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", 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 modelled 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.
Secretary of War (1789–1947) 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 Federalist Democratic-Republican Democratic Whig Republican
No.
Portrait
Name
State of residence
Took office
Left office
President(s)
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Henry Knox Massachusetts September 12, 1789
December 31, 1794
George Washington
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Timothy Pickering Pennsylvania [1] January 2, 1795
December 10, 1795
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James McHenry Maryland January 27, 1796
June 1, 1800[2]
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John Adams
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Samuel Dexter Massachusetts June 1, 1800
January 31, 1801
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Henry Dearborn Massachusetts March 5, 1801
March 4, 1809
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Thomas Jefferson
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William Eustis Massachusetts March 7, 1809
January 13, 1813
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James Madison
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John Armstrong, Jr. New York January 13, 1813
September 27, 1814
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James Monroe Virginia September 27, 1814
March 2, 1815
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William H. Crawford Georgia August 1, 1815
October 22, 1816
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John C. Calhoun South Carolina October 8, 1817
March 4, 1825
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James Monroe
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James Barbour Virginia March 7, 1825
May 23, 1828
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John Quincy Adams
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Peter Buell Porter New York May 23, 1828
March 9, 1829
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John H. Eaton Tennessee March 9, 1829
June 18, 1831
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Andrew Jackson
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Lewis Cass Ohio August 1, 1831
October 5, 1836
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Joel Roberts Poinsett South Carolina March 7, 1837
March 4, 1841
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Martin Van Buren
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John Bell Tennessee March 5, 1841
September 13, 1841
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William Henry Harrison
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John Tyler
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John Canfield Spencer New York October 12, 1841
March 4, 1843
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James Madison Porter Pennsylvania March 8, 1843
February 14, 1844
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William Wilkins Pennsylvania February 15, 1844
March 4, 1845
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William Learned Marcy New York March 6, 1845
March 4, 1849
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James K. Polk
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George W. Crawford Georgia March 8, 1849
July 22, 1850
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Zachary Taylor
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Charles Magill Conrad Louisiana August 15, 1850
March 4, 1853
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Millard Fillmore
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Jefferson Davis Mississippi March 7, 1853
March 4, 1857
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Franklin Pierce
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John B. Floyd Virginia March 6, 1857
December 29, 1860
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James Buchanan
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Joseph Holt Kentucky January 18, 1861
March 4, 1861
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Simon Cameron Pennsylvania March 5, 1861
January 14, 1862
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Abraham Lincoln
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 27
Edwin M. Stanton Pennsylvania January 20, 1862
May 28, 1868
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Andrew Johnson
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John McAllister Schofield Illinois June 1, 1868
March 13, 1869
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John Aaron Rawlins Illinois March 13, 1869
September 6, 1869
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Ulysses S. Grant
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William W. Belknap Iowa October 25, 1869
March 2, 1876
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Alphonso Taft Ohio March 8, 1876
May 22, 1876
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J. Donald Cameron Pennsylvania May 22, 1876
March 4, 1877
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George W. McCrary Iowa March 12, 1877
December 10, 1879
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Rutherford B. Hayes
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Alexander Ramsey Minnesota December 10, 1879
March 4, 1881
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Robert Todd Lincoln Illinois March 5, 1881
March 4, 1885
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James A. Garfield
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Chester A. Arthur
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William Crowninshield Endicott Massachusetts March 5, 1885
March 4, 1889
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Grover Cleveland
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Redfield Proctor Vermont March 5, 1889
November 5, 1891
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Benjamin Harrison
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Stephen Benton Elkins West Virginia December 17, 1891
March 4, 1893
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Daniel S. Lamont New York March 5, 1893
March 4, 1897
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Grover Cleveland
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Russell A. Alger Michigan March 5, 1897
August 1, 1899
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William McKinley
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 41
Elihu Root New York August 1, 1899
January 31, 1904
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Theodore Roosevelt
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William Howard Taft Ohio February 1, 1904
June 30, 1908
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Luke Edward Wright Tennessee July 1, 1908
March 4, 1909
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Jacob M. Dickinson Tennessee March 12, 1909
May 21, 1911
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William Howard Taft
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Henry L. Stimson New York May 22, 1911
March 4, 1913
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Lindley Miller Garrison New Jersey March 5, 1913
February 10, 1916
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Woodrow Wilson
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Newton D. Baker Ohio March 9, 1916
March 4, 1921
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 48
John W. Weeks Massachusetts March 5, 1921
October 13, 1925
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Warren G. Harding
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Calvin Coolidge
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Dwight F. Davis Missouri October 14, 1925
March 4, 1929
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James William Good Illinois March 6, 1929
November 18, 1929
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Herbert Hoover
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Patrick J. Hurley Oklahoma December 9, 1929
March 4, 1933
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George Dern Utah March 4, 1933
August 27, 1936
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Harry Hines Woodring Kansas September 25, 1936
June 20, 1940
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Henry L. Stimson New York July 10, 1940
September 21, 1945
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Harry S. Truman
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Robert P. Patterson New York September 27, 1945
July 18, 1947
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Kenneth C. Royall North Carolina July 19, 1947
September 18, 1947
See also References Further reading
