1.
Lieutenant general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general, Lieutenant general is equivalent to the rank of vice admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of generals that may be concurrently active to 230 for the Army,60 for the Marine Corps. For the Army and Air Force, no more than about 25% of the active duty general officers may have more than two stars. Some of these slots can be reserved by statute, officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The President may also add three-star slots to one if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency, the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy is almost always a U. S. Army lieutenant general, either upon appointment or shortly thereafter. The three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the position of office to which it is linked, officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, the nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank. The standard tour length for most lieutenant general positions is three years but some are set four or more years by statute, some statutory limits under the U. S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Three-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Lieutenant generals must retire after 38 years of service unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer, otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a three-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, General officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there is a number of three-star slots available to each service. Additionally, lieutenant generals of all services serve as staff officers at various major command headquarters and The Pentagon. Currently, five women serve as lieutenant generals in the US Army, in theory, a general vacates their three or four-star rank at termination of their assignment unless placed in an equal ranking billet. Douglas MacArthur, who served as general and Army Chief of Staff. Even with the status, such officers are also almost always granted permanent retirement in the last grade they held with the satisfactory completion of at least two or three years in grade
Lieutenant general (United States)
2.
Nelson A. Miles
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Nelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his familys farm and he worked in Boston, read military history, and mastered military principles and techniques, including battle drills. Miles was working as a store clerk in Boston when the Civil War began. He entered the Union Army on September 9,1861, as a volunteer and he became a lieutenant in the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 61st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment on May 31,1862. He was promoted to colonel after the Battle of Antietam, other battles he participated in include Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Appomattox Campaign. Wounded four times in battle, on March 2,1867 he was brevetted a brigadier general in the army in recognition of his actions at Chancellorsville. He was again brevetted, this time to the rank of general for his actions at Spotsylvania Court House. He received the Medal of Honor for his gallantry at Chancellorsville and he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers as of May 12,1864, for the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. On October 21,1865, he was appointed general of volunteers at age 26. After the war, he was commandant of Fort Monroe, Virginia, during his tenure at Fort Monroe, Miles was forced to defend himself against charges that Davis was being mistreated. In July 1866, Miles was appointed a colonel in the Regular Army, in March 1869 he became commander of the 5th U. S. On June 30,1868, he married Mary Hoyt Sherman, Miles played a leading role in nearly all of the U. S. Armys campaigns against the American Indian tribes of the Great Plains. In 1874–1875, he was a commander in the force that defeated the Kiowa, Comanche. In the winter of 1877, he drove his troops on a march across Montana. For the rest of Miles career, he would quarrel with General Oliver O. Howard over credit for Josephs capture, the heliographs were supplied by Brig. Gen. Albert J. Myer of the Signal Corps. In December 1880, he was promoted to general in the Regular Army. Crook had relied heavily on Apache scouts in his efforts to capture the Chiricahua leader, instead, Miles relied on white troops, who eventually traveled 3,000 miles without success as they tracked Geronimo through the tortuous Sierra Madre Mountains. Gatewood, who had studied Apache ways, succeeded in negotiating a surrender, under the terms of which Geronimo and his followers, agreed to spend two years in a Florida reservation
Nelson A. Miles
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Nelson A. Miles
Nelson A. Miles
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Miles during Civil War
Nelson A. Miles
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General Nelson Miles and other soldiers on horseback in Puerto Rico.
Nelson A. Miles
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Miles' portrait at
United States Army Center of Military History
3.
United States Department of War
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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 throughout its existence. Retired senior General Henry Knox, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War, forming and organizing the department and the army fell to Secretary Knox. On November 8,1800 the War Department building with its records, foundation of the new military academy at West Point along the Hudson River upstream from New York City in 1802 was important to the future growth of the American army. The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812 convinced Washington that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary, winfield Scott became the senior general until the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops, 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, during the American Civil War, the War Department responsibilities expanded. It handled the recruiting, training, supply, medical care, transportation, a separate command structure took charge of military operations. In the late stages of the war, the Department took charge of refugees and freedmen in the American South through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 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 U. S. 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, 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 of 1898. This conflict demonstrated the need for effective control over the department. Elihu Root enlarged the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and established the United States Army War College and 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, indeed, Secretary Taft exercised little power, President Theodore Roosevelt made the major decisions. In 1911, Secretary Henry L. Stimson and Major General Leonard Wood, his chief of staff, the general staff assisted them in their efforts to rationalize the organization of the army along modern lines and in supervising the bureaus. Assisted by industrial advisers, they reorganized the system of the army. General March reorganized the general staff along similar lines and gave it authority over departmental operations. After the war, the Congress again granted the bureaus their former independence, in the 1920s, General John J. Pershing realigned the general staff on the pattern of his American Expeditionary Force field headquarters, which he commanded
United States Department of War
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State, War, and Navy Building in 1917
United States Department of War
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The seal of the U.S. Department of War.
4.
United States Secretary of War
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The Secretary of War was a member of the United States Presidents Cabinet, beginning with George Washingtons administration. A similar position, called either Secretary at War or Secretary of War, had 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. 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, from 1886 onward, the Secretary of War was third in the line of succession to the presidency, after the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of State. The office of Secretary at War was modelled upon Great Britains Secretary at War, the office of Secretary at War was meant replaced 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 Secretarys staff, however, the Army itself under Secretary Henry Knox only consisted of 700 men. Parties No party Federalist Democratic-Republican Democratic Whig Republican Confederate States Secretary of War Bell, commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005, Portraits and Biographical Sketches. United States Army Center of Military History, encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet 1789-2010. Charlottesville, Virginia, The Judge Advocate Generals School, U. S. Army
United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
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Official Seal
United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
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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.
5.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
President of the United States
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Incumbent
Barack Obama since January 20, 2009 (2009-01-20)
President of the United States
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Presidential Seal
President of the United States
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Obama signing legislation at the
Resolute desk
President of the United States
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Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, successfully preserved the
Union during the
American Civil War
6.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
United States Congress
United States Congress
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United States Congress
United States Congress
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In 1868, this committee of representatives prosecuted president
Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial, but the Senate did not convict him.
United States Congress
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George Washington presiding over the signing of the
United States Constitution.
7.
General (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force, General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps,198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy. No more than about 25% of an active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals,9 four-star Air Force generals,2 four-star Marine Generals, several of these slots are reserved by statute. For example, the two highest-ranking members of service are designated as four-star generals. In addition, for the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a general under active duty in the Army or Air Force. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions e. g. the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the President may add four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency and their active rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. For some positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee deemed to serve national interests, the nominee must be confirmed by the United States Senate before the appointee can take office and assume the rank. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, service vice chiefs serve for a nominal four years, but are commonly reassigned after one or two years. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps serves for two years, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau serves a nominal four years. Some statutory limits can be waived in times of emergency or war. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement, a four-star general must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to serve longer. Otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday, however, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officers 68th birthday. General officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. Since only a number of four-star slots are available to each service
General (United States)
8.
