statute, and the scope of responsibility for the War Department was reduced to the Army. From 1886 onward, the secretary of war was in the line of succession to the presidency, after the vice president of the United States, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the secretary of state.

In 1947, with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947, the secretary of war was replaced by the secretary of the Army and the secretary of the Air Force and a new secretary, the secretary of defense, was created for coordination of the services. Since 1949, the service secretaries, Army, Air Force, and Navy, have been non-Cabinet subordinates under the secretary of defense. The secretary of the Army's office is generally considered the direct successor to the secretary of war's office, with the new secretary of defense taking the secretaries of war and navy positions in the Cabinet, and the line of succession to the presidency.

List of secretaries

Secretary at War (1781–1789)

The office of secretary at war was modeled upon Great Britain's secretary at war, who was William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, at the time of the American Revolution. The office of secretary at war was meant to replace both the commander-in-chief and the Board of War, and like the president of the board, the secretary wore no special insignia. The inspector general, quartermaster general, commissary general, and adjutant general served on the secretary's staff. However, the Army itself under Secretary Henry Knox only consisted of 700 men.

No.	Image	Name	Home State	Start	End	Appointer
1	File:General Benjamin Lincoln-restored (3x4 cropped).jpg	Benjamin Lincoln (1733–1810)	Massachusetts	March 1, 1781	November 2, 1783	Congress of the Confederation
2	File:Henry Knox by Gilbert Stuart 1806 (3x4 cropped).jpeg	Henry Knox (1750–1806)	Massachusetts	March 8, 1785	September 12, 1789

Secretary of War (1789–1947)

File:Swearing in of Secretary Dwight Davis.jpg

Swearing in of Dwight F. Davis as Secretary of War in 1925. Former secretaries John W. Weeks and Chief Justice William Howard Taft are standing beside him.

Parties

Template:Legend2 (4) Template:Legend2 (8) Template:Legend2 (14) Template:Legend2 (5) Template:Legend2 (25)

Denotes acting capacity.

