// salute.nw — Command
Commanders in Chief
Every President of the United States served as Commander in Chief from the moment they took the oath. 45 individuals. 47 presidencies. 26 who also wore the uniform.
45
Presidents
47
Presidencies
26
Also Served
28
Wartime CIC
1st
★ Veteran Wartime
George Washington
1789–1797
Unaffiliated
Northwest Indian War, Whiskey Rebellion
2nd
Wartime
John Adams
1797–1801
Federalist
Quasi-War
3rd
Wartime
Thomas Jefferson
1801–1809
Democratic-Republican
First Barbary War
4th
Wartime
James Madison
1809–1817
Democratic-Republican
Creek War, War of 1812
5th
★ Veteran Wartime
James Monroe
1817–1825
Democratic-Republican
First Seminole War
6th
John Quincy Adams
1825–1829
Democratic-Republican / National Republican
7th
★ Veteran Wartime
Andrew Jackson
1829–1837
Democrat
Black Hawk War, Second Seminole War
8th
Wartime
Martin Van Buren
1837–1841
Democrat
Second Seminole War
9th
★ Veteran
William Henry Harrison
1841–1841
Whig
10th
★ Veteran Wartime
John Tyler
1841–1845
Whig / Unaffiliated
Second Seminole War
11th
Wartime
James K. Polk
1845–1849
Democrat
Mexican-American War
12th
★ Veteran
Zachary Taylor
1849–1850
Whig
13th
Millard Fillmore
1850–1853
Whig
14th
★ Veteran
Franklin Pierce
1853–1857
Democrat
15th
★ Veteran
James Buchanan
1857–1861
Democrat
16th
★ Veteran Wartime
Abraham Lincoln
1861–1865
Republican
Civil War
17th
Andrew Johnson
1865–1869
Democrat / National Union
18th
★ Veteran Wartime
Ulysses S. Grant
1869–1877
Republican
Great Sioux War
19th
★ Veteran
Rutherford B. Hayes
1877–1881
Republican
20th
★ Veteran
James A. Garfield
1881–1881
Republican
21st
★ Veteran
Chester Arthur
1881–1885
Republican
22nd
Grover Cleveland
1885–1889
Democrat
23rd
★ Veteran
Benjamin Harrison
1889–1893
Republican
24th
Grover Cleveland
1893–1897
Democrat
25th
★ Veteran Wartime
William McKinley
1897–1901
Republican
Philippine-American War, Spanish-American War
26th
★ Veteran Wartime
Theodore Roosevelt
1901–1909
Republican
Philippine-American War
27th
William Howard Taft
1909–1913
Republican
28th
Wartime
Woodrow Wilson
1913–1921
Democrat
Punitive Expedition (Mexico), World War I
29th
Warren G. Harding
1921–1923
Republican
30th
Calvin Coolidge
1923–1929
Republican
31st
Herbert Hoover
1929–1933
Republican
32nd
Wartime
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933–1945
Democrat
World War II
33rd
★ Veteran Wartime
Harry S. Truman
1945–1953
Democrat
Korean War, World War II
34th
★ Veteran Wartime
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1953–1961
Republican
Korean War
35th
★ Veteran Wartime
John F. Kennedy
1961–1963
Democrat
Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War
36th
★ Veteran Wartime
Lyndon B. Johnson
1963–1969
Democrat
Dominican Republic Intervention, Vietnam War
37th
★ Veteran Wartime
Richard Nixon
1969–1974
Republican
Cambodia Campaign, Vietnam War
38th
★ Veteran
Gerald Ford
1974–1977
Republican
Mayaguez Incident, Vietnam War
39th
★ Veteran Wartime
Jimmy Carter
1977–1981
Democrat
Iran Hostage Crisis
40th
★ Veteran Wartime
Ronald Reagan
1981–1989
Republican
Invasion of Grenada, Lebanon Intervention, Libya Bombing
41st
★ Veteran Wartime
George H.W. Bush
1989–1993
Republican
Gulf War, Invasion of Panama, Somalia Intervention
42nd
Wartime
Bill Clinton
1993–2001
Democrat
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti Intervention, Iraq (Operation Desert Fox), Kosovo War, Somalia Intervention
43rd
★ Veteran Wartime
George W. Bush
2001–2009
Republican
Iraq War, War in Afghanistan
44th
Wartime
Barack Obama
2009–2017
Democrat
Iraq War, ISIS/ISIL Campaign, Libya Intervention, Operation Neptune Spear, War in Afghanistan
45th
Wartime
Donald J. Trump
2017–2021
Republican
ISIS/ISIL Campaign, War in Afghanistan
46th
Wartime
Joe Biden
2021–2025
Democrat
Ukraine-Russia War (U.S. Support), War in Afghanistan
47th
Donald J. Trump
2025–Present
Republican