So an attorney general once ran the Navy Department as acting secretary of the navy!” exclaimed Commander X to Major B. Five of us sat eating luncheon at one of those white porcelain- topped, oblong tables in the Navy Building cafeteria.
“He did indeed,” replied Major B. “Attorney General John Y. Mason received a letter dated March 24, 1845, from President James Knox Polk authorizing him to perform the duties of Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft during the temporary absence from the seat of government of that gentleman, and he served as such until about the fourth of April.”
“That’s a new one on me, I confess,” cut in Lieutenant Y. “Maje, I suppose you’ll tell us next that once upon a time Jeff Davis was head of the Navy Department.” The Major laughed as he replied: “I sure will. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was Acting Secretary of the Navy during the first half of June in 1853, under written orders of President Franklin Pierce during the temporary absence of Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin.”
“I say, Major, were those the earliest instances of this dual-cabinet stuff?” asked Captain A, who had been listening intently to the conversation.
“Not at all,” shot back Major B, “it occurred at least three times before. As a matter of fact our first Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, received orders to serve as Acting Secretary of War upon the resignation of Secretary of War James McHenry in 1800.”
“What sort of instructions did President John Adams give him?” inquired Commander X. Glancing at a paper in his hand Major B replied:
“John Adams, on May 26, 1800, wrote Benjamin Stoddert”:
I hereby request you on the first of June, or whenever Mr. McHenry shall leave the War Office, to take upon you the charge of that Office, and I hereby invest you with full power and authority to exercise all the functions of Secretary of the Department of War, and charge you with all the duties and obligations attached by law to that Office, until a successor regularly appointed and commissioned shall appear to relieve you.
“And what did the secretary do about it?” queried Lieutenant Y.
“He replied on the same date,” answered the Major after refreshing his memory with his notes, “that he would attend to the War office ‘with great cheerfulness, but under the hope’ that he might ‘be soon relieved from the duties enjoined’ him.”
“How about the other two instances you referred to, Major?” asked Ensign Q.
“When Thomas Jefferson succeeded John Adams as president he experienced much difficulty in securing a secretary of the navy,” said Major B. “Benjamin Stoddert consented to hold over for a brief period until his successor could be found. The office was offered to General Samuel Smith of Baltimore, to John Langton of New Hampshire, and to William Jones of Philadelphia, but all declined. Finally a temporary arrangement was entered into. President Jefferson appointed Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to serve as Acting Secretary of the Navy, and he signed a letter as such on April 1, 1801.”
“Did President Jefferson have legal authority to make these acting appointments?” queried Lieutenant Y.
“There is probably no one who would say that the president did not have constitutional power to appoint Acting Secretary Dearborn but the only law on the subject was contained in the acts of May 8, 1792, and February 13, 1795,” explained Major B. “Those two acts were approved before the Navy Department was created, so legal authority by inference was all that existed.”
“But if the president could appoint the secretary of war to act as secretary of the Navy it looks as if he could have the same man serve as both for an indefinite time and thus, in effect, merge the two departments,” suggested Captain A.
“That could have happened but Confess must have feared that possibility for in the act of 1795 it placed a limit of six months on the service of an acting secretary,” said Major B. “And you must remember that up to April 30, 1798, when the Navy Department was created, there was only one department of national defense—called the Department of War. Congress was hardly likely to permit the executive to merge the two departments a few years after they had separated them by legislation. However, apparently it was not until the act of 1868 that any express legislative limit was placed on the secretary of war acting as secretary of the navy or vice versa. That latter act placed a limit of ten days and the act of 1891 extended this period to one month. So you see Congress barred any merging by this method.”
“What happened during the time Dearborn ran the Navy Department?” asked Commander X.
“Well,” replied Major B as he thoughtfully recalled the facts, “outside of closing up the French naval war, sending Commodore Richard Dale and his squadron out to start the Tripolitan War, corresponding with Paul Revere about copper, With Vice-President Aaron Burr, with the Washington commissioners about the new marine barracks, and handling many other important matters, Acting Secretary of the Navy Dearborn devoted himself to his War Department duties.”
