The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to th
Military Laws of the United States
"The act of August 5, 1882 authorizing the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of War was repealed by the act of July 7, 1884 (23 Stat L., 331) the power conferred by the act of August 5, 1882 never having been exercised," indicating that the post was not filled between 1882 and 1883 (p. 45, footnote 2). In 1940, the new position of United States Under Secretary of War replaced this position as the number-two office in the department. Assistant Secretary

Robert P. Patterson Robert Porter Patterson Sr. (February 12, 1891 – January 22, 1952) was an American judge who served as United States Under Secretary of War, Under Secretary of War under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and US Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of ...

became the first Under Secretary. The office continued to exercise administrative duties until the department's end in 1947, when the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

was established.

List of Assistant Secretaries of War

This list only includes those persons who served as ''the'' Assistant Secretary, or ''First'' Assistant Secretary. At various times, there were also "second" or "third" assistant secretaries, ranking below the Assistant Secretary. *

Thomas Alexander Scott Thomas Alexander Scott (December 28, 1823 – May 21, 1881) was an American businessman, railroad executive, and industrialist. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, and during the American ...

(March 10, 1861 – January 24, 1862) * Peter H. Watson (January 24, 1862 – January 28, 1862) *John Tucker (January 29, 1862 – June 10, 1862) * Christopher Parsons Wolcott (June 11, 1862 – April 4, 1863) died in office *

Charles Anderson Dana Charles Anderson Dana (August 8, 1819 – October 17, 1897) was an American journalist, author, and senior government official. He was a top aide to Horace Greeley as the managing editor of the powerful Republican newspaper ''New-York Tribune' ...

(January 28, 1864 – July 26, 1866) * Thomas Thompson Eckert (July 27, 1866 – 1867) –– under

Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...

during

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

's presidency, office abolished 1868 *

Lewis Addison Grant Lewis Addison Grant (January 17, 1828 – March 20, 1918) was a teacher, lawyer, soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and later United States Assistant Secretary of War. He was among the leading officers from the state of V ...

(c. 1890–1893) * Joseph Doe (c. 1893–1897) *

George de Rue Meiklejohn George de Rue Meiklejohn (; August 26, 1857 – April 19, 1929) was an American politician who served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Nebraska under Governor John Milton Thayer and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Ne ...

(1897–1901) * William Cary Sanger (1901–1903) * Robert Shaw Oliver (1903–1913) *

Henry Skillman Breckinridge Henry Skillman Breckinridge (May 25, 1886 – May 2, 1960) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the prominent Breckinridge family and served as the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1913 to 1916. During the Lindb ...

(1913–1916) –– under Lindley M. Garrison during

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

's presidency *

William Moulton Ingraham William Moulton Ingraham (1870 – October 13, 1951) was an American politician from Portland, Maine. A Democrat, Ingraham was elected Mayor of Portland in December 1915. He served one term in that position and was replaced the following year by ...

(1916–1917) *

Benedict Crowell Benedict Crowell (October 12, 1869 – September 8, 1952) was a United States military officer and politician particularly influential in military organization during and following World War I. He was United States Assistant Secretary of War f ...

(1917–1920) *

William Reid Williams William Reid Williams (1866 - July 24, 1931) was the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1920 to 1921. Biography He was born in 1866. He was the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1920 to 1921. He died on July 24, 1931, in Ric ...

(1920–1921) * Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (c. 1921–1923) *

Dwight F. Davis Dwight Filley Davis Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to ...

(1923–1925) *

Hanford MacNider Lieutenant General Hanford MacNider (October 2, 1889 – February 18, 1968) was a senior officer of the United States Army who fought in both world wars. He also served as a diplomat, the Assistant Secretary of War of the United States from 192 ...

(October 16, 1925 – January 4, 1928) * Charles B. Robbins (January 4, 1928 – March 5, 1929) * Patrick J. Hurley (March 5, 1929 – December 1929) *

Frederick Huff Payne Frederick Huff Payne (November 10, 1876 – March 24, 1960) was the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1930 to 1933, under President Herbert Hoover. Biography Payne was born on November 10, 1876 in Greenfield, Massachusetts to Samuel ...

(1930– c. 1933) *

Harry Hines Woodring Harry Hines Woodring (May 31, 1887September 9, 1967) was an American politician. A Democrat, he was the 25th Governor of Kansas and the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1933 to 1936. His most important role was Secretary of War in P ...

(1933–1936) * Louis A. Johnson (1937–1940) *

(1940) *

John J. McCloy John Jay McCloy (March 31, 1895 – March 11, 1989) was an American lawyer, diplomat, banker, and a presidential advisor. He served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II under Henry Stimson, helping deal with issues such as German sa ...

(c. 1941–1945) * Howard C. Petersen (c. 1945–1947)

Assistant Secretary of War for Air

The Air Corps Act of 1926 (44 ''Stat.'' 780), passed on July 2 of that year, created a Second Assistant Secretary position in the War Department variously called "Assistant Secretary of War for

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

," "Assistant Secretary of War for Air," or "Assistant Secretary of War for Aeronautics." Those holding the office, with an eigh-–year vacancy between 1933 and 1941, were

F. Trubee Davison Frederick Trubee Davison (February 7, 1896 – November 14, 1974) was an American World War I aviator, assistant United States Secretary of War, director of personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency, and president of the American Museum o ...

(1926–1933),

Robert A. Lovett Robert Abercrombie Lovett (September 14, 1895May 7, 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, having been promoted to this position from Deputy Secretary of Defense. He served in the cabinet of President of the United States, Presi ...

(1941–1945), and

Stuart Symington William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from M ...

(1946–1947).Time: "Line-Up"
/ref>

References

Records of the Office of the Secretary of War
{{USSecArm History of the government of the United States 1861 establishments in the United States

List of Assistant Secretaries of War

Assistant Secretary of War for Air

See also

References