The Quartermaster General of the United States Army is a general officer who is responsible for the Quartermaster Corps, the Quartermaster

Quartermaster

Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...

 branch of the U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. The Quartermaster General does not command Quartermaster units, but is primarily focused on training, doctrine and professional development of Quartermaster soldiers. The Quartermaster General also serves as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School

Quartermaster Center and School

The Quartermaster Center and School is a subordinate command of the United States Army's Combined Arms Support Command and is located at Fort Lee, Virginia.-Description:...

, Fort Lee, Virginia

Fort Lee, Virginia

Fort Lee is a census-designated place in Prince George County, Virginia, United States. The population was 7,269 at the 2000 census.Fort Lee is a United States Army post and headquarters of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command / Sustainment Center of Excellence , the U.S. Army Quartermaster...

 and the traditional Quartermaster Corps. The office of the Quartermaster General was established by resolution of the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 on 16 June 1775, but the position was not filled until 14 August 1775. Perhaps the most famous Quartermaster General was Nathanael Greene

Nathanael Greene

Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...

, who was the third Quartermaster General, serving from March 1778 to August 1780. The very first Quartermaster General to serve in the U.S. Army was Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania.

U.S. Army Quartermaster Generals

	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended
1.	MG Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin was an American merchant and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania, President of the Continental...		August 14, 1775	May 16, 1776
2.	COL Stephen Moylan Stephen Moylan Stephen Moylan was an Irish-American patriot leader during the American Revolutionary War. He had several positions in the Continental Army including Muster-Master General, Secretary and Aide to General George Washington, Quartermaster General, Commander of The Fourth Continental Light Dragoons...		June 5, 1776	September 27, 1776
1.	MG Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin was an American merchant and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania, President of the Continental...		October 1, 1776	November 17, 1777
3.	MG Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...		March 2, 1778	August 5, 1780
4.	COL Timothy Pickering Timothy Pickering Timothy Pickering was a politician from Massachusetts who served in a variety of roles, most notably as the third United States Secretary of State, serving in that office from 1795 to 1800 under Presidents George Washington and John Adams.-Early years:Pickering was born in Salem, Massachusetts to...		August 5, 1780	July 25, 1785
5.	Samuel Hodgdon		March 4, 1791	April 19, 1792
6.	James O'Hara James O'Hara (quartermaster) James O'Hara was an American military officer, businessman, and captain of early industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.-Early life:...		April 19, 1792	May 1, 1796
7.	MG John Wilkins, Jr.		June 1, 1796	June 1, 1802
8.	BG Morgan Lewis Morgan Lewis (governor) Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician and military commander.Of Welsh descent, he was the son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He graduated from Princeton in 1773 and began to study law on the advice of his father...		April 3, 1812	March 2, 1813
9.	BG Robert Swartwout		March 21, 1813	June 5, 1816
10.	COL James Mullany		April 29, 1816	April 14, 1818
11.	COL George Gibson George Gibson George C. Gibson , nicknamed Mooney, was a Canadian baseball player who caught for two different Major League teams, starting in 1905 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ending his playing career with the New York Giants in 1918. In the 1920s and 1930s he served as manager for Pittsburgh and for the...		April 29, 1816	April 14, 1818
12.	BG Thomas S. Jesup		May 8, 1818	June 10, 1860
13.	BG Joseph E. Johnston Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...		June 20, 1860	April 22, 1861
14.	BG Montgomery C. Meigs Montgomery C. Meigs Montgomery Cunningham Meigs was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, construction engineer for a number of facilities in Washington, D.C., and Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War....		May 15, 1861	February 6, 1882
15.	BG Daniel H. Rucker		February 13, 1882	February 23, 1882
16.	BG Rufus Ingalls Rufus Ingalls Rufus Ingalls was an American military general who served as the 16th Quartermaster General of the United States Army.-Early life and career:...		February 23, 1882	July 1, 1883
17.	BG Samuel B. Holabird		July 1, 1883	June 16, 1890