George Washington
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George Washington was an American politician and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is popularly considered the driving force behind the nations establishment and came to be known as the father of the country, both during his lifetime and to this day. Washington was widely admired for his leadership qualities and was unanimously elected president by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. Washingtons incumbency established many precedents still in use today, such as the system, the inaugural address. His retirement from office two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term. The 22nd Amendment now limits the president to two elected terms and he was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia to a family of wealthy planters who owned tobacco plantations and slaves, which he inherited. In his youth, he became an officer in the colonial militia during the first stages of the French. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned him as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, in that command, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776 but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause and his strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies, after victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of government for the United States. Following his election as president in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation and he supported Alexander Hamiltons programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank. In avoiding war with Great Britain, he guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 and he remained non-partisan, never joining the Federalist Party, although he largely supported its policies. Washingtons Farewell Address was a primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism. He retired from the presidency in 1797, returning to his home, upon his death, Washington was eulogized as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen by Representative Henry Lee III of Virginia. He was revered in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history and he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, public works, currency, and other dedications to the present day. He was born on February 11,1731, according to the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar was adopted within the British Empire in 1752, and it renders a birth date of February 22,1732. Washington was of primarily English gentry descent, especially from Sulgrave and his great-grandfather John Washington emigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves, as did his son Lawrence and his grandson, Georges father Augustine
George Washington
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George Washington by
Gilbert Stuart, 1797
George Washington
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Washington's birthplace
George Washington
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Washington's map, accompanying his Journal to the Ohio (1753–1754)
George Washington
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A
mezzotint of
Martha Washington, based on a 1757 portrait by
Wollaston
9.
Major general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps, some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, the nominee is promoted to rank on assuming a position of office that requires an officer to hold the rank. For positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, since the grade of major general is permanent, the rank does not expire when the officer vacates a two-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, and/or when the officer receives a new assignment or a promotion, in the case of the Air National Guard, they may also serve as The Adjutant General for their state, commonwealth or territory. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers, all major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise, all officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense may defer a general officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, because there are a finite number of General Officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, general officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. The rank of general was abolished in the U. S. Army by the Act of March 16,1802. Major general has been a rank in the U. S. Army ever since, to address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to three stars according to General Order No.6 of March 13,1861
Major general (United States)
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Lafayette in a uniform of a major general of the Continental Army.
Major general (United States)
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Army,
Air Force, and
Marine Corps two-star
insignia of the rank of Major General. Style and method of wear may vary between the services.
10.
Jacob Brown
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Jacob Jennings Brown was an American army officer in the War of 1812. His successes on the border during that war made him a hero. In 1821, he was appointed Commanding General of the United States Army, born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Jacob Jennings Brown was the son of Samuel and Abi Brown. Raised a Quaker, Brown graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1790 and he taught school and, in 1798, moved to upstate New York. There he was a settler and landowner in the Black River country. He and his family established mills and a store, laid out roads. However, Hamiltons biographies state he did not have a secretary, biographical sketches of Brown published in 1815 do not mention a connection between him and Hamilton. In 1807, as one of the citizens of his county. Two years later, he was promoted to colonel and his initial commission was the result of regional political connections. However, his promotion to higher rank appears to have resulted from his aversion to frequent, when the War of 1812 began, Brown was a brigadier general in the New York militia, having been appointed to that rank in 1811. Though he opposed the war, he organized the defenses in the Great Lakes region, on 29 May 1813, troops led by Brown defeated the British at the Second Battle of Sackets Harbor. As a result of his actions there, he was given a commission as a general in the regular army. The next year his army captured Fort Erie in Ontario, after, his army defeated a British army at the Battle of Chippawa. He was wounded twice at the Battle of Lundys Lane, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war for both sides and his last battle of the war was the Siege of Fort Erie in 1814, which resulted in an American victory. His successes, in what was the northwest U. S. at that time, to express its appreciation, Congress authorized the award to Brown of a Congressional Gold Medal on 3 November 1814. General Brown was the 24th American to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, in 1818, Brown was admitted as an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati. After the war, the U. S. Army was reduced in size, by 1821, he was the only major general in the service and President James Monroe made him commanding general. Despite a stroke he suffered in 1821, he functioned well in his new post and he reorganized the army staff into the form it retained for the rest of the century
Jacob Brown
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Major General Jacob J. Brown
11.
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
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The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army. As the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the CSA is the military advisor. The CSA is typically the officer on active-duty in the U. S. Army unless the Chairman and/or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Army officers. The Chief of Staff of the Army is a position based in the Pentagon. While the CSA does not have command authority over Army forces proper. The current Chief of Staff of the Army is General Mark A. Milley, the CSA also directs the Inspector General of the Army to perform inspections and investigations as required. In addition, the CSA presides over the Army Staff and represents army capabilities, requirements, policy, plans, under delegation of authority made by the Secretary of the Army, the CSA designates army personnel and army resources to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands. Like the other counterparts, the CSA has no operational command authority over army forces. The CSA is served by a number of Deputy Chiefs of Staff of the Army, such as G-1, Personnel. The CSA base pay is $21,147.30 per month plus Personal Money Allowance of $333.33, basic allowance for subsistence of $253.38, the Chief of Staff of the Army is nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. By statute, the CSA is appointed as a four-star general, the Chief of Staff of the Army has an official residence, Quarters 1 at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, Virginia. The Chief of Staff holds an annual future study program called Unified Quest, prior to 1903, the senior military officer in the army was the Commanding General, who reported to the Secretary of War. The first chief of staff moved his headquarters to Fort Myer in 1908, the rank listed is the rank when serving in the office. Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army Army Staff Senior Warrant Officer Sergeant Major of the Army Bell, appendix B, Chronological List of Senior Officers of the United States Army. Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005, Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Armys Senior Officer, United States Army Center of Military History. Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005, Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Armys Senior Officer, United States Army Center of Military History. Chief of Staff, Prewar Plans and Preparations, United States Army in World War II. United States Army Center of Military History, - full text The short film Big Picture, Top Soldier is available for free download at the Internet Archive
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
–
Incumbent
GEN Mark A. Milley since August 14, 2015
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
–
Flag of the Chief of Staff of the Army
12.
United States Army
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The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784, the United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775. As a uniformed service, the Army is part of the Department of the Army. As a branch of the forces, the mission of the U. S. The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States, the United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U. S. Section 3062 of Title 10, U. S, the army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, a number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The army fought numerous pitched battles and in the South in 1780–81 sometimes used the Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics, hitting where the British were weakest, to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton, but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776, with a decisive victory at Yorktown, and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, though, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates, State militias became the new nations sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Points arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The War of 1812, the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U. S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh, which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U. S. victories in the Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops, were able to capture and burn Washington, which was defended by militia, in 1814. Two weeks after a treaty was signed, Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and Siege of Fort St. Philip, U. S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane, Levant, and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides, the United States and Great Britain, returned to the status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict, the armys major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles. It took long wars to defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma
United States Army
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Storming of Redoubt #10 in the
Siege of Yorktown during the
American Revolutionary War prompted the British government to begin negotiations, resulting in the
Treaty of Paris and British recognition of the United States of America.
