United States Department of War - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet

United States Cabinet

The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...

department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States 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 War Department also bore responsibility for naval affairs until the establishment of the Navy Department

United States Department of the Navy

The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...

in 1798 and for most land-based air forces until the creation of the Department of the Air Force in 1947. The Secretary of War headed the war department throughout its existence.

The War Department existed from 1789 until September 18, 1947, when it split into Department of the Army

United States Department of the Army

The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency which the United States Army is organized within, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has...

and Department of the Air Force and joined the Department of the Navy

United States Department of the Navy

as part of the new joint National Military Establishment (NME), renamed the United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

in 1949.

The Secretary of War, a civilian with such responsibilities as finance and purchases and a minor role in directing military affairs, headed the War Department.

History

Shortly after the establishment of a strong government under President 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...

in 1789, Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

created the War Department as a civilian agency to administer the field army under the president (as commander in chief) and the secretary of war. Retired senior General Henry Knox

Henry Knox

Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....

, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War

United States Secretary of War

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," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...

Early War Office Building Destroyed

On the evening of November 8, 1800, the war office building in Washington was destroyed by fire. The event was recorded in the Sixth United States Congress and appeared in an article in the Philadelphia Aurora

Philadelphia Aurora

The Philadelphia Aurora was a triweekly newspaper published in Philadelphia from 1794 to 1824. The paper was founded by Benjamin Franklin Bache, who served as editor until his death in 1798. It is sometimes referred to as the Aurora General Advertiser...

on November 12. The preserved accounts indicate that the fire's origin was unknown and that "the books and papers in the war office were entirely consumed", destroying the administration records of James McHenry

James McHenry

James McHenry was an early American statesman. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland and the namesake of Fort McHenry...

, the third United States Secretary of War

United States Secretary of War

. Interestingly, the accountant's papers, residing in the same building, were saved.

1800–1860

The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

convinced Washington that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary. Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun

John C. Calhoun

John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...

reorganized the department into a system of bureaus, whose chiefs held office for life, and a commanding general in the field, although the Congress did not authorize this position. Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

became the senior general until the start of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops and field installations. The bureaus frequently conflicted among themselves, but in disputes with the commanding general, the Secretary of War generally supported the bureaus. Congress regulated the affairs of the bureaus in detail, and their chiefs looked to that body for support.

Calhoun set up the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

in 1824, the main agency within the War Department for dealing with Native Americans until 1849, when the Congress transferred it to the newly founded Department of the Interior.

Civil War to 1898

During the Civil War, the War Department responsibilities expanded. It handled the recruiting, training, supply, medical care, transportation and pay of two million soldiers, comprising both the regular army and the much larger temporary volunteer army. A separate command structure took charge of military operations.

In the late stages of the war, the Department took charge of refugees and freedmen (freed slaves) in the American South through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands

The Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. federal government agency that aided distressed freedmen in 1865–1869, during the Reconstruction era of the United States....

. During Reconstruction, this bureau played a major role in supporting the new Republican governments in the southern states. When military Reconstruction ended in 1877, the Army removed the last troops from military occupation of the American South, and the last Republican state governments in the region ended.

The Army comprised hundreds of small detachments in forts around the West, dealing with Indians, and in coastal artillery units in port cities, dealing with the threat of a naval attack.

1898–1939

The United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890 was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France had an army of 542,000. Temporary volunteers and state militia units mostly fought the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

of 1898. This conflict demonstrated the need for more effective control over the department and its bureaus.

Secretary of War Elihu Root

Elihu Root

Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...

(1899–1904) sought to appoint a chief of staff as general manager and a European-type general staff for planning, aiming to achieve this goal in a businesslike manner, but General Nelson A. Miles

Nelson A. Miles

Nelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.-Early life:Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm...

stymied his efforts. Elihu Root enlarged the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

and established the United States Army War College and the General Staff. He changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line. Concerned about the new territories acquired after the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

, Elihu Root worked out the procedures for turning Cuba over to the Cubans, wrote the charter of government for the Philippines, and eliminated tariffs on goods imported to the United States from Puerto Rico.

