U.S. PRESIDENTS IN THE MILITARY (A. Johnson-Hayes)

Tomorrow is Presidents Day, so here’s another seasonal post.

ANDREW JOHNSON

Conflict – U.S. Civil War: Service – From 1862-February 1865 Johnson held the rank of general in the Union Army. He held that position as Military Governor of Tennessee and saw no action in the field.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

NOTE: As I observed previously, Washington, Grant and Eisenhower would require thousands of words to capture their full military careers. I will write such blog posts in the near future but for this post I’ll be very brief.

Conflict – Mexican War: Service – From 1846 to 1848 Lieutenant Grant served in Zachary Taylor’s campaigns in northern Mexico and later in Winfield Scott’s campaign to take Mexico City to the south.

Conflict – U.S. Civil War: Service – The heroic Grant rose to command of all the Union’s armies during the 1861-1865 conflict and defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A future blog post will cover his extensive service in the war.   

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES

Conflict – U.S. Civil War: Service – In 1861 Hayes was appointed a major, beginning an action-filled wartime career that saw him rise to the rank of brigadier general. Rutherford served in many, many battles including Carnifex Ferry, South Mountain, Buffington Island, Lynchburg and the Third Battle of Winchester.

Hayes’ often mild demeanor seems to be the reason his military career has been unjustly overlooked. People even laugh at the fact that his first unit consisted of several of his Literary Society associates.