United States Army
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Emblem of the United States Department of the Army
United States Army
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General
Andrew Jackson stands on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking
Highlanders during the
defense of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812
United States Army
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The
Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War
13.
Continental Army
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The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Congress on June 14,1775, the Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and troops that remained under control of the individual states or were otherwise independent. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war, most of the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the war. The 1st and 2nd Regiments went on to form the nucleus of the Legion of the United States in 1792 under General Anthony Wayne and this became the foundation of the United States Army in 1796. The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies, and after 1776, when the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19,1775, the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. As tensions with Great Britain increased in the leading to the war. Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774, colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force, but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea. On April 23,1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of an army consisting of 26 company regiments. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut soon raised similar, on July 18,1775, the Congress requested all colonies form militia companies from all able bodied effective men, between sixteen and fifty years of age. It was not uncommon for men younger than sixteen to enlist as most colonies had no requirement of consent for those under twenty-one. Four major-generals and eight brigadier-generals were appointed by the Second Continental Congress in the course of a few days, after Pomeroy did not accept, John Thomas was appointed in his place. As the Continental Congress increasingly adopted the responsibilities and posture of a legislature for a sovereign state, as a result, the army went through several distinct phases, characterized by official dissolution and reorganization of units. Soldiers in the Continental Army were citizens who had volunteered to serve in the army, early in the war the enlistment periods were short, as the Continental Congress feared the possibility of the Continental Army evolving into a permanent army. The army never numbered more than 17,000 men, turnover proved a constant problem, particularly in the winter of 1776–77, and longer enlistments were approved. Major General Philip Schuylers ten regiments in New York were sent to invade Canada, the Continental Army of 1776, reorganized after the initial enlistment period of the soldiers in the 1775 army had expired. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and of its geographical focus. This army consisted of 36 regiments, most standardized to a battalion of 768 men strong and formed into eight companies. Enlistment terms extended to three years or to the length of the war to avoid the crises that depleted forces
Continental Army
Continental Army
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Infantry of the Continental Army.
Continental Army
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1778 Drawing of a member of the
Stockbridge Militia (from Revolutionary War diary of
Johann Von Ewald)
Continental Army
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Continental Army Plaza,
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
14.
American Revolutionary War
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
American Revolutionary War
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Clockwise from top left:
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis after the
Siege of Yorktown,
Battle of Trenton,
The Death of General Warren at the
Battle of Bunker Hill,
Battle of Long Island,
Battle of Guilford Court House
American Revolutionary War
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Notice of Stamp Act of 1765 in newspaper
American Revolutionary War
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This iconic 1846 lithograph by
Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Indians.
American Revolutionary War
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The British marching to
Concord in April 1775
15.
George Washington in the American Revolution
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George Washington commanded the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, and was the first President of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. Because of his role in the founding of the United States. His devotion to republicanism and civic virtue made him a figure among early American politicians. Washington played a military and political role in the American Revolution. His involvement began as early as 1767, when he first took political stands against the acts of the British Parliament, after the war broke out with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, his role became military with his appointment as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He appeared before the Second Continental Congress in military uniform, signaling that he was prepared for war, Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, the next day it selected Washington as commander-in-chief. At the end of the year in both 1775 and 1776, he had to deal with expiring enlistments, since the Congress had only authorized the existence for single years. In 1777 Washington was again defeated in the defense of Philadelphia, Washingtons activities from late 1778 to 1780 were more diplomatic and organizational, as his army remained outside New York, watching Sir Henry Clintons army that occupied the city. His attention was drawn to the frontier war, which prompted the 1779 Continental Army expedition of John Sullivan into upstate New York. When General Clinton sent the turncoat General Benedict Arnold to raid in Virginia, the arrival of Lord Cornwallis in Virginia after campaigning in the south presented Washington with an opportunity to strike a decisive blow. The army was disbanded after peace in 1783, and Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief on December 23,1783. Born into a well-to-do Virginia family near Fredericksburg in 1732, Washington was schooled locally until the age of 15, the early death of his father when he was 11 eliminated the possibility of schooling in England, and his mother rejected attempts to place him in the Royal Navy. Thanks to the connection by marriage of his half-brother Lawrence to the wealthy Fairfax family, Washington was appointed surveyor of Culpeper County in 1749 and its investors also included Virginias Royal Governor, Robert Dinwiddie, who appointed Washington a major in the provincial militia in February 1753. Washington played a key role in the outbreak of the French and Indian War and he closely observed British military tactics, gaining a keen insight into their strengths and weaknesses that proved invaluable during the Revolution. He demonstrated his toughness and courage in the most difficult situations, including disasters and he developed a command presence—given his size, strength, stamina, and bravery in battle, he appeared to soldiers to be a natural leader and they followed him without question. Washington learned to organize, train, and drill, and discipline his companies, from his observations, readings and conversations with professional officers, he learned the basics of battlefield tactics, as well as a good understanding of problems of organization and logistics. He gained an understanding of strategy, especially in locating strategic geographical points. He developed a negative idea of the value of militia, who seemed too unreliable, too undisciplined
George Washington in the American Revolution
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Currier and Ives depiction of Washington accepting his
Continental Army commission from the
Second Continental Congress
George Washington in the American Revolution
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Washington was in the vanguard of British forces that occupied
Fort Duquesne, recently abandoned by the French, in 1758.
George Washington in the American Revolution
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Washington in 1772
George Washington in the American Revolution
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British forces evacuate the city at the end of the
Siege of Boston
16.
Second Continental Congress
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The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met between September 5,1774 and October 26,1774, also in Philadelphia, the second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4,1776. When the Second Continental Congress came together on May 10,1775 it was, in effect, many of the same 56 delegates who attended the first meeting were in attendance at the second, and the delegates appointed the same president and secretary. Notable new arrivals included Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts, within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses, he was replaced in the Virginia delegation by Thomas Jefferson, who arrived several weeks later. Henry Middleton was elected as president to replace Randolph, but he declined, Hancock was elected president on May 24. Delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies were present when the Second Continental Congress convened, Georgia had not participated in the First Continental Congress and did not initially send delegates to the Second Continental Congress. On May 13,1775, Lyman Hall was admitted as a delegate from the Parish of St. Johns in the Colony of Georgia, not as a delegate from the colony itself. The Second Continental Congress would meet on May 10,1775, by the time the Second Continental Congress met, the American Revolutionary War had already started with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Congress was to charge of the war effort. For the first few months of the struggle, the Patriots had carried on their struggle in an ad-hoc and they had seized arsenals, driven out royal officials, and besieged the British army in the city of Boston. On July 6,1775 Congress approved a Declaration of Causes outlining the rationale, on July 8, Congress extended the Olive Branch Petition to the British Crown as a final attempt at reconciliation. However, it was received too late to do any good, silas Deane was sent to France as a minister of the Congress. American ports were reopened in defiance of the British Navigation Acts, the Congress had no authority to levy taxes, and was required to request money, supplies, and troops from the states to support the war effort. Individual states frequently ignored these requests, Congress was moving towards declaring independence from the British Empire in 1776, but many delegates lacked the authority from their home governments to take such a drastic action. Advocates of independence in Congress moved to have reluctant colonial governments revise instructions to their delegations, on May 10,1776, Congress passed a resolution recommending that any colony lacking a proper government should form such. The resolution of independence was delayed for weeks as revolutionaries consolidated support for independence in their home governments. The records of the Continental Congress confirm that the need for a declaration of independence was intimately linked with the demands of international relations, on June 7,1776, Richard Henry Lee offered a resolution before the Continental Congress declaring the colonies independent. He also urged Congress to resolve to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances, Lee argued that independence was the only way to ensure a foreign alliance, since no European monarchs would deal with America if they remained Britains colonies
Second Continental Congress
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Thirteen Colonies United States
Second Continental Congress
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The Assembly Room in Philadelphia's
Independence Hall, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
Second Continental Congress
17.
