United States War Department

Creation Date

1789

Entity Type

Organization

Created in 1789 upon the inauguration of President George Washington. Responsible for oversight of all military departments. Led by the Secretary of War. Civil War-era secretaries of war: John B. Floyd (1857-1860), Joseph Holt (January-March 1861), Simon Cameron (March 1861-January 1862), and Edwin M. Stanton (January 1862-May 1868).

Kenneth W. Munden and Henry Putney Beers, The Union: A Guide to the Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1962, reprinted 1986), 242-44.
L. D. Ingersoll, A History of the War Department of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Francis B. Mohun, 1880).
Frank J. Welcher, The Union Army, 1861—1865: Organization and Operations, vol. 1, The Eastern Theatre (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989).
Frank J. Welcher, The Union Army, 1861—1865: Organization and Operations, vol. 2, The Western Theatre (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993).

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