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United States Secretary of War

The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was 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.

The Secretary of War led the War Department. At first, he was responsible for all military affairs. In 1798, the Secretary of the Navy was added to the cabinet, and the scope of this office was reduced to a general concern with the Army. In 1947, the departments were recombined under the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of War was replaced by the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force, non-Cabinet positions under the Secretary of Defense.

Secretaries of War

# Picture Name State of Residence Began Service Ended Service President(s) served under
1   Henry Knox Massachusetts September 12, 1789 December 31, 1794 George Washington
2   Timothy Pickering Pennsylvania January 2, 1795 December 10, 1795 Washington
3   James McHenry Maryland January 27, 1796 May 13, 1800 Washington
John Adams
4   Samuel Dexter Massachusetts May 13, 1800 January 31, 1801 John Adams
5 N/A Henry Dearborn Massachusetts March 5, 1801 March 4, 1809 Thomas Jefferson
6   William Eustis Massachusetts March 7, 1809 January 13, 1813 James Madison
7   John Armstrong, Jr. Pennsylvania January 13, 1813 September 27, 1814 Madison
8   James Monroe Virginia September 27, 1814 March 2, 1815 Madison
9   William Harris Crawford Georgia August 1, 1815 October 22, 1816 Madison
10   John Caldwell Calhoun South Carolina October 8, 1817 March 4, 1825 James Monroe
11   James Barbour Virginia March 7, 1825 May 23, 1828 John Quincy Adams
12   Peter Buell Porter New York May 23, 1828 March 4, 1829 J. Q. Adams
13   John Henry Eaton Tennessee March 9, 1829 June 18, 1831 Andrew Jackson
14   Lewis Cass Michigan August 1, 1831 October 5, 1836 Jackson
15   Joel Roberts Poinsett South Carolina March 7, 1837 March 4, 1841 Martin Van Buren
16   John Bell Tennessee March 5, 1841 September 13, 1841 William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
17   John Canfield Spencer New York October 12, 1841 March 4, 1843 Tyler
18 N/A James Madison Porter Pennsylvania March 8, 1843 February 14, 1844 Tyler
19   William Wilkins Pennsylvania February 15, 1844 March 4, 1845 Tyler
20   William Learned Marcy New York March 6, 1845 March 4, 1849 James K. Polk
21 N/A George Walker Crawford Georgia March 8, 1849 July 22, 1850 Zachary Taylor
22   Charles Magill Conrad Louisiana August 15, 1850 March 4, 1853 Millard Fillmore
23   Jefferson Davis Mississippi March 7, 1853 March 4, 1857 Franklin Pierce
24   John Buchanan Floyd Virginia March 6, 1857 December 29, 1860 James Buchanan
25   Joseph Holt Kentucky January 18, 1861 March 4, 1861 Buchanan
26   Simon Cameron Pennsylvania March 5, 1861 January 14, 1862 Abraham Lincoln
27   Edwin McMasters Stanton Ohio January 20, 1862 May 28, 1868 Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
28   John McAllister Schofield Missouri June 1, 1868 March 13, 1869 Johnson
29   John Aaron Rawlins Illinois March 13, 1869 September 6, 1869 Ulysses S. Grant
30   William Worth Belknap Iowa October 25, 1869 March 2, 1876 Grant
31   Alphonso Taft Ohio March 8, 1876 May 22, 1876 Grant
32   James Donald Cameron Pennsylvania May 22, 1876 March 4, 1877 Grant
33   George Washington McCrary Iowa March 12, 1877 December 10, 1879 Rutherford B. Hayes
34   Alexander Ramsey Minnesota December 10, 1879 March 4, 1881 Hayes
35   Robert Todd Lincoln Illinois March 5, 1881 March 4, 1885 James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
36   William Crowninshield Endicott Massachusetts March 5, 1885 March 4, 1889 Grover Cleveland
37   Redfield Proctor Vermont March 5, 1889 November 5, 1891 Benjamin Harrison
38 N/A Stephen Benton Elkins West Virginia December 17, 1891 March 4, 1893 Harrison
39   Daniel Scott Lamont New York March 5, 1893 March 4, 1897 Cleveland (2nd term)
40   Russell Alexander Alger Michigan March 5, 1897 August 1, 1899 William McKinley
41   Elihu Root New York August 1, 1899 January 31, 1904 McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
42   William Howard Taft Ohio February 1, 1904 June 30, 1908 Th. Roosevelt
43   Luke Edward Wright Tennessee July 1, 1908 March 4, 1909 Th. Roosevelt
44   Jacob McGavock Dickinson Illinois March 12, 1909 May 21, 1911 William Howard Taft
45   Henry Lewis Stimson New York May 22, 1911 March 4, 1913 Taft
46   Lindley Miller Garrison New Jersey March 5, 1913 February 10, 1916 Woodrow Wilson
47   Newton Diehl Baker Ohio March 9, 1916 March 4, 1921 Wilson
48   John Wingate Weeks Massachusetts March 5, 1921 October 13, 1925 Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
49   Dwight Filley Davis Missouri October 14, 1925 March 4, 1929 Coolidge
50   James William Good Iowa March 6, 1929 November 18, 1929 Herbert Hoover
51   Patrick Jay Hurley Oklahoma December 9, 1929 March 4, 1933 Hoover
52   George Henry Dern Utah March 4, 1933 August 27, 1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt
53   Harry Hines Woodring Kansas September 25, 1936 June 20, 1940 F. D. Roosevelt
54   Henry Lewis Stimson New York July 10, 1940 September 21, 1945 F. D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
55 Robert Porter Patterson New York September 27, 1945 July 18, 1947 Truman
56   Kenneth Claiborne Royall North Carolina July 19, 1947 September 18, 1947 Truman


United States Secretary Of War Media


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