John Adams
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John Adams was an American patriot who served as the second President of the United States and the first Vice President. He was a lawyer, diplomat, statesman, political theorist, and, as a Founding Father and he was also a dedicated diarist and correspondent, particularly with his wife and closest advisor Abigail. He collaborated with his cousin, revolutionary leader Samuel Adams, Adams was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, where he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence. He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, as a diplomat in Europe, he helped negotiate the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and acquired vital governmental loans from Amsterdam bankers. Adams was the author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which influenced American political theory. Adamss credentials as a revolutionary secured for him two terms as President George Washingtons vice president and also his own election in 1796 as the second president. In his single term as president, he encountered fierce criticism from the Jeffersonian Republicans, as well as the dominant faction in his own Federalist Party, led by his rival Alexander Hamilton. Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, and built up the army, the major accomplishment of his presidency was a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the face of Hamiltons opposition. Due to his strong posture on defense, Adams is often called the father of the American Navy and he was the first U. S. president to reside in the executive mansion, now known as the White House. In 1800, Adams lost re-election to Thomas Jefferson and retired to Massachusetts and he eventually resumed his friendship with Jefferson upon the latters own retirement by initiating a correspondence which lasted fourteen years. He and his wife established a family of politicians, diplomats, Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States. He died on the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Modern historians in the aggregate have favorably ranked his administration, John Adams was born on October 30,1735 to John Adams Sr. and Susanna Boylston. He had two brothers, Peter and Elihu. Adams birthplace was then in Braintree, Massachusetts, and is preserved at Adams National Historical Park, Adams mother was from a leading medical family of present-day Brookline, Massachusetts. His father was a Congregationalist deacon, a farmer, a cordwainer, the Deacon also served as a selectman and supervised the building of schools and roads. Adams often praised his father and recalled their close relationship, though raised in modest surroundings, Adams felt an acute responsibility to live up to his familys heritage of reverence. Journalist Richard Brookhiser wrote that Adams Puritan ancestors believed they lived in the Bible, England under the Stuarts was Egypt, they were Israel fleeing
John Adams
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John Adams
John Adams
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Adams' birthplace in
Quincy, Massachusetts
John Adams
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Mrs. Abigail Smith Adams – 1766 Portrait by Benjamin Blythe
John Adams
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John Adams – 1766 Portrait by Benjamin Blyth
18.
Henry Knox
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Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, who also served as the first United States Secretary of War from 1789 to 1794. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he owned and operated a bookstore there, cultivating an interest in military history and joining a local artillery company. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, he befriended General George Washington, in this role he accompanied Washington on most of his campaigns, and had some involvement in many major actions of the war. He established training centers for artillerymen and manufacturing facilities for weaponry that were valuable assets to the fledgling nation, following the adoption of the United States Constitution, he became President Washingtons Secretary of War. In this role he oversaw the development of coastal fortifications, worked to improve the preparedness of local militia, Knoxs idealistic views on the subject were frustrated by ongoing illegal settlements and fraudulent land transfers involving Indian lands. He retired to what is now Thomaston, Maine, in 1795 and he died in 1806 from an infection he contracted after swallowing a chicken bone, leaving an estate that was bankrupt. Henry Knoxs parents, William and Mary, were of Scotch-Irish origin and his father was a ship builder who, due to financial reverses, left the family for St Eustatius in the West Indies where he died in 1762 of unknown causes. Henry was admitted to the Boston Latin School, where he studied Greek, Latin, arithmetic, since he was the oldest son still at home when his father died, he left school at the age of 12 and became a clerk in a bookstore to support his mother. The shops owner, Nicholas Bowes, became a father figure for the boy, allowing him to browse the shelves of the store. The inquisitive future war hero, when he was not running errands, taught himself French, learned some philosophy and advanced mathematics and he immersed himself in literature from a tender age. However, Knox was also involved in Bostons street gangs, becoming one of the toughest fighters in his neighborhood, impressed by a military demonstration, at 18 he joined a local artillery company called The Train. On March 5,1770 Knox was a witness to the Boston massacre, according to his affidavit, he attempted to defuse the situation, trying to convince the British soldiers to return to their quarters. He also testified at the trials of the soldiers, in which all, in 1771 he opened his own bookshop, the London Book Store, in Boston opposite Williams Court in Cornhill. The store was, in the words of a contemporary, a resort for the British officers and Tory ladies. Boasting an impressive selection of excellent English products and managed by a friendly proprietor, as a bookseller, Knox built strong business ties with British suppliers and developed relationships with his customers, but he retained his childhood aspirations. Largely self-educated, he stocked books on science, and also questioned soldiers who frequented his shop in military matters. The genial giant initially enjoyed reasonable success, but his profits slumped after the Boston Port Bill. In 1772 he cofounded the Boston Grenadier Corps as an offshoot of The Train, shortly before his 23rd birthday Knox accidentally discharged a shotgun, shooting two fingers off his left hand
Henry Knox
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Henry Knox
Henry Knox
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An ox team hauls cannon toward Boston
Henry Knox
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Men are visible behind Washington working to unload cannon in
Thomas Sully 's 1819 Passage of the Delaware.
Henry Knox
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Steel engraving of Henry Knox by Alonzo Chappel
19.