No.	Image	Name	Start	End	Duration	Party		Home State	President(s)
1	File:Henry Knox by Gilbert Stuart 1806 (3x4 cropped).jpeg	Henry Knox	September 12, 1789	December 31, 1794	Template:Ayd		Federalist	Massachusetts		George Washington (1789–1797)
2	File:PORTRAIT OF TIMOTHY PICKERING, 3RD SECRETARY OF STATE PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON AND JOHN ADAMS (3x4 cropped).jpg	Timothy Pickering	January 2, 1795	December 10, 1795	Template:Ayd		Federalist	Pennsylvania
3	File:JMcHenry.jpg	James McHenry	January 27, 1796	June 1, 1800	Template:Ayd		Federalist	Maryland
										John Adams (1797–1801)
4	File:Samuel Dexter.jpg	Samuel Dexter	June 1, 1800	January 31, 1801	Template:Ayd		Federalist	Massachusetts
5	File:Gilbert Stuart - Major-General Henry Dearborn - 1913.793 - Art Institute of Chicago (3x4 cropped).jpg	Henry Dearborn	March 5, 1801	March 4, 1809	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts		Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)
6	File:William Eustis.jpg	William Eustis	March 7, 1809	January 13, 1813	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts		James Madison (1809–1817)
7	File:John Wesley Jarvis - John Armstrong - NPG.72.12 - National Portrait Gallery (cropped).jpg	John Armstrong Jr.	January 13, 1813	September 27, 1814	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	New York
8	File:James Monroe by John Vanderlyn (cropped).jpg	James Monroe	September 27, 1814	March 2, 1815	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	Virginia
9	File:William Harris Crawford by John Wesley Jarvis (PAFA) (3x4 cropped).jpg	William H. Crawford	August 1, 1815	October 22, 1816	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	Georgia
10	File:JCCalhoun-1822 (3x4 cropped).jpg	John C. Calhoun	October 8, 1817	March 4, 1825	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	South Carolina		James Monroe (1817–1825)
11	File:Portrait of James Barbour, by Chester Harding (3x4 cropped).jpg	James Barbour	March 7, 1825	May 23, 1828	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	Virginia		John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)
12	File:Peter Buell Porter.jpg	Peter Buell Porter	May 23, 1828	March 9, 1829	Template:Ayd		Democratic-Republican	New York
13	File:John Eaton.jpg	John Eaton	March 9, 1829	June 18, 1831	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Tennessee		Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
14	File:Lewis Cass (3x4 cropped).jpg	Lewis Cass	August 1, 1831	October 5, 1836	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Ohio
15	File:JRP-SoW, S.jpg	Joel Roberts Poinsett	March 7, 1837	March 4, 1841	Template:Ayd		Democratic	South Carolina		Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)
16	File:John Bell (Restored) (3x4 cropped).png	John Bell	March 5, 1841	September 13, 1841	Template:Ayd		Whig	South Carolina		William Henry Harrison (1841)
										John Tyler (1841–1845)
17	File:SPENCER, John C-Treasury (BEP engraved portrait) (3x4 cropped).jpg	John Canfield Spencer	October 12, 1841	March 4, 1843	Template:Ayd		Whig	New York
18	File:PorterJM.jpg	James Madison Porter	March 8, 1843	February 14, 1844	Template:Ayd		Whig	Pennsylvania
19	File:William Wilkins United States Senator - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	William Wilkins	February 15, 1844	March 4, 1845	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Pennsylvania
20	File:William L. Marcy - Brady-Handy.jpg	William Learned Marcy	March 6, 1845	March 4, 1849	Template:Ayd		Democratic	New York		James K. Polk (1845–1849)
21	File:GeorgeWCrawford.jpg	George W. Crawford	March 8, 1849	July 22, 1850	Template:Ayd		Whig	Georgia		Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)
22	File:Charles Magill Conrad.jpg	Charles Magill Conrad	August 15, 1850	March 4, 1853	Template:Ayd		Whig	Virginia		Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)
23	File:Jefferson Davis 1853 daguerreotype-restored (3x4 cropped).png	Jefferson Davis	March 7, 1853	March 4, 1857	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Mississippi		Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)
24	File:John Buchanan Floyd (3x4 cropped).jpg	John B. Floyd	March 6, 1857	December 29, 1860	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Virginia		James Buchanan (1857–1861)
25	File:Judge Joseph Holt - NARA - 526106 (3x4a).jpg	Joseph Holt	January 18, 1861	March 4, 1861	Template:Ayd		Republican	Kentucky
26	File:Smn Cameron-SecofWar (3x4 cropped).jpg	Simon Cameron	March 5, 1861	January 14, 1862	Template:Ayd		Republican	Pennsylvania		Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
27	File:Edwin McMasters Stanton Secretary of War (3x4 cropped).jpg	Edwin M. Stanton	January 20, 1862 Suspended: August 12, 1867 – January 14, 1868	May 28, 1868	Template:Ayd		Republican	Pennsylvania
										Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
–	File:Ulysses S Grant by Brady c1870-restored (3x4 cropped).jpg	Ulysses S. Grant Acting	August 12, 1867	January 14, 1868	Template:Ayd		Republican	Ohio
28	File:John Schofield - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	John McAllister Schofield	June 1, 1868	March 13, 1869	Template:Ayd		Republican	Illinois
29	File:John Aaron Rawlins-Brady-Handy Seated (3x4 cropped).jpg	John Aaron Rawlins	March 13, 1869	September 6, 1869	Template:Ayd		Republican	Illinois		Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)
–	File:General William T. Sherman Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg	William Sherman Acting	September 6, 1869	October 25, 1869	Template:Ayd		Republican	Ohio
