Secretary of War
Army's cabinet chief
Secretary of War was the title of the cabinet official heading a nation's military affairs, used in the United States from 1789 until 1947, when the position was reorganized into the Secretary of Defense.
Other countries have used equivalent titles.
The term reflects an era when military departments were organized around warfare rather than broader defense policy.
- War DepartmentFormer U.S. military agency
- war powersExecutive military control rights
- American RevolutionColonial separation from Britain
- military draftCompulsory recruitment for armed forces
- war effortOrganized wartime resource mobilization
cabinet position · John C. Calhoun · Spanish-American War · World War I · Civil War · troop movements · Pentagon · Department of Defense · Joint Chiefs of Staff · Constitution · Reconstruction Era · national defense · Jefferson Davis
- Lincoln Cabinet
Secretary of WarSecretary of State
Top diplomatic cabinet position
peace envoy · foreign minister · ambassador · diplomat · diplomatic envoy
Secretary of Warcommanding general
Senior officer in charge
general · field marshal · military commander · admiral · chief of staff
Secretary of Warpeacemaker
Conflict resolution agent
peace negotiator · peace activist · pacifist · dove · conscientious objector
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