Articles of Confederation
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Its drafting by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress began on July 12,1776, and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification on November 15,1777. The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1,1781, a guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The federal government received only those powers which the colonies had recognized as belonging to king, the Articles formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. Actually the adoption of the Articles made no change in the federal government. That body was now taken over as the Congress of the Confederation, as the governments weaknesses became apparent, especially after Shays Rebellion, individuals began asking for changes to the Articles. Their hope was to create a national government. Initially, some states met to deal with their trade and economic problems, however, as more states became interested in meeting to change the Articles, a meeting was set in Philadelphia on May 25,1787. It was quickly realized that changes would not work, and instead the entire Articles needed to be replaced, on March 4,1789, the general government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the Constitution. The new Constitution provided for a stronger federal government by establishing a chief executive, courts. The Articles of Confederation would bear some resemblance to it, over the next two decades, some of the basic concepts it addressed would strengthen and others would weaken, particularly the degree of deserved loyalty to the crown. It was an era of constitution writing—most states were busy at the task—and leaders felt the new nation must have a written constitution, during the war, Congress exercised an unprecedented level of political, diplomatic, military and economic authority. It adopted trade restrictions, established and maintained an army, issued fiat money, created a military code, to transform themselves from outlaws into a legitimate nation, the colonists needed international recognition for their cause and foreign allies to support it. The monarchies of France and Spain in particular could not be expected to aid those they considered rebels against another legitimate monarch, foreign courts needed to have American grievances laid before them persuasively in a “manifesto” which could also reassure them that the Americans would be reliable trading partners. Without such a declaration, Paine concluded, “he custom of all courts is against us, Congress then created three overlapping committees to draft the Declaration, a Model Treaty, and the Articles of Confederation. The committee met repeatedly, and chairman John Dickinson presented their results to the Congress on July 12,1776, there were long debates on such issues as sovereignty, the exact powers to be given the confederate government, whether to have a judiciary, and voting procedures. Under the Articles, the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the national government, the individual articles set the rules for current and future operations of the United States government. Article XIII stipulated that their provisions shall be observed by every state. John Dickinsons and Benjamin Franklins handwritten drafts of the Articles of Confederation are housed at the National Archives in Washington, after the war, nationalists, especially those who had been active in the Continental Army, complained that the Articles were too weak for an effective government
Articles of Confederation
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Page I of the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
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Articles of Confederation 200th Anniversary commemorative stamp First issued in York, Pennsylvania., 1977
Articles of Confederation
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The Act of the Maryland legislature to ratify the Articles of Confederation on February 2, 1781
20.
John Doughty
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John Doughty was an American military officer who briefly served as the senior officer of the United States Army in 1784. Born in New York City on July 25,1754, he graduated from Kings College in 1770 and he served as adjutant general of two Morris County battalions and was appointed captain lieutenant of the New Jersey Eastern Artillery Company in March 1776. Doughty became a captain of the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment in January 1777, later, he was assigned to command the New York State Artillery Company in March 1777. John Doughty would participate in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Springfield and he was appointed brigade major of the Corps of Artillery in 1779 and was appointed fort major for the West Point garrison in 1782. He was transferred to the Corps of Artillery in June 1783 and he superintended the construction of Fort Harmar and Fort Washington on the Ohio frontier. He repelled with serious losses an attack by Cherokee, Shawnee and he declined an appointment to lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, after which he retired from the army in March 1791. In May 1800 Doughty resigned and returned to life on his estate at Morristown, New Jersey, to engage in agriculture. He died there on September 16,1826 and this article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Center of Military History document John Doughty. Heitmans Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army
John Doughty
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John Doughty
21.
Josiah Harmar
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Josiah Harmar was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the officer in the Army for seven years. Josiah Harmar was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and educated at a Quaker school and he started his military career during the American Revolutionary War, receiving a commission as a captain in 1775. He served under George Washington and Henry Lee during the war, a lieutenant colonel at its conclusion, he was chosen by Congress in 1784 to relay the ratified Treaty of Paris to commissioner Benjamin Franklin in Paris. Harmar was an member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati when it was founded on October 4,1783. The same day, he was elected as the Societys first secretary, Harmar served as secretary of the Society for two years. In the 1780s, many Americans wished to settle the Old Northwest as the Midwest was known at the time, supported by the British who still held fur-trading forts in the Old Northwest, the Indians were resolved to oppose the Americans. In 1784, the newly independent United States had almost no army, in 1784, the entire United States Army comprised just 55 artillerymen at West Point and 25 more at Fort Pitt. For defense, the United States relied upon the state militias, as the largest contingent came from Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was allowed to choose the commander of the regiment. Thomas Mifflin, a powerful Pennsylvania politician successfully pushed for his friend Josiah Harmar to become commander, Harmar was described as a political general with a fondness for alcohol who was only given the position due to his political connections. As commander of the First American Regiment, Harmar was the officer in the United States Army from 1784 to 1791. In 1785, he wrote to a friend, I wish you were here to view the beauties of Fort MIntosh, what think you of pike of 24 lbs, a perch of 15 to 20 lbs, cat-fish of 40 lbs, bass, pickerel, sturgeon &c &c. He also consumed huge quantities of wine, cognac, whiskey and he signed the Treaty of Fort McIntosh in 1785, the same year that he ordered the construction of Fort Harmar near Marietta, Ohio. Such are the glories of industry, short-sightedness on the part of the military was the reason that no preparatory training in guerrilla warfare was ever imposed on the Army. No federal unit under Harmar or St. Clair was ever instructed in the method of war. It is very unlikely that the Continental Army would had won the Revolutionary War without Steubens training, Harmar also supervised the construction of Fort Steuben near present-day Steubenville, Ohio. He was brevetted as a general in July 1787. He directed the construction in 1789 of Fort Washington on the Ohio River, the fort was named in honor of President Washington
Josiah Harmar
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Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar
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Fort Harmar
22.
Harmar Campaign
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The Harmar Campaign was an attempt by the United States to subdue Native Americans in the Northwest Territory in the Autumn of 1790. They were seeking to expel American settlers whom they considered interlopers in their territory, the campaign was led by General Josiah Harmar and is considered an early part of the Northwest Indian War. The campaign consisted of a series of battles that were all overwhelming victories for the Native Americans, however, there was no general war. American settlers were eager to enter these lands and started to do so, St. Clair decided the tribes wanted war, and called for militia forces to be assembled at Fort Washington and Vincennes, Indiana. The primary objective of the campaign was the destruction of the large, main Miami village of Kekionga, St. Clair and Harmar also planned to build a fort there. But when St. Clair presented his plan to Washington at New York in August 1790, at this time, British forces still occupied Fort Detroit, in violation of the Treaty of Paris. St. Clair wrote to the British at Fort Detroit to assure them that the expedition was against only Indian tribes, General Harmar gathered 320 regulars of the First American Regiment and 1,133 militia from Kentucky and Pennsylvania, for a total of 1,453 men. The force also had three horse-drawn 6-pounder cannons, few experienced frontiersmen took part in the campaign, many instead paid recent immigrants to take their place. Lt. Ebenezer Denny wrote that the appear to be raw. The troops were assembled in September, and the campaign had to be completed before winter set in, the pack horses which carried the troops supplies were fed by grazing, and would starve on the frontier in winter. The Army had no time to train the militia, the campaign was launched from Fort Washington on 7 October 1790. General Harmar began the march north, along the Great Miami River, a smaller army led by Jean François Hamtramck marched north from Vincennes to distract the Wabash Indians. Hamtramcks force was delayed, and returned to Vincennes, by 14 October, Harmars force had marched to within 25 miles of Kekionga. On that day, Kentuckian scouts captured a Shawnee, after some intense interrogation, the Indian said that the Miami and Shawnee were gathering at Kekionga to meet Harmars army. Before dawn on 15 October, Harmar dispatched 600 men under Colonel John Hardin on a march to surprise the Indians at Kekionga. When Colonel Hardins detachment reached Kekionga, they found the village abandoned and they burned it together with any stores they found, and camped south of the destroyed town. Harmar reached other Miami villages near Kekionga on 17 October, the Miami had warning of the attack, and had evacuated their villages with as much food as they could carry. Some British-affiliated traders had been living among the Miami, they fled to Fort Detroit with their families and they had distributed all available arms and ammunition to Miami warriors
Harmar Campaign
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General Josiah Harmar
Harmar Campaign
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Harmar Campaign
Harmar Campaign
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Little Turtle
23.
