The first two Secretaries of War were Henry Knox and Henry Stimson. Henry Knox was appointed by George Washington in 1789 and served until 1794. He was a major general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and was instrumental in the victory at Yorktown. Henry Stimson was appointed by President William Howard Taft in 1911 and served until 1913. He was a lawyer and statesman who had previously served as Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt.