United States Department of War
The United States Department of War was an executive department of the United States government. It was responsible for all or part of the Armed Forces.
Composition
The department was led by a secretary.
History
The department was created for civilian command over the Revolutionary Army, with the president as commander-in-chief being first in command and the department's secretary being second.
Adams created the separate Department of the Navy in 1798.
Madison expanded the department with subdepartments, which by 1818 had formed into modern bureaus.
In 1849, the BIA transferred to the DOI.
Lincoln again expanded the department.
Under Roosevelt, Marshall as chief of staff of the Army led the complete reorganization of command, in which the department became ineffectual. The Air Force became effectively independent.
In 1947, Truman split the department into Army and Air Force. The National Military Establishment (NME), led by a secretary of defense, encompassed both of these departments and the Navy. This was renamed to the DOD in 1949. However, it was Eisenhower who reorganized it into the modern DOD, in 1958.