18.	BG Richard Batchelder Richard Napoleon Batchelder Richard Napoleon Batchelder was a United States Army Officer and the 18th Quartermaster General of the United States Army. Brigadier General Batchelder was awarded the Medal Of Honor in 1891.-Military career:...		June 26, 1890	July 27, 1896
19.	BG Charles G. Sawtelle		August 19, 1896	February 16, 1897
20.	BG George H. Weeks		February 16, 1897	February 3, 1898
21.	BG Marshall I. Ludington		February 3, 1898	April 12, 1903
22.	BG Charles F. Humphrey Charles Frederic Humphrey, Sr. Charles Frederic Humphrey, Sr. was a major general in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient.-Biography:...		April 12, 1903	July 1, 1907
23.	MG James B. Aleshire		July 1, 1907	September 12, 1916
24.	MG Henry G. Sharpe		September 16, 1916	July 21, 1918
25.	MG Harry L. Rogers		July 22, 1918	August 27, 1922
26.	MG William H. Hart		August 28, 1922	January 2, 1926
27.	MG B. Frank Cheatham		January 3, 1926	January 17, 1930
28.	MG John L. DeWitt John L. DeWitt John Lesesne DeWitt was a general in the United States Army, best known for his vocal support of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II....		February 3, 1930	February 3, 1934
29.	MG Louis H. Bash		February 3, 1934	March 31, 1936
30.	MG Henry Gibbins		April 1, 1936	March 31, 1940
31.	LTG Edmund B. Gregory Edmund B. Gregory Edmund Bristol Gregory was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army.-Early life and education:Gregory was born at Storm Lake, Iowa, on July 4, 1882....		April 1, 1940	January 31, 1946
32.	MG Thomas B. Larkin Thomas B. Larkin Lieutenant General Thomas Bernard Larkin was a military officer who served as the 32nd Quartermaster General of the United States Army.-Early life:...		February 1, 1946	March 21, 1949
33.	MG Herman Feldman		March 21, 1949	September 28, 1951
34.	MG George A. Horkan		October 5, 1951	January 31, 1954
35.	MG Kester L. Hastings		February 5, 1954	March 31, 1957
36.	MG Andrew T. McNamara		June 12, 1957	June 12, 1961
37.	MG Webster Anderson		June 12, 1961	July 31, 1962
38.	MG Harry L. Dukes, Jr.		July 15, 1981	March 29, 1984
39.	MG Eugene L. Stillions, Jr.		March 29, 1984	June 4, 1987
40.	MG William T. McLean		June 15, 1987	July 14, 1989
41.	MG Paul J. Vanderploog Paul J. Vanderploog Major General Paul J. Vanderploog, USA is a retired American Quartermaster officer who served as the 41st Quartermaster General of the United States Army from 1989 to 1991. He was inducted into the U.S. Army Quartermaster Foundation's Hall of Fame in 2010.- Early life :Major General Venderploog...		July 14, 1989	June 3, 1991
42.	BG John J. Cusick		July 24, 1991	August 3, 1993
43.	MG Robert K. Guest		August 3, 1993	June 21, 1996
44.	MG Henry T. Glisson		June 21, 1996	June 10, 1997
45.	MG James M. Wright		June 10, 1997	July 30, 1999
46.	MG Hawthorne L. Proctor		July 30, 1999	July 11, 2001
47.	MG Terry E. Juskowiak		July 11, 2001	May 16, 2003
48.	BG Scott G. West		May 16, 2003	August 11, 2005
49.	BG Mark A. Bellini		August 11, 2005	October 26, 2007
50.	BG Jesse R. Cross Jesse Cross Brigadier General Jesse R. Cross, USA was the 50th Quartermaster General of the United States Army and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Virginia.- Military career :...		October 26, 2007	November 22, 2010
51.	BG Gwen Bingham Gwen Bingham Brigadier General Gwen Bingham, USA is the 51st Quartermaster General of the United States Army and the Commadant of the U.S. Army Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Virginia. She is the first female officer to hold these positions.- Military education :...		November 22, 2010	Incumbent

18th Century

The position of Quartermaster General originated in the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

, under order of Congress. On 16 June 1775, 2 days after the birth of the Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, Congress ordered the creation of both a Quartermaster General and a Deputy Quartermaster General. During this period Quartermaster Generals would be act like chiefs of staff for the commanders of the Continental Army, acting as the prime supplier and businessmen for dealing with civilians, operated and repaired supply lines, which included the roads which they traveled upon, was responsible for transporting troops and furnished all the supplies needed to establish camps when the troops got there.

Upon the establishment of the position, Congress authorized George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 to appoint the first Quartermaster General. He picked a man from amongst his aides-de-camp, Maj. Thomas Mifflin. Mifflin, an experienced merchant from Philadelphia, proved to be a prime choice, being reappointed several times to the position. They eventually promoted Mifflin to a Colonel in order to retain him in his position.

20th Century

External links

• The Act of Congress Establishing the position of Quartermaster General at the United States Army Center of Military History