Jump to content

Draft:Adjutant General of Kentucky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by William R. Wilks II (talk | contribs) at 20:57, 10 July 2024. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Adjutant General of Commonwealth of Kentucky
Seal of the Kentucky National Guard
Incumbent
Major General Haldane B. Lamberton
since December 10, 2019 (2019-12-10)
Kentucky National Guard
SeatFrankfort, Kentucky
AppointerGovernor of Kentucky
Term lengthFour years or end of appointing Governor's term
Formation1793
First holderPercival "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.

Civil War

Reconstruction

Assassination of William Goebel

Modern office

Eligibility and appointment

According to Kentucky Revised Statute 36.020

Duties

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

References