Root's successor as Secretary of War, William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

, returned to the traditional secretary-bureau chief alliance, subordinating the chief of staff to the adjutant general, a powerful office since its creation in 1775. Indeed, Secretary Taft exercised little power; President Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

made the major decisions. In 1911, Secretary Henry L. Stimson

Henry L. Stimson

Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk...

and Major General Leonard Wood

Leonard Wood

Leonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...

, his chief of staff, revived the Root reforms. The general staff assisted them in their efforts to rationalize the organization of the army along modern lines and in supervising the bureaus.

World War I

The Congress reversed these changes in support of the bureaus and in the National Defense Act of 1916

National Defense Act of 1916

The National Defense Act of 1916, , provided for an expanded army during peace and wartime, fourfold expansion of the National Guard, the creation of an Officers' and an Enlisted Reserve Corps, plus the creation of a Reserve Officers' Training Corps in colleges and universities...

reduced the size and functions of the general staff to few members before America entered World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

supported Secretary of War Newton D. Baker

Newton D. Baker

Newton Diehl Baker, Jr. was an American politician who belonged to the Democratic Party. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1912 to 1915 and as U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921.-Early years:...

, who opposed efforts to control the bureaus and war industry until competition for limited supplies almost paralyzed industry and transportation, especially in the North. Yielding to pressure from Congress and industry, Secretary Baker placed Benedict Crowell

Benedict Crowell

Benedict Crowell was a United States military officer and politician particularly influential in military organization during and following World War I.-Biography:...

in charge of munitions and made Major General George W. Goethals acting quartermaster general and General Peyton C. March

Peyton C. March

Peyton Conway March was an American soldier and Army Chief of Staff.March was the son of Francis Andrew March, considered the principal founder of modern comparative linguistics in Anglo-Saxon and one of the first professors to advocate and teach English in colleges and universities...

chief of staff. Assisted by industrial advisers, they reorganized the supply system of the army and practically wiped out the bureaus as quasi-independent agencies. General March reorganized the general staff along similar lines and gave it direct authority over departmental operations. After the war, the Congress again granted the bureaus their former independence.

In the 1920s, General John J. Pershing

John J. Pershing

John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...

realigned the general staff on the pattern of his American Expeditionary Forces field headquarters, which he commanded. The general staff in the early 1920s exercised little effective control over the bureaus, but the chiefs of staff gradually gained substantial authority over them by 1939, when General George C. Marshall assumed the office of chief of staff.

World War II

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, General Marshall principally advised President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on military strategy and expended little effort in acting as general manager of the Department of War. Many agencies still fragmented authority, burdening the chief of staff with too many details, making the whole Department of War poorly geared toward directing the Army in a global war. General Marshall described the chief of staff then as a "poor command post." President Roosevelt brought in Henry L. Stimson

Henry L. Stimson

as secretary of war; after Pearl Harbor, Secretary Stimson supported General Marshall in reorganizing the Army under the War Powers Act of 1941

War Powers Act of 1941

The War Powers Act of 1941, also known as the First War Powers Act, was an American emergency law that increased Federal power during World War II. The act was signed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and put into law on December 18, 1941, less than two weeks after the Japanese attack on...

. He divided the Army of the United States into three autonomous components to conduct the operations of the War Department: the Army Ground Forces

Army Ground Forces

The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the largest training organization ever established in the United...

trained land troops; the Army Air Forces (AAF) developed an independent air arm; and the Services of Supply

Services of Supply

The Services Of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the...

(later Army Service Forces

Army Service Forces

The Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...

) directed administrative and logistical operations. The Operations Division acted as general planning staff for General Marshall. By 1942, the Army Air Forces gained virtual independence in every way from the rest of the Army.

