List of presidents of the United States by military rank

The United States Constitution names the president of the United States the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. Many presidents, however, also served in the military before taking office. All but 13 of the 45^[a] persons to become president have served.

Of the 32 presidents with military service, 31 have been commissioned officers, of whom five began their careers as regular officers (Jimmy Carter transferred to the Navy Reserve after five years in the Navy). There have been 13 presidents who held general officer rank (four regular officers, six militia officers, three volunteers).

[a]

Rank order	Highest rank	Branch	President	Service experience	Service notes
1	No official insignia^[b] General of the Armies of the United States	Virginian militia (1752–1758) Continental Army (1775–1783)^[1] United States Army (1798–1799)^[2]^{[page needed]}	George Washington^[c]^[3]	French and Indian War (1754–1758)^[d]^[4]^{[page needed]}^[5]^{[page needed]} Revolutionary War (1775–1783)^[e]^[6]^{[page needed]}^[7]^{[page needed]} Whiskey Rebellion (1791–1794)^[8]^{[page needed]}^[9]^{[page needed]} – Thanks of Congress	Served in the Virginian militia (1752–1758) during the French and Indian War Served as commander in chief of the Continental Army (1775–1783) during the Revolutionary War, with the rank of "General and Commander in Chief." Washington was a lieutenant general in the United States Army at his death. In 1976, as part of the Bicentennial, then-president Gerald Ford posthumously appointed Washington as General of the Armies, a rank that ensured he would forever rank above all other officers.^[10]^[11]
		United States Army (Regular Army)	Ulysses S. Grant	Mexican–American War Civil War – Thanks of Congress	Graduated West Point; first lieutenant general since Washington, appointed as four-star General of the Army in 1866. In 2022 Grant was promoted by the United States Congress to General of the Armies to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth. The rank of General of the Armies is considered senior to General of the Army. Grant became the third person to become General of the Armies after John J. Pershing and George Washington. Grant and Pershing are outranked only by Washington.

Rank order	Highest rank	Branch	President	Combat experience	Service notes
3	Major General	United States Army North Carolina Militia Tennessee Militia	Andrew Jackson	Revolutionary War Creek War War of 1812 First Seminole War – Thanks of Congress	Served at age 13 as a militia messenger during the Revolutionary War; was captured, becoming the only president to have been held as a prisoner of war (Washington had surrendered in the French and Indian War but was immediately paroled); served in the War of 1812, attaining the rank of major general and became a national hero after his success at the Battle of New Orleans.
		United States Army	William H. Harrison	Northwest Indian War War of 1812 – Thanks of Congress	Dates of service: 1791–1798, 1812–1814. Became a national hero after success at the Battle of the Thames
		United States Army	Zachary Taylor	War of 1812 Black Hawk War Second Seminole War Mexican–American War – Thanks of Congress	Became a national hero because of his achievements in the Mexican–American War
	Major General of Volunteers	United States Army (volunteers)	James A. Garfield	Civil War	His heroic ride at the Battle of Chickamauga later helped him to be elected president.
	Major General	American Red Cross (Under jurisdiction of the U.S. War Department)	William Howard Taft	None	He was Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1904 to 1908. Taft also joined a Connecticut Home Guard unit during World War I. He was commissioned with a military rank in the American Red Cross by President Wilson August 1917.^[12]

Rank order	Highest rank	Branch	President	Combat experience	Service notes
4	Brigadier General	United States Army New Hampshire Militia	Franklin Pierce	Mexican–American War	Served in the New Hampshire Militia from 1831 to 1847 and attained the rank of colonel. Appointed to command the 9th Infantry Regiment during army expansion for the Mexican–American War. Subsequently promoted to brigadier general and command of a brigade
		New York State Militia	Chester A. Arthur	Inspector General of the New York Militia – Civil War	Joined militia as Judge Advocate of 2nd Brigade. Appointed Quartermaster General on Governor's staff, and later appointed Inspector General. Offered command of brigade raised in New York City, but Governor declined to allow him to leave state service. Left service in 1863 after the new governor appointed a successo
		United States Army	Andrew Johnson	Military Governor of Tennessee – Civil War	Served in the 90th Regiment of Tennessee Militia in 1830s. Later appointed colonel
		United States Army (volunteers)	Rutherford B. Hayes	Civil War	Successful leadership in Virginia/West Virginia region; wounded at the Battle of South Mountain. Later appointed brevet major general
		United States Army Indiana State Militia	Benjamin Harrison	Civil War	Battle of Perryville Atlanta campaign Battle of Nashville