“He seemed to have been a very busy acting secretary,” broke in Ensign Q. “Did he himself sign the correspondence?”
“Some, but not all,” replied Major B. “The letters he did not sign carried the signatures of either Samuel Smith or Principal Clerk A. C. Thomas, both signing for Acting Secretary Dearborn.
“John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War in the cabinet of President James Monroe, served as Acting Secretary of the Navy in November and December of 1818,” continued the Major. “During his brief tenure of the office, Acting Secretary Calhoun authorized the convening of general courts-martial; convened a court of inquiry to inquire into complaints of General John Floyd, of Georgia (great-grandfather of William Gibbs McAdoo), that involved the actions of certain officers of the Saranac; corresponded with Captain James Biddle of the Ontario in the Pacific; despatched the Prometheus under Lieutenant Commandant William Bolton Finch to Bermuda to bring back specie and bullion; and sent an important communication relating to the condition of the Navy to the Speaker of the House.”
“The secretary of war seems to have served as acting secretary of the navy more often than the secretary of the navy ran the War Department,” remarked Captain A.
“No sir,” replied the Major, “the score by my count is even, each four times.
“Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft found himself Acting Secretary of War by order of President James K. Polk in June of 1845. He signed the famous order dated June 15, 1845, to Brigadier-General Zachary Taylor, that virtually started the Mexican War. General Taylor, at Fort Jesup, La., was instructed in anticipation of Texas becoming an integral part of the United States on the following Fourth of July, forthwith to make a forward movement to the mouth of the Sabine, etc.
“Another instance of the head of the Navy Department administering War Department affairs was when President Millard Fillmore in October of 1850 directed Secretary of the Navy William A. Graham temporarily to take the place of Secretary of War Charles M. Conrad,” continued Major B. “A third instance was when President Franklin Pierce, on August 17, 1853, appointed Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin to serve as Acting Secretary of War during the temporary absence of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis from the capital.”
“Major, you referred a little while ago to an act of 1868. What did that law provide?” asked Commander X.
“The act of July 23, 1868, provided, among other things, that the secretary of war could be detailed by the president to serve as acting secretary of the navy and vice versa,” replied the Major, “but a limit of ten days was placed on such a detail. However, this was extended to thirty days by the act of February 6, 1891.”
“What was the last time this dual secretaryship occurred, Major?” inquired Captain A.
“I’ve not searched all of the archives, or even nearly all,” answered Major B, “but I do remember that when Secretary of the Navy Richard W. Thompson resigned in 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes, on December 13, addressed a letter to Secretary of War Alexander Ramsey directing him to perform the duties of Secretary of the Navy for a period of ten days commencing with December 20. A second letter dated December 24 reading substantially the same as the foregoing was addressed to Secretary Ramsey by the President. The period of ten days expired on December 29, and on the 30th the point was raised as to whether the President could appoint Secretary of War Ramsey for a second period of ten days as Acting Secretary of the Navy.”
“If that could be done then it would seem that the President could merge the two departments without any authority of Congress,” concluded Ensign Q.
“I guess Congress would soon settle that if he tried to,” intervened Captain A.
“Let that be as it may,” resumed Major B, “an opinion of Attorney General Charles Devens put the quietus on the idea. He stated that the vacancy in the office of the Secretary of the Navy, created by the resignation of Richard W. Thompson, could not be filled by designation of the President beyond the period of ten days. But do not confuse such appointments with those made during a recess of Congress.”
“How about today, Major; could the secretary of war be detailed to serve as acting secretary of the navy during an absence of the secretary of the navy?” inquired Commander X.
“Yes,” replied Major B, “and the secretary of the navy similarly could serve as acting secretary of war, but for only thirty days.”
“Let’s adjourn,” said Captain A, rising. “The boys have all the chairs except our up on the tables, and we’d better scram before they sweep us out with the rest of the debris.”
War cannot be made without running risks.—Napoleon