who was the only sitting president to lead troops in the field during his term
Commander-in-chief The amount of military detail handled personally by the President in wartime has varied dramatically.[62] George Washington, the first U.S. president, firmly established military subordination under civilian authority. In 1794, Washington used his constitutional powers to assemble 12,000 militia to quell the Whiskey Rebellionâ€”a conflict in western Pennsylvania involving armed farmers and distillers who refused to pay excise tax on spirits. According to historian Joseph Ellis, this was the "first and only time a sitting American president led troops in the field", though James Madison briefly took control of artillery units in defense of Washington D.C. during the War of 1812.[63]
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr; July 14, 1913 â€“ December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. Before his accession to the presidency, he served as the 40th Vice President of the United States from December 1973 to August 1974. Ford is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected to either office. His 895 day-long presidency is the shortest in U.S. history for any president who did not die in office.