Draft:Adjutant General of Kentucky

Adjutant General of Commonwealth of Kentucky
Seal of the Kentucky National Guard
General officer flag
Incumbent Major General Haldane B. Lamberton since December 10, 2019 (2019-12-10)
Kentucky National Guard
Seat	Frankfort, Kentucky
Appointer	Governor of Kentucky
Term length	Four years or end of appointing Governor's term
Formation	1793
First holder	Percival "Pierce" Butler

The Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, also known as the Adjutant General of the Kentucky National Guard, is the head of the Kentucky National Guard. Established in 1793, the adjutant general is appointed by the Governor of Kentucky to a term that expires alongside that of the appointing governor.

The current adjutant general is Major General Haldane B. Lamberton, who was appointed by Governor Andy Beshear on December 10, 2019.

History

Formation

The first constitution of Kentucky, ratified in April 1792, named the Governor of Kentucky as commander-in-chief of the army, navy, and militia of the commonwealth unless they are called into national service. It also granted the governor the authority to appoint field and staff officers of the militia. This provision predated the passage of the Militia Acts of 1792 by only a few weeks, which granted the President of the United States the authority to summon state militias into federal service.

While the exact date is unknown, Governor Isaac Shelby appointed Percival "Pierce" Butler as Kentucky's first adjutant general. The first official act taken by General Pierce is recorded to have been in March 1793.

Political post

In the decades prior to the American Civil War, the post of adjutant general was utilized as a political rather than military office. For example, Governor John L. Helm appointed John Marshall Harlan to the position at the age of 18 despite the fact that he had no prior experience serving in public office, and his only military experience was "drilling" for the Mexican–American War.

Eligibility and appointment

According to Kentucky Revised Statute 36.020

List of adjutants general

No.	Portrait	Name	Term
1		Percival "Pierce" Butler	1793 – 1817	Isaac Shelby James Garrard Christopher Greenup Charles Scott Isaac Shelby George Madison Gabriel Slaughter
2		Oliver G. Waggener	1817 – 1828	Gabriel Slaughter John Adair Joseph Desha
3		Preston S. Loughborough	1828 – 1829	Joseph Desha
4		Peter Dudley	1829 – 1851	Thomas Metcalf John Breathitt James T. Morehead James Clark Charles A. Wickliffe Robert P. Letcher William Owsley John J. Crittenden John L. Helm
5		John Marshall Harlan	1851 – 1859	John L. Helm Lazarus W. Powell Charles S. Morehead
6		Scott Brown	1859 – 1861	Beriah Magoffin
7		John William Finnell	1861 – 1863	Beriah Magoffin James F. Robinson
8		John Boyle	1863 – 1864	Thomas E. Bramlette
9		Daniel Weisiger Lindsey	1864 – 1867	Thomas E. Bramlette
10		Franklin Lane Wolford	1867 – 1870	John W. Stevenson
11		Josiah Stoddard Johnston	1870 – 1871	John W. Stevenson
12		James Allen Dawson	1871 – 1875	Preston H. Leslie
13		John Montgomery Wright	1875 – 1879	James B. McCreary
14		Joseph Preyer Nuckols	1879 – 1883	Luke P. Blackburn
15		John Breckenridge Castleman	1883 – 1887	J. Proctor Knott
16		Samuel Ewing Hill	1887 – 1891	Simon Bolivar Buckner
17		Andrew Jackson Gross	1891 – 1893	John Y. Brown
18		John Crepps Wickliffe	1893 – 1894	John Y. Brown
19		Andrew Jackson Gross	1894 – 1895	John Y. Brown
20		Daniel Ray Collier	1895 – 1898	William O'Connell Bradley William S. Taylor
21		Wilbur Rush Smith	1898	William S. Taylor
22		Daniel Ray Collier	1898 – 1900	Williams S. Taylor William Goebel J. C. W. Beckham
23		John Breckenridge Castleman	1900	William Goebel J. C. W. Beckham
24		David Rodman Murray Jr.	1900 – 1903	J. C. W. Beckham
25		William Purcell Dennis Haly	1903 – 1906	J. C. W. Beckham
26		Henry Robert Lawrence	1906 – 1907	J. C. W. Beckham
27		Philip Preston Johnston	1907 – 1912	Augustus E. Wilson
28		William Birch Haldeman	1912 – 1914	James B. McCreary
29		James Tandy Ellis	1914 – 1919	Augustus O. Stanley James D. Black
30		James Madison DeWeese	1919 – 1920	Edwin P. Morrow
31		Isaac Wilder	1920	Edwin P. Morrow
32		Jackson Morris	1920 – 1923	Edwin P. Morrow
33		Jouett Henry	1923 – 1924	William J. Fields
34		James Arthur Kehoe	1924 – 1927	William J. Fields
35		William Henry Jones Jr.	1927 – 1932	Flem D. Sampson Ruby Laffoon
36		Henry Herman Denhardt	1932 – 1935	Ruby Laffoon
37		George Lee McLain	1935 – 1939	Albert "Happy" Chandler
38		John Arthur Polin	1939 – 1944	Keen Johnson
39		Gustavus Herbert May	1944 – 1947	Simeon Willis
40		Roscoe Lee Murray	1947 – 1951	Earle C. Clements Lawrence W. Wetherby
41		Jesse Scott Lindsey	1951 – 1955	Lawrence W. Wetherby
42		John Jacob Bethurum Williams	1955 – 1959	Albert "Happy" Chandler
43		Arthur Young Lloyd	1959 – 1967	Bert Combs Edward T. Breathitt
44		Allan Kenneth Carrell	1967 – 1968	Louie Nunn
45		Larry Clark Dawson	1968 – 1971	Louie Nunn
46		Richard L. Frymire Jr.	1971 – 1977	Wendell Ford Julian Carroll
47		Billy Gene Wellman	1977 – 1987	Julian Carroll John Y. Brown Jr. Martha Layne Collins
48		Michael Walker Davidson	1987 – 1991	Wallace G. Wilkinson
49		Tebbs Shewmaker Moore	1991	Wallace G. Wilkinson
50		Robert Louis DeZarn	1991 – 1995	Brerton C. Jones
51		John Russell Groves Jr.	1995 – 2001	Paul Patton
52		Dean Allen Youngman	2001 – 2003	Paul Patton
53		Donald C. Storm	2003 – 2007	Ernie Fletcher
54		Edward W. Tonini	2007 – 2015	Steve Beshear
55		Stephen R. Hogan	2015 – 2019	Matt Bevin
56		Haldane B. Lamberton	December 10, 2019 – Present	Andy Beshear