Rank order	Highest rank	Branch	President	Combat experience	Service notes
5	Colonel	Virginia State Militia Albemarle County	Thomas Jefferson	None	Like other Virginia gentlemen, he had militia duties, and did administrative work.
		Virginia Colonial Militia Orange County	James Madison	None	Left the militia to enter the Virginia legislature (Some sources claim Madison briefly assumed command of an artillery battery during the British assault on Washington during the War of 1812. If true, he would join Washington as having seen military service as commander-in-chief.)
		Continental Army Virginia State Militia	James Monroe	Revolutionary War	Dates of service: 1776–1779. Wounded and nearly died in the Battle of Trenton. Returned to Virginia to recruit and lead a regiment as a militia lieutenant colonel, but the regiment was never raised. Commissioned as a colonel during the British invasion of Virginia in 1780 to command the militia raised in response and act as liaison to the Continental Army in North Carolina. Appointed As Secretary of State during the War of 1812, scouted and deployed troops during the British invasion of Washington
		Tennessee Militia	border[ James K. Polk	None	Captain in a cavalry unit beginning in 1821. Subsequently appointed colonel on staff of Governor William Carroll
		United States Army	Theodore Roosevelt	Spanish–American War – Medal of Honor (posthumously; 2001)	Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the New York National Guard's 8th Regiment in 1882. Company commander with rank of Captain when he resigned in 1886. Famous for charge up San Juan Hill. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. As ex-president, volunteered for service in World War I, but President Wilson declined.
		United States Army	Harry S. Truman	World War I – Armed Forces Reserve Medal (2)	Served 1905–1911, then in World War I, 129th Field Artillery (1917–1919), Army Reserves (1919–1953)^[13]

Rank order	Highest rank	Branch	President	Combat experience	Service notes
6	Commander	United States Navy (Reserve)	Lyndon B. Johnson	World War II – Silver Star Medal	Awarded the Silver Star by General Douglas MacArthur for his role as an observer on a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber mission. This award has been the subject of controversy.^[14]^[15]^[16]^{[page needed]}^[17]
6	Commander	United States Navy (Reserve)	Richard Nixon	World War II – Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal	Served 1942–1945 on various islands in the South Pacific and commanded SCAT units. United States Naval Reserve (1946–1966)^[18]

List of presidents of the United States by military rank

Table of United States presidents by military rank

General of the Armies

General of the Army (Special grade)

Major general (O-8)

Brigadier general (O-7)

Colonel (O-6)

Commander (O-5)

Major/Lieutenant commander (O-4)

Captain / Lieutenant (naval) (O-3)

First lieutenant (O-2)

Private

Did not serve

See also

Notes

References

External links

Wikiwand - on

Rank order	Highest rank	Branch	President	Combat experience	Service notes
9
	First lieutenant	United States Air Force (Air National Guard)	George W. Bush	None – Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award	Performed Air National Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging 336 hours, when he lost his authorization to be a pilot for failing to meet attendance and physical examination requirements^[24] He was later discharged eight months short of his six-year service requirement.^[25]

President	Service notes
John Adams	Adams was 41 years old when the Revolutionary War broke out and did not serve in the field. In addition to his diplomatic duties during the war, he served an executive role in managing the distribution of ammunition and other supplies for the Continental Army and coordinating strategic communication among the generals of the various theaters. He is sometimes called the "de facto Secretary of War" during this time.
John Quincy Adams	The U.S. did not fight any major wars during the time when Adams was of the usual age for military service (18 to 33) and the peacetime armed forces were very small during this time. It would not have been expected for a member of a prominent, wealthy family to serve unless a war broke out.
Martin Van Buren	Van Buren was a member of the New York state senate when the War of 1812 began and was involved in the military justice system and on issues of military administration during the war.
Grover Cleveland	Drafted during the Civil War, but paid $150 for a substitute (a legal option under the terms of the Enrollment Act of 1863, and his substitute survived the war)
Woodrow Wilson	The U.S. did not fight any major wars during the time when Wilson was of the usual age for military service (18 to 33) and the peacetime armed forces were very small during this time. Wilson was in his mid-40s and working as a professor at Princeton during the Spanish-American War. Moreover, his poor health (he had experienced a minor stroke in 1896),^[26] would have disqualified him from any active service.
Warren G. Harding	Harding was a 33-year-old member of the Ohio state senate when the Spanish-American War broke out.
Calvin Coolidge	Coolidge was 26 years old, practicing as an attorney, and serving as a city council member when the Spanish-American War broke out.
Herbert Hoover	Served in a private humanitarian capacity as a civilian in Europe during World War I. He was also involved in the Siege of Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion as a guide for U.S. Marines.
Franklin D. Roosevelt	Attempted to join the Navy during the Spanish–American War but was unable as he contracted measles. Served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1913 and through World War I; when the U.S. entered the war in 1917 he offered his resignation so that he could apply for a commission in the Navy, but was refused by the president. However he did visit the Western Front in 1918.
Bill Clinton	Received a 2-A student draft deferment during the Vietnam War, and later registered for the draft. He received a high draft number, was not drafted, and did not serve.
Barack Obama	Reached the age of 18 in 1979, six years after the end of the military draft in the U.S.
Donald Trump	Attended New York Military Academy for secondary school, graduating in 1964. Received four draft deferments while attending college, then one for medical reasons after he was diagnosed with bone spurs on his heels^[27]
Joe Biden	While in school, received five student draft deferments and afterward was classified as unavailable for military service due to asthma