30	File:WWBelknap.jpg	William W. Belknap	October 25, 1869	March 2, 1876	Template:Ayd		Republican	Iowa
31	File:Alphonso Taft - cropped and retouched.jpg	Alphonso Taft	March 8, 1876	May 22, 1876	Template:Ayd		Republican	Ohio
32	File:James Donald Cameron Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	J. Donald Cameron	May 22, 1876	March 4, 1877	Template:Ayd		Republican	Pennsylvania
33	File:George Washington McCrary, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1860-1875 (3x4 cropped).jpg	George W. McCrary	March 12, 1877	December 10, 1879	Template:Ayd		Republican	Iowa		Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
34	File:Alexander Ramsey - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	Alexander Ramsey	December 10, 1879	March 4, 1881	Template:Ayd		Republican	Minnesota
35	File:Robert Todd Lincoln, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1870-1880-Edit1 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Robert Todd Lincoln	March 5, 1881	March 4, 1885	Template:Ayd		Republican	Illinois		James A. Garfield (1881)
										Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
36	File:William Endicott, 1886 (cropped).jpg	William Crowninshield Endicott	March 5, 1885	March 4, 1889	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Massachusetts		Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
37	File:Redfield Proctor, bw photo portrait, 1904.jpg	Redfield Proctor	March 5, 1889	November 5, 1891	Template:Ayd		Republican	Vermont		Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
38	File:Stephen Benton Elkins Restore (3x4 cropped).jpg	Stephen Benton Elkins	December 17, 1891	March 4, 1893	Template:Ayd		Republican	West Virginia
39	File:Daniel Lamont, bw photo portrait, 1904 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Daniel S. Lamont	March 5, 1893	March 4, 1897	Template:Ayd		Democratic	New York		Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
40	File:Russell Alexander Alger by The Detroit Publishing Co. - retouched from older copy.jpg	Russell A. Alger	March 5, 1897	August 1, 1899	Template:Ayd		Republican	Michigan		William McKinley (1897–1901)
41	File:Elihu Root, bw photo portrait, 1902.jpg	Elihu Root	August 1, 1899	January 31, 1904	Template:Ayd		Republican	New York
										Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
42	File:William Howard Taft, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front.jpg	William Howard Taft	February 1, 1904	June 30, 1908	Template:Ayd		Republican	Ohio
43	File:Secretary Luke Edward Wright.jpg	Luke Edward Wright	July 1, 1908	March 4, 1909	Template:Ayd		Republican	Tennessee
44	File:DICKINSON, J.M. JUDGE (3x4 cropped).jpg	Jacob M. Dickinson	March 12, 1909	May 21, 1911	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Tennessee		William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
45	File:Henry Stimson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1929 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Henry L. Stimson	May 22, 1911	March 4, 1913	Template:Ayd		Republican	New York
46	File:Lindley Garrison, BW photo portrait, 1913.jpg	Lindley Miller Garrison	March 5, 1913	February 10, 1916	Template:Ayd		Democratic	New Jersey		Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
47	File:BAKER, NEWTON D. HONORABLE (3x4 cropped).jpg	Newton D. Baker	March 9, 1916	March 4, 1921	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Ohio
48	File:John Wingate Weeks, Bain bw photo portrait.jpg	John W. Weeks	March 5, 1921	October 13, 1925	Template:Ayd		Republican	Massachusetts		Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
										Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
49	File:Dwight Davis, Bain bw photo portrait.jpg	Dwight F. Davis	October 14, 1925	March 4, 1929	Template:Ayd		Republican	Missouri
50	File:Jas. W. Good, Iowa (3x4 cropped).jpg	James William Good	March 6, 1929	November 18, 1929	Template:Ayd		Republican	Iowa		Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
51	File:Patrick J. Hurley, 1935 (cropped).jpg	Patrick J. Hurley	December 9, 1929	March 4, 1933	Template:Ayd		Republican	Oklahoma
52	File:George Dern, Bain bw photo portrait.jpg	George Dern	March 4, 1933	August 27, 1936	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Utah		Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
53	File:Harry Hines Woodring, 53rd United States Secretary of War.jpg	Harry Hines Woodring	September 25, 1936	June 20, 1940	Template:Ayd		Democratic	Kansas
54	File:Henry Stimson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1929 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Henry L. Stimson	July 10, 1940	September 21, 1945	Template:Ayd		Republican	New York
										Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
55	File:Portrait of Robert P. Patterson 111-C-C2512 (tight crop) (3x4 cropped).jpg	Robert P. Patterson	September 27, 1945	July 18, 1947	Template:Ayd		Republican	New York
56	File:Kenneth Claiborne Royall portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg	Kenneth Royall	July 19, 1947	September 18, 1947	Template:Ayd		Democratic	North Carolina

See also

• Confederate States Secretary of War
• United States Secretary of Defense

References

Further reading

• Bell, William Gardner (2005). Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005: Portraits and Biographical Sketches. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
• Grossman, Mark (2010). Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet 1789-2010. Armenia, New York: Greyhouse Publishing.
• King, Archibald (1960) [1949]. Command of the Army (PDF). Military Affairs. Charlottesville, Virginia: The Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army.