Postwar

After World War II, the Department of War abandoned organization of General George Marshall for the fragmented prewar pattern while the independent services continually parried efforts to reestablish firm executive control over their operations. The National Security Act of 1947

National Security Act of 1947

The National Security Act of 1947 was signed by United States President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947, and realigned and reorganized the U.S. Armed Forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II...

, as amended in 1949, split the War Department into the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force, both within the Department of Defense, and the secretary of the army served as an operating manager for the new Secretary of Defense.

Office space

In the early years, between 1797 and 1800, the Department of War was headquartered in Philadelphia; it moved with the other federal agencies to the new national capital at Washington, District of Columbia, in 1800. In 1820, headquarters moved into a building at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...

NW, adjacent to the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

. The War Department building was replaced in 1888 by construction of a new building, the State, War, and Navy Building (now the Old Executive Office Building

Old Executive Office Building

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building , formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building and as the State, War, and Navy Building, is an office building in Washington, D.C., just west of the White House...

), built in the same location as its predecessor.

By the 1930s, the Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

squeezed the War Department from its office space, and the White House also desired additional office space. In August 1939, Secretary of War Harry H. Woodring and Acting Chief of Staff of the Army George C. Marshall moved their offices into the Munitions Building, a temporary structure built on the National Mall

National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...

during World War I

World War I

. In the late 1930s, the government constructed the War Department Building (renamed in 2000 as the Harry S Truman Building

Harry S Truman Building

The Harry S. Truman Building is the headquarters of the United States Department of State. It is located in the national capital of Washington, D.C.....

) at 21st and C Streets in Foggy Bottom

Foggy Bottom

Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The area is thought to have received the name because its riverside location made it susceptible to concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, an atmospheric trait that did not prevent the neighborhood...

, but upon completion, the new building did not solve the space problem of the department, and the Department of State ultimately used it and continues to use it in present day.

Coming into office with World War II

World War II

breaking out in Europe, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson

Henry L. Stimson

faced with the situation of the War Department spread through the overcrowded Munitions Building and numerous other buildings across Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and suburban Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

and Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. On July 28, 1941, Congress

United States Congress

authorized funding for a new Department of War building in Arlington, Virginia, which would house the entire department under one roof. When construction of the Pentagon

The Pentagon

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

was completed in 1943, the Secretary of War vacated the Munitions Building and the department began moving into the Pentagon.

Organization

The United States Secretary of War

United States Secretary of War

, a member of the United States Cabinet

United States Cabinet

, headed the War Department.

The National Security Act of 1947

National Security Act of 1947

merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy

United States Department of the Navy

into the National Military Establishment, later the United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

. On the same day this act was signed, Executive Order 9877 assigned primary military functions and responsibilities with the former War Department functions divided between the new Army and Air Force departments.

In the aftermath of World War II

World War II

, the American government (among others around the world) decided to abandon the word 'War' when referring to the civilian leadership of their military. One vestige of the former nomenclature is the War College

War College

A War College is a senior military academy which is normally intended for veteran military officers and whose purpose is to educate and 'train on' senior military tacticians, strategists, and leaders...

, which still trains military officers of the United States in battlefield tactics and the strategy of war fighting.

The seal of the department

The date "MDCCLXXVIII" and the designation "War Office" are indicative of the origin of the seal. The date (1778) refers to the year of its adoption. The term "War Office" used during the Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, and for many years afterward, was associated with the Headquarters of the Army.

External links

Reconstruction of War Department Records from 1784-1800
Official Reports of the War of the Rebellion {US Civil War} 1861-1865 {published 1880–1901}
US Army General Orders for 1885
U.S. War Department, Operations Division Diary, 1941-1946, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
American State Papers, including records of the War Department, 1789 to 1837 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsplink.html

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Early War Office Building Destroyed

1800–1860

Civil War to 1898

1898–1939

World War I

World War II

Postwar

Office space

Organization

The seal of the department

See also

External links