US Secretaries of War Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry Knox

Henry Knox was born on July 25, 1750. He was from Massachusetts and served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, participating in many important battles, such as Bunker Hill and Siege of Yorktown. A personal friend of George Washington, he was chosen as the first US Secretary of War. He died on October 25, 1806.
Benjamin Lincoln was indeed the first appointee in the post, but by the Congress of Confederation and not in a President's cabinet.

Answer: Simon Cameron

Simon Cameron was born on March 8, 1799. He was a Pennsylvanian and began his career as a member of the Democratic Party, but later he joined the Republicans. After the Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln appointed Cameron as a Secretary of War. His brother, James Cameron, was killed at the Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run). Cameron was often accused of corruption from the very start of his term and those accusations forced him to submit his resignation.

He died on June 26, 1889.

Answer: William L. Marcy

William L. Marcy was born on December 12, 1786. He hailed from New York, and was the 11th Governor of his state, serving from 1833 until 1838. President James K. Polk appointed him as Secretary of War. After his term expired in February 1849, he sought nomination for President by the Democratic Party for the election of 1852, but didn't succeed. He died on July 4, 1857.

Answer: John Bell

John Bell was born on February 18, 1796. He was a Tennesseean and is considered one of the best southern antebellum politicians. Before serving as a Secretary of War, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives during Andrew Jackson's presidency. After his resignation from his post as Secretary of War, he was a member of the Senate and played a role in the formation of the Compromise of 1850.

He was nominated in the Election of 1860 by the Constitutional Union Party as President. After the Civil War broke out, he became a supporter of the Confederate government.

He died on September 10, 1869.

Answer: Jefferson F. Davis

Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1808. He was a Mississippian and spent most of his childhood there, despite the fact that he was born in Kentucky. He entered West Point in 1824 and graduated in 1828. He served in the US Army during the Black Hawk War and was charged with the task of escorting the Chief to prison. Black Hawk later wrote that Davis cared about him and showed sympathy for his situation.
Later, he fell madly in love with Sarah Knox Taylor, the daughter of Zachary Taylor, then a Colonel in the US Army. He married the girl, despite her father's opposition, but both contracted malaria. She died, while Davis recovered only after months.
After spending years as a recluse, Davis entered politics in 1844, campaigning throughout Mississippi for James K. Polk, winning a seat in the House of Representatives. On February 26, 1845, he married his second wife, Varina Howell. When the Mexican War started, he resigned his seat and served in the US Army again, gaining glory for his conduct at the Battle of Buena Vista.
After the Mexican War, he became a Senator and was appointed by Franklin Pierce as a Secretary of War. After the expiration of his term, he returned to the Senate, where he resigned from in February 1861, after the secession of his native Mississippi.
He served as President of the CSA throughout the Civil War. After the war, he was an ardent supporter of the "Lost Cause" and addressed many meetings.
He died on December 6, 1889.

Answer: Robert Todd Lincoln

Robert Todd Lincoln was born on August 1, 1843. He was the first son of President Lincoln. He served in the staff of US General and later President Ulysses S. Grant towards the end of the Civil War. Although he declined President Hayes' suggestion that he be appointed Assistant Secretary of State, he accepted President Garfield's offer of the appointment of Secretary of War.

In 1884, while Lincoln was in office, the Cincinnati Riots erupted when the jury refused to term a murder case as manslaughter. US troops sent by him managed to suppress the mob and restore law and order in the city.

He died on July 26, 1926.

Answer: Newton D. Baker

Newton D. Baker was born on December 3, 1871. He studied law and exhibited an interest in Cleveland politics, where he was elected as a mayor in 1912. As a Secretary of War, he was often criticized by military men because he was a pacifist. In 1917, he was elected as a member of the Virginia Society of Cincinnati. He died on December 25, 1937.

Answer: James William Good

James William Good was born on September 24, 1866. An Iowan by birth, he studied law and was an attorney. In 1909, he was elected in the House of Representatives from Iowa's Fifth District. Upon the election of Warren Harding as President, he resigned his seat and resumed his law practice.

In 1928, he campaigned actively for the election of Herbert Hoover, who appointed him as Secretary of War. He died in office on November 18, 1929 while the Crash happened on October 24-29. Patrick Jay Hurley succeeded him.

Answer: Henry L. Stimson

Henry L. Stimson was born on September 21, 1867. His first term as Secretary of War was in the Cabinet of William H. Taft. He also served as Governor-General of the Philippines, from 1927 to 1929, succeeding Leonard Wood and preceding Dwight Davis. Subsequently, President Hoover appointed him Secretary of State, where he composed the Stimson Doctrine, calling for opposition to Japanese expansionism. During his second term as Secretary of War, he was a staunch advocate of the war against Nazi Germany.

He also supervised all the projects concerning the atomic bomb and cashiered all military officers opposing his policies. After the death of Roosevelt, he urged Truman to drop the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying that the Japanese would surrender very soon, bringing World War Two to an end.

He resigned from his office on September 21, 1945 and died on October 20, 1950.

Answer: Kenneth C. Royall

Kenneth Claiborne Royall was born on July 24, 1894. He was a North Carolinian, studied law in Harvard and served in the US Army during World War One. He subsequently was elected in the US Senate as a Democrat. During World War Two, he climbed the ranks of the Army and ended up as a Brigadier General.

In 1947, President Truman appointed him as a Secretary of War. When the position was abolished, he was named First Secretary of the Army, the successory position. Because of his disapproval of Truman's policies regarding the Army, he was forced into retirement in 1949.

He died on May 25, 1971.