Arthur St. Clair
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Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During the American Revolutionary War, he rose to the rank of general in the Continental Army. After the war, he served as President of the Continental Congress and he was then made governor of the Northwest Territory in 1788, and then the portion that would become Ohio in 1800. In 1791, St. Clair commanded the American forces in what was the United Statess worst ever defeat against the American Indians, politically out-of-step with the Jefferson administration, he was replaced as governor in 1802. St. Clair was born in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, little is known of his early life. Early biographers estimated his year of birth as 1734, but subsequent historians uncovered a birth date of March 23,1736 and his parents, unknown to early biographers, were probably William Sinclair, a merchant, and Elizabeth Balfour. He reportedly attended the University of Edinburgh before being apprenticed to the renowned physician William Hunter, in 1757, St. Clair purchased a commission in the British Army, Royal American Regiment, and came to America with Admiral Edward Boscawens fleet for the French and Indian War. He served under General Jeffrey Amherst at the capture of Louisburg, on April 16,1762, he resigned his commission, and, in 1764, he settled in Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania, where he purchased land and erected mills. He was the largest landowner in Western Pennsylvania, in 1774, the colony of Virginia took claim of the area around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and some residents of Western Pennsylvania took up arms to eject them. St. Clair issued an order for the arrest of the leading the Virginia troops. Lord Dunmores War eventually settled the boundary dispute, by the mid-1770s, St. Clair considered himself more of an American than a British subject. In January 1776, he accepted a commission in the Continental Army as a colonel of the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment and he first saw service in the later days of the Quebec invasion, where he saw action in the Battle of Trois-Rivières. He was appointed a general in August 1776, and was sent by Gen. George Washington to help organize the New Jersey militia. He took part in George Washingtons crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26,1776, many biographers credit St. Clair with the strategy that led to Washingtons capture of Princeton, New Jersey on January 3,1777. St. Clair was promoted to general in February 1777. In April 1777, St. Clair was sent to defend Fort Ticonderoga and his small garrison could not resist British General John Burgoynes larger force in the Saratoga campaign. St. Clair was forced to retreat at the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga on July 5,1777 and he withdrew his forces and played no further part in the campaign
Arthur St. Clair
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Major General Arthur St. Clair II
Arthur St. Clair
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A Narrative printed by
Jane Aitken
Arthur St. Clair
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St.Clair signed check while Governor of Northwest Territory (1796)
24.
Northwest Territory
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In the 18th century, Great Britain and the France disputed for control of this region. The French had claimed it in the 17th century as part of New France and this activity stimulated the development of the eastern parts of the eventual National Road by private investors. Most of the territory and its successors was settled by emigrants passing through the Cumberland Narrows, the Congress of the Confederation enacted the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 to provide for the administration of the territories and set rules for admission of jurisdictions as states. On August 7,1789, the new U. S. Congress affirmed the Ordinance with slight modifications under the Constitution, the territory included all the land of the United States west of Pennsylvania and northwest of the Ohio River. It covered all of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan. The area covered more than 260,000 square miles, European exploration of the region began with French-Canadian voyageurs in the 17th century, followed by French missionaries and French fur traders. French-Canadian explorer Jean Nicolet was the first recorded European entrant into the region, landing in 1634 at the current site of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The French exercised control from widely separate posts in the region, France ceded the territory to the Kingdom of Great Britain as part of the Indian Reserve in the 1763 Treaty of Paris, after being defeated in the French and Indian War. A new colony, named Charlotina, was proposed for the southern Great Lakes region, however, facing armed opposition by Native Americans, the British issued the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited white colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. This action angered American colonists interested in expansion, as well as those who had settled in the area. In 1774, by the Quebec Act, Britain annexed the region to the Province of Quebec in order to provide a civil government, the prohibition of settlement west of the Appalachians remained, contributing to the American Revolution. In February 1779, George Rogers Clark of the Virginia Militia captured Kaskaskia, the Old Northwest Territory included all the then-owned land of the United States west of Pennsylvania, east of the Mississippi River, and northwest of the Ohio River. It covered all of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan. The area covered more than 260,000 square miles and was a significant addition to the United States, several states then had competing claims on the territory. As a concession in order to obtain ratification, these states ceded their claims on the territory to the government, New York in 1780, Virginia in 1784, Massachusetts. So the majority of the territory became public land owned by the U. S. government, Virginia and Connecticut reserved the land of two areas to use as compensation to military veterans, The Virginia Military District and the Connecticut Western Reserve. In this way, the United States included territory and people outside any of the states, Thomas Jeffersons Land Ordinance of 1784 was the first organization of the territory by the United States. Some older French communities property claims based on systems of long
Northwest Territory
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Check signed by
Arthur St. Clair while Governor of the Northwest Territory (1796)
Northwest Territory
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Flag
Northwest Territory
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Plaque at
Marietta, Ohio commemorating the first American settlement of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
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Seal of the Northwest territory over a time capsule outside the
Campus Martius Museum. Latin phrase “He has planted one better than the one fallen,” signifies the replacement of wilderness by civilization.
25.
