Grandson of William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison followed in his grandfather’s footsteps by serving in the U.S. During the Civil War, he served in New York Militia but never fought in a battlefield position, having had familial ties with members of the Confederacy. House of Representatives, which he won despite never having campaigned.Īrthur’s military service spans from 1858 to 1863, and he eventually reached the rank of brigadier general. He resigned in December of that year to take a seat in the U.S. By 1863, he was made a major general, the youngest officer to hold this position at the time. Army in 1861 as a lieutenant colonel for the Union during the Civil War. While on active duty during the war, he was elected to Congress despite refusing to campaign. Hayes fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and rose to the rank of major general. Grant would go on to become one of the most influential military figures in the Civil War, and serve as a general in the U.S. Ultimately, he changed his mind after serving in the Mexican-American War. He did not excel at the school and planned to leave the military after serving four years of compulsory duty. Army until 1865.Īs a West Point graduate, Grant was the first of three presidents to attend a U.S. He served as a brigadier general in the U.S. Though Johnson continues to rank as one of the worst presidents in American history for his opposition to the Reconstruction, he was appointed to the role of military governor for Tennessee by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. Though Lincoln is known for his leadership of the Union during the Civil War and for signing the Emancipation Proclamation, he spent part of 1832 serving as a militia captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War. He served as a private in the Pennsylvania Militia in 1814 during a British invasion of Maryland. president with military experience who was not an officer. After being thrown from his horse, an injury caused him to miss the Army’s final victory at the Battle of Chapultepec, and Pierce returned to his home in New Hampshire.īuchanan is the last president that served in the War of 1812 and the only U.S. In 1847, he became a brigadier general, winning victories in Mexico City. He entered as a private who recruited men for the New Hampshire Militia. Like some of his predecessors, Pierce served in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. Most of his military experience came after his presidency when he served as a major in the Union Continentals, a home guard of adult males over 45 years old from Upstate New York. Once the war was over, the country hailed him as a national hero and elected him president.Īssuming the presidency after Taylor’s death, Millard Fillmore brought experience from his time in the House of Representatives as a congressman from Buffalo, New York. Under the leadership of the previous Commander-in-Chief, Taylor rose to become major general in the U.S. Army from 1808 to 1849, rising through the ranks and fighting in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War and the Second Seminole War. Zachary Taylor aspired to a military career from a young age. territory into the west during the Mexican-American War His brief stint in the militia shaped his best known accomplishment of extending U.S. Polk’s military success came as a part of his presidency, but he did spend a year as colonel in the Tennessee Militia in 1821. With the help of his father, the governor of Virginia, he entered politics at the age of 21. He dissolved the company after two months when the militia didn’t face combat against the British soldiers in Richmond. Harrison resigned from the Army in 1814 and later was awarded a gold medal for his victories in the War of 1812.īefore being vice president for nine days and then becoming president, John Tyler was the captain of his own Virginia-based militia company called the Charles City Rifles in the summer of 1813. After a short stint as major general for the Kentucky Militia during the War of 1812, he commanded the Army of the Northwest. Though William Henry Harrison is best remembered as being the shortest-serving president after dying just 31 days into his term, he also had military service under his belt from 1812 to 1814.

He received the nickname “Old Hickory” from his troops for being tough on the battlefield, spurring him to political popularity after the war. The height of his service was during the War of 1812, where he was promoted to major general.

Jackson was appointed as a major general of the Tennessee militia in 1802, despite not having formal military experience. Volunteer Army and the Tennessee Militia. Congress, he also was a major general in the U.S. Not only did the seventh president serve in both houses of the U.S.

President being commander in chief