Line drawing of the Department of War's seal.
The
United States Department of War, also called the
War Office, was the
cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the
US Army. It was also responsible for naval affairs until the establishment of the
Navy Department in 1798, and for land-based air forces until the creation of the
Department of the Air Force in 1947.
The War Department existed from 1789 until September 18, 1947, when it was renamed as the
Department of the Army, and became part of the new, joint
National Military Establishment (NME). Shortly thereafter, in 1949, the NME was renamed the
Department of Defense, which the Department of the Army is part of today.
History
The first
United States Secretary of War was
Henry Knox.
In the early years, between 1797 and 1800, the Department of War was headquartered in a house, located at 5th and
Chestnut Streets in
Philadelphia. In 1820, the Department of War headquarters moved into a building in
Washington, D.C. at 17th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to the
White House. The War Department building was replaced in 1888 by construction of a new building, the State, War, and Navy Building (now the
Old Executive Office Building) which was built in the same location as the predecessor.
By the 1930s, the War Department was being squeezed out of office space by the
Department of State, and the White House was also in need of additional office space. In August 1939, Secretary of War
Harry H. Woodring, along with Acting Chief of Staff of the Army
George C. Marshall, moved his office into the
Munitions Building, which was a temporary structure built on the
National Mall during
World War I. In the late 1930s, a
new War Department Building was constructed at 21st and C Streets in
Foggy Bottom, but upon completion, the new building did not solve the department's space problem, and ended up being used by the Department of State.
Coming into office, with
World War II breaking out in Europe, Secretary of War
Henry L. Stimson was faced with the situation of the War Department spread out in numerous buildings across
Washington, D.C., as well as
Maryland and
Virginia, and the Munitions Building was overcrowded.
On July 28, 1941,
Congress authorized funding for a new Department of War building in
Arlington, Virginia, which would house the entire department under one roof When construction of
the Pentagon was completed in 1943, the Secretary of War vacated the Munitions Building and the department began moving into the Pentagon.
Organization
The War Department was headed by the
Secretary of War, who was a member of the
President's
Cabinet.
The
National Security Act of 1947 merged the Department of War and the
Department of the Navy into the
National Military Establishment, which later became the
Department of Defense. On the same day this act was signed, Executive Order 9877 assigned primary military functions and responsibilities, with the former War Department functions
divided between the new Army and Air Force departments.
In the aftermath of
World War II, the American government (among others around the world) decided to abandon the word 'War' when referring to the civilian leadership of their military. One vestige of the former nomenclature is
War College, where military officers of the United States are still trained in battlefield strategy.
The seal of the department
The date "MDCCLXXVIII" and the designation
"War Office" are indicative of the origin of the seal. The date (1778) refers to the year of its adoption. The term
"War Office" used during the
Revolution, and for many years afterward, was associated with the
Headquarters of the Army.
Description: In the center is a Roman
cuirass below a vertical unsheathed
sword, point up, the
pommel resting on the neck opening of the cuirass and a
Phrygian cap supported on the sword point, all between on the right an esponton and on the left a
musket with fixed
bayonet crossed in
saltire behind the cuirass and passing under the sword guard. To the right of the cuirass and
spontoon is a flag of unidentified designs with cords and tassels, on a flagstaff with
spearhead, above a
cannon barrel, the muzzle end slanting upward behind the cuirass, in front of the
drum, with two drumsticks and the fly end of the flag draped over the drumhead; below, but partly in front of the cannon barrel, is a pile of three
cannon balls. To the left of the
cuirass and musket is a national color of the
Revolutionary War period, with cords and tassels, on a flagstaff with spearhead, similarly arranged above a mortar on a carriage, the
mortar facing inward and in front of the lower portion of the color and obscuring the lower part of it; below the mortar are two bomb shells placed side by side. Centered above the
Phrygian cap is a rattlesnake holding in its mouth a scroll inscribed "This We’ll Defend." Centered below the cuirass are the
Roman numerals "MDCCLXXVIII."
Symbolism: The central element, the Roman cuirass, is a symbol of strength and defense. The sword, esponton (a type of half-pike formerly used by subordinate officers), musket, bayonet, cannon, cannon balls, mortar, and mortar bombs are representative of Army implements. The drum and drumsticks are symbols of public notification of the Army’s purpose and intent to serve the Nation and its people. The Phrygian cap (often called the Cap of Liberty) supported on the point of an unsheathed sword and the motto "This We’ll Defend" on a scroll held by the
rattlesnake is a symbol depicted on some American colonial flags and signifies the Army’s constant readiness to defend and preserve the United States.
Current Usage: This
"War Office" seal continues to be used to this day when legal certification is necessary to authenticate as "official" documents and records of the
Department of the Army. The Army's "emblem" as depicted above, which is based on this seal, is preferred for public display.
See also