Anthony Wayne
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Anthony Wayne was a United States Army officer, statesman, and member of the United States House of Representatives. He later served as General in Chief of the Army and commanded the Legion of the United States, Wayne was one of four children born to Isaac Wayne and Elizabeth Iddings Wayne in Easttown Township, near present-day Paoli, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His father had immigrated from Ireland, and was part of a Protestant Anglo-Irish family, Wayne was born on January 1,1745, on his familys Waynesborough estate. He was educated as a surveyor at his uncles private academy in Philadelphia, as well as at the College of Philadelphia, in 1767 he returned to work in his fathers tannery, while continuing work as a surveyor. He became a prominent figure in Chester County and served in the Pennsylvania legislature from 1774–80 and he married Mary Penrose in 1766 and they had two children. Their daughter Margretta was born in 1770 and their son Isaac Wayne, representative from Pennsylvania, was born in 1772. At the onset of the war in 1775, Wayne raised a unit and, in 1776. His service resulted in a promotion to general on February 21,1777. On September 11,1777, Wayne commanded the Pennsylvania Line at Brandywine, the two forces fought for three hours until the American line withdrew, and Wayne was ordered to retreat. Later, Wayne was ordered to harass the British rear in order to slow General Howes advance towards Pennsylvania, Waynes camp was attacked on the night of September 20–21, in the Battle of Paoli. General Charles Grey ordered his men to remove their flints and attack with bayonets in order to keep their assault secret, the attack earned General Grey the nickname No Flint, but the Americans used the tactics and casualties as propaganda regarding British brutality. General Waynes own reputation was tarnished by the American losses, only days later, on October 4,1777, Wayne again led his forces against the British in the Battle of Germantown. Waynes soldiers pushed ahead of other American units, and, according to his report, generals Wayne and Sullivan advanced too quickly, however, and became entrapped when they reached two miles ahead of other American units. As General Howe arrived and reformed the British line, American forces retreated, General Wayne was again ordered to hold off the British and cover the rear of the retreating body. After winter quarters at Valley Forge, Wayne led the American attack at the 1778 Battle of Monmouth, during this battle, Waynes forces were abandoned by General Charles Lee and pinned down by a numerically superior British force. Wayne held out until relieved by reinforcements sent by Washington, Wayne reformed his troops and continued to fight. Because the body of Lt. Colonel Henry Monckton was discovered by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment, in July 1779 Washington named Wayne to command the Corps of Light Infantry, a temporary unit of four regiments of light infantry companies drawn from all the regiments in the Main Army. Waynes successful attack on British positions at Stony Point, New York in the Battle of Stony Point was the point of his revolutionary war service
Anthony Wayne
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Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne
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A statue of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne stands in Fort Wayne's Freimann Square.
Anthony Wayne
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Statue of Wayne at
Valley Forge, facing toward his home in nearby
Paoli, Pennsylvania
Anthony Wayne
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Major-General Anthony Wayne (Pastel by
James Sharples, Sr ca. 1795)
26.
James Wilkinson
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James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, after his death, he was discovered to have been a paid agent of the Spanish crown. Wilkinsons actions have since been condemned by a number of historians and politicians such as Theodore Roosevelt. James Wilkinson was born three miles northeast of Benedict, Charles County, Maryland, on a farm south of Hunting Creek. His grandfather had been sufficiently wealthy to buy a property known as Stoakley Manor in Calvert County. The family felt that although their property was smaller, they fell in with a higher social class. James grew up with the idea that the image of respectability excused the reality of betrayal and his father, Joseph Wilkinson, inherited the property but, by that time, the family was in debt. In 1764, Stoakley Manor was broken up and sold and his older brother, Joseph, inherited the property after his father died and, as the second son, James was left with nothing. Historian Andro Linklater argued that his upbringing led to James aggressive reaction towards insults of his behavior and his father had left with the last words of My son, if you ever put up with an insult, I will disinherit you. Wilkinson married Ann Biddle of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia on November 12,1778 in Philadelphia and she was a first cousin of Charles Biddle, an associate of Aaron Burr, and Wilkinsons marriage to the dynamic Biddle only helped his career as a politician and general. She died on February 23,1807, the couple had four sons, John, James Biddle, Joseph Biddle, and Walter. James and Walter both served as Captains in the US Army, theofannie died as a child in early 1822. Wilkinson first served in Thompsons Pennsylvania rifle battalion, 1775–76, and was commissioned a captain in September 1775 and he became aide to Arnold just prior to the final retreat and left Canada with Arnold on the very last boat out. Shortly thereafter, he left Arnolds service and became an aide to General Horatio Gates in August 1776, when Gates sent him to Congress with official dispatches about the victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, Wilkinson kept Congress waiting while he attended to personal affairs. When he finally showed up, he embellished his own role in the victory, and was brevetted as a general on November 6,1777. Gates soon had enough of Wilkinson, and the officer was compelled to resign in March 1778. On July 29,1779, Congress appointed him clothier-general of the Army and he moved to Kentucky in 1784, and he was active there in efforts to achieve independence from Virginia. In April 1787, Wilkinson made a controversial trip to New Orleans
James Wilkinson
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James Wilkinson
27.
Quasi-War
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The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought almost entirely at sea between the United States of America and the French Republic from 1798 to 1800. Louis XVI of France fell from power in 1792 during the French Revolution, the United States had already declared neutrality in the conflict between Great Britain and revolutionary France, and American legislation was being passed for a trade deal with Britain. When the U. S. refused to continue repaying its debt using the argument that the debt was owed to the government, not to the French First Republic. First, French privateers began seizing American ships trading with Britain, next, the French government refused to receive Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the new U. S. Minister, when he arrived in Paris in December 1796. In April 1798, President Adams informed Congress of the XYZ Affair, meanwhile, French privateers inflicted substantial losses on American shipping. On 21 February 1797, Secretary of State Timothy Pickering told Congress that during the eleven months. French marauders cruised the length of the Atlantic seaboard virtually unopposed, the United States government had nothing to combat them, as the navy had been abolished at the end of the Revolutionary War and its last warship sold in 1785. The United States had only a flotilla of small revenue cutters, increased depredations by French privateers led to the rebirth of the United States Navy and the creation of the United States Marine Corps to defend the expanding American merchant fleet. Congress authorized the president to acquire, arm, and man not more than twelve ships of up to twenty two guns each, several merchantmen were immediately purchased and refitted as ships of war, and construction of the frigate Congress resumed. Congress rescinded the treaties with France on 7 July 1798 and that date is now considered the beginning of the Quasi-War. This was followed two days later with the passage of the Congressional authorization of attacks on French warships in American waters. The U. S. Navy operated with a fleet of about twenty five vessels. French privateers generally resisted, as did La Croyable, which was captured on 7 July 1798, by Delaware outside of Egg Harbor, enterprise captured eight privateers and freed eleven American merchant ships from captivity. Experiment captured the French privateers Deux Amis and Diane, numerous American merchantmen were recaptured by Experiment. Boston forced Le Berceau into submission, silas Talbot engineered an expedition to Puerto Plata harbor in the Colony of Santo Domingo, a possession of Frances ally Spain, on 11 May 1800. Sailors and Marines from Constitution under Lieutenant Isaac Hull captured the French privateer Sandwich in the harbor, the U. S. Navy lost only one ship to the French, Retaliation, which was later recaptured. She was the captured privateer La Croyable, recently purchased by the U. S. Navy, Retaliation departed Norfolk on 28 October 1798, with Montezuma and Norfolk, and cruised in the West Indies protecting American commerce. Montezuma and Norfolk escaped after Bainbridge convinced the senior French commander that those American warships were too powerful for his frigates, renamed Magicienne by the French, the schooner again came into American hands on 28 June, when a broadside from Merrimack forced her to haul down her colors
Quasi-War
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From top to bottom:
USS Constellation vs L 'Insurgente; U.S. Marines from the USS Constitution
board and capture the French Privateer before
spiking the cannons of the Spanish fort
Quasi-War
Quasi-War
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The fight between the USS Constellation and L'Insurgente (William Bainbridge Hoff)
Quasi-War
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A 20th-century illustration depicting
United States Marines escorting French prisoners
28.
