Kenneth Claiborne Royall Sr. (July 24, 1894May 25, 1971) was a U.S. Army general and the last man to hold the office of

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, which was abolished in 1947. Royall served as the first

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

from 1947 to 1949, until he was compelled into retirement for refusing to comply with President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

Executive Order 9981 Executive Order 9981 was an executive order issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. It abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. The Order led to the r ...

for the racial desegregation of the military forces of the United States.

Early life and career

Kenneth Caliborne Royall was born on July 24, 1894, in

Goldsboro, North Carolina Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Me ...

, the son of Clara Howard Jones and George Pender Royall. He graduated from Episcopal High School and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, where he was a member of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

fraternity, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

before serving in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He then practiced law and was elected to the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he became a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the U.S. Army. On August 18, 1917, Royall married the former Margaret Pierce Best, with whom he had three children: Kenneth Claiborne Jr., Margaret, and George Pender Royall. According to a 2006 newspaper column by

Jack Betts Jack Betts, also credited as Hunt Powers, is an American character actor. He has acted in film, on stage, and on television. He starred in several Spaghetti western films such as '' Sugar Colt''. Career Betts was raised in Jersey City, New J ...

, eight German agents bent on mayhem came ashore on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in 1942 but were soon caught and ordered to stand trial in a secret

military tribunal Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

. U.S. President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

appointed Royall to defend them, but, wanting a swift conclusion to the process, with the Germans executed as soon as possible, ordered Royall to avoid civilian courts. Royall wrote to Roosevelt that he thought the president had no authority to convene a secret court to try his clients, and asked him to change his order. The president refused, and Royall appealed to the

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

, arguing the secret tribunal was unconstitutional. The court rejected this argument and so Royall and other lawyers in his office appealed to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, which rejected Royall's argument in a brief announcement in July 1942 and upheld the right of the president to appoint a secret tribunal. However, Royall had succeeded in getting civilian court review of the tribunals' constitutionality despite the president's predilection for secrecy. The Supreme Court published a more detailed opinion in October, saying, "Constitutional safeguards for the protection of all who are charged with offense are not to be disregarded." By then, six of Royall's clients were dead. They had been tried, convicted, and executed in August, days after the Supreme Court's brief announcement upholding Roosevelt's tribunals. Two who turned themselves in and betrayed the others had their death sentences commuted to prison terms. Royall later said he believed his defense of the Germans was his most important work in a long and illustrious career. He was promoted to brigadier general.

Truman administration

Royall served as Undersecretary of War from November 9, 1945 until July 18, 1947. President

named him Secretary of War in 1947. He became the first Secretary of the Army two months later. In 1948, Royall refused to make public the documentary "Nuremberg: Its Lesson For Today" because "due to policy changes, 'Nuremberg' was not in the interest of the 'army or the nation' and would not be released to the general public". Royall was forced into retirement in April 1949 for continuing to refuse to desegregate the Army, nearly a year after President Truman promulgated

.Robert B. Edgerton, Hidden Heroism: Black Soldiers in America's Wars, at 165 (Barnes & Noble 2009).

Later life and death

In December 1949, Royall became a partner at the prestigious New York City law firm of Dwight, Harris, Koegel and Caskey, becoming the firm's head in 1958. The firm was later renamed

Rogers & Wells Rogers & Wells was an international law firm founded in New York City in 1873. After several name changes, it was renamed for William P. Rogers and John A. Wells. Firms that merged with it include Dwight, Harris, Koegel & Caskey of New York. ...

, and it was subsequently known as Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells after its merger with the British firm

Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the " Magic Circle", a group of leading London-based multinational law firms. In 2022-2023 Clifford Chance was the third largest law fir ...

. Royall died in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, on May 25, 1971, aged 76. He was buried at Willow Dale Cemetery in

. His son Kenneth C. Royall Jr. (1918–1999) served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

from 1967 to 1972 and the

from 1973 to 1992.

References

External links

Charlotte Observer: Royall was also willing to stand for rule of law
* * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royall, Kenneth C. 1894 births 1971 deaths American anti-communists American segregationists Democratic Party North Carolina state senators Harvard Law School alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni United States Army generals United States Secretaries of the Army United States secretaries of war United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II Military personnel from North Carolina National Guard (United States) generals North Carolina lawyers New York (state) lawyers People from Goldsboro, North Carolina Politicians from Durham, North Carolina Truman administration cabinet members 20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly