United States Secretary of War

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox official post The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president'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 all military affairs, including naval affairs. In 1798, the secretary of the Navy was created by statute, and the scope of responsibility for this office was reduced to the affairs of the United States 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, which, along with the secretary of the Navy, have since 1949 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 although the secretary of defense took the secretary of war's position 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.

Image	Template:Abbr	Name	Home State	Start	End	Appointer
1	File:General Benjamin Lincoln-restored.jpg	Template:Sortname	Massachusetts	March 1, 1781	November 2, 1783	Congress of the Confederation
2	File:Henry Knox by Gilbert Stuart 1806 (3x4 cropped).jpeg	Template:Sortname	Massachusetts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts

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

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Template:Legend

Template:Abbr	Image	Name	Start	End	Duration	Party		Home State	President(s)
1	File:Henry Knox by Gilbert Stuart 1806 (3x4 cropped).jpeg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Federalist	Massachusetts	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
2	File:PORTRAIT OF TIMOTHY PICKERING, 3RD SECRETARY OF STATE PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON AND JOHN ADAMS (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname<ref>UnknownTemplate:Dead link</ref>	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Federalist	Pennsylvania
3	File:JMcHenry.jpg	Template:Sortname<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Federalist	Maryland
			rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |				Template:Sortname Template:Small
4	File:Samuel Dexter.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |		Federalist	Massachusetts
5	File:Gilbert Stuart - Major-General Henry Dearborn - 1913.793 - Art Institute of Chicago (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
6	File:William Eustis.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
7	File:John Armstrong Jr Rembrandt Peale.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	New York
8	File:John Vanderlyn - James Monroe - Google Art Project (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	Virginia
9	File:William Harris Crawford by John Wesley Jarvis (PAFA) (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	Georgia
10	File:JCCalhoun-1822 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	South Carolina	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
11	File:Portrait of James Barbour, by Chester Harding (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
12	File:Peter Buell Porter.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic-Republican	New York
13	File:John Eaton.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Tennessee	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
14	File:Lewis Cass (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Ohio
15	File:JRP-SoW, S.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	South Carolina	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
16	File:John Bell (Restored) (3x4 cropped).png	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Whig	South Carolina	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
						rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" |			Template:Sortname Template:Small
17	File:SPENCER, John C-Treasury (BEP engraved portrait) (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Whig	New York
18	File:PorterJM.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Whig	Pennsylvania
19	File:William Wilkins United States Senator - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Pennsylvania
20	File:William L. Marcy - Brady-Handy.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	New York	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
21	File:GeorgeWCrawford.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Whig	Georgia	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
22	File:Charles Magill Conrad.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Whig	Louisiana	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
23	File:Jefferson Davis 1853 daguerreotype-restored (3x4 cropped).png	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Mississippi	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
24	File:John Buchanan Floyd (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Virginia	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
25	File:Judge Joseph Holt - NARA - 526106 (3x4a).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Kentucky
26	File:Smn Cameron-SecofWar (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Pennsylvania	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
27	File:Edwin McMasters Stanton Secretary of War (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts Template:SmallTemplate:Refn	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Pennsylvania
						rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |			Template:Sortname Template:Small
–	File:Ulysses S Grant by Brady c1870-restored (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname Template:SmallTemplate:Refn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Pennsylvania
28	File:John Schofield - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Illinois
29	File:John Aaron Rawlins-Brady-Handy Seated (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Illinois	rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
–	File:General William T. Sherman Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Ohio
30	File:WWBelknap.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Iowa
31	File:Alphonso Taft - cropped and retouched.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Ohio
32	File:James Donald Cameron Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Pennsylvania
33	File:George Washington McCrary, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1860-1875 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Iowa	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
34	File:Alexander Ramsey - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Minnesota
35	File:Robert Todd Lincoln, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1870-1880-Edit1 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Illinois	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
						style="background: Template:Party color;" |			Template:Sortname Template:Small
36	File:William Endicott, 1886 (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Massachusetts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
37	File:Redfield Proctor, bw photo portrait, 1904.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Vermont	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
38	File:Stephen Benton Elkins Restore (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	West Virginia
39	File:Daniel Lamont, bw photo portrait, 1904 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	New York	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
40	File:Russell Alexander Alger by The Detroit Publishing Co. - retouched from older copy.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Michigan	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
41	File:Elihu Root, bw photo portrait, 1902.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	New York
						rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |			Template:Sortname Template:Small
42	File:William Howard Taft, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Ohio
43	File:Secretary Luke Edward Wright.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Tennessee
44	File:DICKINSON, J.M. JUDGE (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Tennessee	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
45	File:Henry Stimson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1929 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	New York
46	File:Lindley Garrison, BW photo portrait, 1913.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	New Jersey	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
47	File:BAKER, NEWTON D. HONORABLE (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Ohio
48	File:John Wingate Weeks, Bain bw photo portrait.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Massachusetts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |			Template:Sortname Template:Small
49	File:Dwight Davis, Bain bw photo portrait.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Missouri
50	File:Jas. W. Good, Iowa (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Iowa	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
51	File:Patrick J. Hurley, 1935 (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	Oklahoma
52	File:George Dern, Bain bw photo portrait.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Utah	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname Template:Small
53	File:Harry Hines Woodring, 53rd United States Secretary of War.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	Kansas
54	File:Henry Stimson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1929 (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	New York
						rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |			Template:Sortname Template:Small
55	File:Portrait of Robert P. Patterson 111-C-C2512 (tight crop) (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Republican	New York
56	File:Kenneth Claiborne Royall portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Ayd	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Democratic	North Carolina

See also

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

References

Further reading

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