French First Republic
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In the history of France, the First Republic, officially the French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire in 1804 under Napoleon, under the Legislative Assembly, which was in power before the proclamation of the First Republic, France was engaged in war with Prussia and Austria. The foreign threat exacerbated Frances political turmoil amid the French Revolution and deepened the passion, in the violence of 10 August 1792, citizens stormed the Tuileries Palace, killing six hundred of the Kings Swiss guards and insisting on the removal of the king. A renewed fear of action prompted further violence, and in the first week of September 1792, mobs of Parisians broke into the citys prisons. This included nobles, clergymen, and political prisoners, but also numerous common criminals, such as prostitutes and petty thieves, many murdered in their cells—raped, stabbed and this became known as the September Massacres. The resulting Convention was founded with the purpose of abolishing the monarchy. The Conventions first act, on 10 August 1792, was to establish the French First Republic, the King, by then a private citizen bearing his family name of Capet, was subsequently put on trial for crimes of high treason starting in December 1792. On 16 January 1793 he was convicted, and on 21 January, throughout the winter of 1792 and spring of 1793, Paris was plagued by food riots and mass hunger. The new Convention did little to remedy the problem until late spring of 1793, despite growing discontent with the National Convention as a ruling body, in June the Convention drafted the Constitution of 1793, which was ratified by popular vote in early August. The Committees laws and policies took the revolution to unprecedented heights, after the arrest and execution of Robespierre in July 1794, the Jacobin club was closed, and the surviving Girondins were reinstated. A year later, the National Convention adopted the Constitution of the Year III and they reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners, and most importantly, initiated elections for a new legislative body. On 3 November 1795, the Directory was established, the period known as the French Consulate began with the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799. Members of the Directory itself planned the coup, indicating clearly the failing power of the Directory, Napoleon Bonaparte was a co-conspirator in the coup, and became head of the government as the First Consul. He would later proclaim himself Emperor of the French, ending the First French Republic and ushering in the French First Empire
French First Republic
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Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power during the Coup of 18 Brumaire
French First Republic
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Flag
29.
Alexander Hamilton
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Alexander Hamilton was an American statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the author of the economic policies of the George Washington administration. He took the lead in the funding of the debts by the Federal government, as well as the establishment of a national bank, a system of tariffs. His vision included a central government led by a vigorous executive branch. This was challenged by Virginia agrarians Thomas Jefferson and James Madison who formed a rival party and they favored strong states based in rural America and protected by state militias as opposed to a strong national army and navy. They denounced Hamilton as too friendly toward Britain and toward monarchy in general, Hamilton was born out of wedlock in Charlestown, to a married mother of British and French Huguenot ancestry and a Scottish father. His father, James A. Hamilton, was the son of laird Alexander Hamilton of Grange. Orphaned as a child by his mothers death and his fathers abandonment, Hamilton was taken in by an older cousin and he was recognized for his intelligence and talent, and sponsored by a group of wealthy local men to travel to New York City to pursue his education. Hamilton attended Kings College, choosing to stay in the Thirteen Colonies to seek his fortune, discontinuing his studies before graduating when the college closed its doors during British occupation of the city, Hamilton played a major role in the American Revolutionary War. At the start of the war in 1775, he joined a militia company, in early 1776, he raised a provincial artillery company, to which he was appointed captain. He soon became the aide to General Washington, the American forces commander-in-chief. Hamilton was dispatched by Washington on numerous missions to convey plans to his generals, after the war, Hamilton was elected as a representative to the Congress of the Confederation from New York. He resigned to practice law, and founded the Bank of New York, Hamilton was among those dissatisfied with the weak national government. He led the Annapolis Convention, which successfully influenced Congress to issue a call for the Philadelphia Convention in order to create a new constitution, Hamilton became the leading cabinet member in the new government under President Washington. These programs were funded primarily by a tariff on imports, to overcome localism, Hamilton mobilized a nationwide network of friends of the government, especially bankers and businessmen, which became the Federalist Party. A major issue in the emergence of the American two-party system was the Jay Treaty and it established friendly trade relations with Britain, to the chagrin of France and the supporters of the French Revolution. Hamilton played a role in the Federalist party, which dominated national. In 1795, he returned to the practice of law in New York and he tried to control the policies of President Adams
Alexander Hamilton
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Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
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The Hamilton House, Charlestown, Nevis. The current structure was rebuilt from the ruins of the house where Alexander Hamilton was born and lived as a young child.
Alexander Hamilton
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Hamilton in his youth
Alexander Hamilton
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Statue of Hamilton outside Hamilton Hall overlooking Hamilton Lawn at his alma mater,
Columbia University in New York City
30.
War of 1812
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Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. By the wars end in early 1815, the key issues had been resolved, the view was shared in much of New England and for that reason the war was widely referred to there as Mr. Madison’s War. As a result, the primary British war goal was to defend their North American colonies, the war was fought in three theatres. Second, land and naval battles were fought on the U. S. –Canadian frontier, Third, large-scale battles were fought in the Southern United States and Gulf Coast. With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, early victories over poorly-led U. S. armies demonstrated that the conquest of the Canadas would prove more difficult than anticipated. Despite this, the U. S. was able to inflict serious defeats on Britains Native American allies, both governments were eager for a return to normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. This brought an Era of Good Feelings in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of strengthened American nationalism, the war was also a major turning point in the development of the U. S. military, with militia being increasingly replaced by a more professional force. The U. S. also acquired permanent ownership of Spains Mobile District, the government of Canada declared a three-year commemoration of the War of 1812 in 2012, intended to offer historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border. At the conclusion of the commemorations in 2014, a new national War of 1812 Monument was unveiled in Ottawa. The war is remembered in Britain primarily as a footnote in the much larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe, historians have long debated the relative weight of the multiple reasons underlying the origins of the War of 1812. This section summarizes several contributing factors which resulted in the declaration of war by the United States, as Risjord notes, a powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honour in the face of what they considered to be British insults such as the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair. The approaching conflict was about violations of American rights, but it was also vindication of American identity. Americans at the time and historians since often called it the United States Second War of Independence, in 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a series of Orders in Council to impede neutral trade with France, with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law, the American merchant marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810, making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U. S. cotton, the British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition. The United States view was that Britains restrictions violated its right to trade with others, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy expanded to 176 ships of the line and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man. The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become U. S. citizens and this meant that in addition to recovering naval deserters, it considered any United States citizens who were born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the reluctance of the United States to issue formal naturalization papers and it was estimated by the Admiralty that there were 11,000 naturalized sailors on United States ships in 1805
War of 1812
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Clockwise from top: damage to the
US Capitol after the
Burning of Washington; the mortally wounded
Isaac Brock spurs on the
York Volunteers at the
battle of Queenston Heights;
USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere;
The death of Tecumseh in 1813 ends the Indian armed struggle in the American Midwest;
Andrew Jackson defeats the
British assault on New Orleans.
War of 1812
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Press gang: oil painting by
Luke Clennell
War of 1812
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James Madison, U.S. President, (1809–1817).
War of 1812
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Lord Liverpool, British Prime Minister, (1812–1827).
