Powers of the President of the United States The amount of military detail handled personally by the President in wartime has varied dramatically. 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 Rebellion—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
HMS President HMS President Five ships and one shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS "President", after the office of president meaning "one who presides over an assembly". In the case of the first two British ships, the name may have applied to the Lord President of the Privy Council. This ship-name lapsed from 1660 to 1806, when it was revived by the capture of the , and then perpetuated by the 1815 capture of the American super-frigate . These captures were commemorated by a new *, which survived from 1829 till 1903, and which passed the name to