I know for a fact that Andrew Jackson was crazy as hell. He once used a Hickory Stick to beat the living hell out of a man that tried to assasinate him once George Washington killed quite a few people in the Revolutionaty war Ulysses S. Grant I believe killed a few people during the Civil War We also had another whose name escapes me at the moment, that got into a pistol duel and shot a man on the white house lawn for calling his wife a whore! How many other presidents have we had, that either killed, or inflicted serious bodily harm to someone.
George Washington killed some people in combat. But I don't think he ever did in the Revolutionary War. Earlier in the French & Indian War IIRC. Andrew Jackson killed two men in duels IIRC (and was shot more than once himself, including by a man who later become a U.S. Senator and close political ally of Jackson). But I don't recall anything definitive about Jackson killing anyone as a general. John F. Kennedy most certainly killed a number of Japanese while commanding the ship that he was given after PT-109. Because I remember reading that at least two small Japanese ships sank after Kennedy's new ship attacked them. George H.W. Bush most certainly killed a number of Japanese given that he had something like three dozen combat missions in the Pacific. Reagan made training films. Nixon was a logistics officer. Ford I don't think was a combat officer. Carter didn't see any combat during his 7 years in the navy. Going further back, Grover Cleveland executed a man when he was sheriff even though he believed the man did not deserve it.
Truman served on the front lines in WWI. Ike probably killed a few people during his military career.
Clinton killed Vince Foster. Or so the crowd tells me. (What happened to the :JohnM: smiley? Did it get retired because he was too long gone?)
Teddy and the Rough Riders is a lock. Ike probably didn't - he never saw combat despite being the highest ranked military commander ever to become president. Kennedy it's hard to know, though he did see some action on PT-109 and later on the two other gunboats he served on. He certainly fired a gun with the intent to kill some bastard on the other side - whether he did or not he himself probably doesn't know. From the war of 1812 to the Spanish American War, almost every president had prior military experience. William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor were notable for their service among the lesser known Presidents. Interestingly enough, James Buchanan had prior military service, but as a private. Almost every other President with military service was at least a Major, the vast majority being generals. Of course, Buchanan is roundly considered possibly the worst president of all time, so maybe it's no big surprise he never received promotion in the military.
Here's where it gets interesting ... how direct does the killing have to be? For instance, I imagine we're not counting every president who ever ordered a bombing raid, but rather ones who killed people personally. But in that case, do you count JFK, who probably ordered torpedo launches that sank Japanese ships in WWII, but probably didn't push the button himself?
Grover Cleveland was Erie County Sheriff and executed condemned criminals. Never fuck with a guy named Grover.
Actually, there's no indication any ship JFK was on ever sank another ship. He did get into a firefight one time where his gunboat helped support a group of marines that had been ambushed on an island. And of course his PT was run down by a japanese destroyer and sank. It seems like the unknown badass of Presidential militarism was Rutherford B. Hayes. Started out as a JAG in the Civil War, but ended up getting assigned to a military command. He led troops into battle including taking over for the commander in the field one time and rallying the troops to victory. And he was shot 5 times and had 4 horses killed under him. Pretty good odds he put some lead into someone during all that. Tough SOB - shot 5 times during the civil war? Hell, the hospitals were more likely to get you than the enemy!
Andrew Jackson is recorded as having personally killed a man named Charles Dickinson in a duel. As for betraying one's allies and turning on them, q.v. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, followed by the Indian Removal Act.
Actually, He saw quite a bit of action as assistant Navigator, Athletic Officer, and an Antiaircraft Battery officer aboard USS Monterey CVL-26. He even helped save the ship from burning and sinking during the dec. 1944 Typhoon! The jumper on the left is Gerald Ford.
I know that many of our past presidents were "indirectly" responsible for the death of others. ( G.W. Bush signed execution orders for countless Death Row inmates while serving as Governer of Texas). My question was meant to identify the ones that actually took personal liberty to kill another person in a direct confrontation with them.
Lincoln was in the militia for 3 months and while it was during the Blackhawk War, he never saw combat. He had the whole rugged individualist thing going on, but I wouldn't call him a soldier.
