# Killer Presidents **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893 "2004-07-13T14:36:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![briangunn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@briangunn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/briangunn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/1 "2004-07-13T14:36:21Z")
As you know, Senator John Kerry killed enemy combatants during his tours of duty in Vietnam. And if he becomes President of the United States, he will presumably be the first man to hold that office in quite some time who has killed another human being. My question is: which Presidents have killed people? I’m guessing the generals have – Washington, Andrew Jackson, Grant. Maybe Teddy Roosevelt. These are all wild guesses, however, as I have no real idea. Can anyone enlighten me? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/2 "2004-07-13T14:46:02Z")
George H.W. Bush flew 58 combat missions in WWII. Presumably there was at least one death as a result, making him possibly the most recent President to have killed someone, conspiracy theories and acting as Commander-in-Chief aside. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/3 "2004-07-13T14:53:14Z")
> [@briangunn](#): > > As you know, Senator John Kerry killed enemy combatants during his tours of duty in Vietnam. And if he becomes President of the United States, he will presumably be the first man to hold that office in quite some time who has killed another human being. > > My question is: which Presidents have killed people? I’m guessing the generals have – Washington, Andrew Jackson, Grant. Maybe Teddy Roosevelt. These are all wild guesses, however, as I have no real idea. Can anyone enlighten me? there was a thread about this topic not long ago. Unfortunately, the hamsters appear to be taking a smoking break at the moment, so I can’t find it. You might try searching the board when they get back. RR ---
**Author:** ![briangunn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@briangunn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/briangunn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/4 "2004-07-13T15:17:41Z")
Thanks, RR. I searched the archives for this topic before posting my question, but found nothing. I’ll look a little harder… ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/5 "2004-07-13T16:35:00Z")
[Harry Truman](http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/truman.htm) was a captain of the field artillery, serving in the front lines in France during World War I. During the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, and led the charge up Cuba’s San Juan Hill. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/6 "2004-07-13T16:46:09Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > During the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, and led the charge up Cuba’s San Juan Hill. Kettle Hill, actually. 😃 _(II) 13:05hrs Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders are in reserve facing the Spanish outlying position on Kettle Hill. He orders the regiment forward, and troopers from other cavalry regiments deployed in front of them join in the charge._ ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/7 "2004-07-13T16:51:33Z")
[Roosevelt’s own account](http://www.spanamwar.com/Sanjuantr.htm) of San Juan Hill. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/8 "2004-07-13T16:51:44Z")
The old thread was here, BTW - see **toadspittle** ’s list in the middle: > **[Which US presidents were killers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252343)** > > Greetings. Which US presidents have personally and deliberately killed someone? I don’t expect there have been any true murderers in the legal sense of the word. But surely some of them may have killed other human beings in the course of war,... I searched on “Grover Cleveland”, who, as sheriff of Erie County, NY, personally conducted hangings. ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/9 "2004-07-13T17:00:45Z")
Assuming that you are excluding those presidents whose only connection with war was as the Commander-in-Chief but INCLUDING those who served in combat and may be presumed to have brought about the death of enemy combatants: I think those would be the majority. Eisenhower served in both WWI and WWII, Kennedy saw action in the South Pacific in WWII, almost every president in the second half of the 19th Cent. served during the Civil War and even Lincoln served with the militia during the Black Hawk War. And don’t forget that Andrew Jackson was known to have fought and won several duels before he became president. 🙂 Perhaps it would be easier to count those who _haven’t_ been in combat? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-presidents/254893/10 "2004-07-13T17:18:04Z")
Although Eisenhower desparately wanted to go to France, he was stationed in the U.S. during World War I. As the commander of a torpedo boat, Kennedy was the victim of hostile action in the Pacific, but as far as I know did not actively engage in combat. Lincoln said that the only action he saw while serving in the Black Hawk War was “a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitos.”