--- title: "The awesome story behind the Commander-In-Chief’s desk" date: "2022-07-06" modified: "2022-07-06" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/commander-in-chiefs-desk/" categories: - "History" - "Navy" --- # The awesome story behind the Commander-In-Chief’s desk ![A large, ornate wooden desk with intricate carvings, including a prominent eagle emblem in the center panel. The desk has detailed floral and scrollwork designs along the front and sides. A man in a white shirt and blue striped tie is seated behind the desk, speaking on a telephone. The background features large windows with beige curtains, an American flag, and a presidential seal flag.]() *President Barack Obama sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office during a conference call with people of faith, August 19, 2009. Official White House Photograph by Pete Souza. This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.* After taking office in 1977, President Jimmy Carter moved a new desk into the White House. It had been briefly used by President Kennedy, but Johnson moved it out after taking office. Carter's new desk was known as the Resolute Desk, and was made from the timbers of a British warship that was abandoned in the icy waters of Canada. That was not the ship's final fate, however. --- ![]() *Wikimedia Commons* The ship was originally part of an expedition sent to track down explorer Sir John Franklin, who left England in 1845 to look for the long-fabled "Northwest Passage." Franklin and his crew were lost, all dying of starvation and exposure, not to mention the seaborne illnesses of the era. But England didn't know that, and Franklin's ships weren't discovered until 2016, so the Royal Navy sent a squadron out to discover the fate of Franklin himself. The *HMS Resolute* was just one of the ships in that squadron. The expedition to find Franklin was as disastrous as Franklin's own expedition. Eventually, the thick sea ice would force the Navy to abandon at least two of the ships, including *Resolute.* An American whaling crew found the Royal Navy ship adrift in the waters off Canada, crewed her, and took her to New London. Instead of turning her into an American ship, the United States had other plans. ![]() *Wikimedia Commons* The "special relationship" between England and the United States is a relatively recent development. In the days before the 20th Century, the two countries routinely butted heads and almost went to war on a number of occasions. At this time, the two were embroiled in border disputes, territorial arguments, fishing rights, and whatever else countries can go to war over. The U.S. decided to give the *Resolute* a complete American overhaul and refit, then present the ship to Queen Victoria as a peace offering. It worked. The ship remained in England's home waters until she left the service in 1879. But the wood from *Resolute* was to become legendary. Three desks were made, the first for the widow of Henry Grinnell, an American merchant from New York who helped search for Franklin's lost expedition, the second for Queen Victoria herself. The third and largest one was presented as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes. ![A black and white cat sitting on a black leather chair behind a large, ornate wooden desk in an office with blue carpet and gold curtains. The desk has papers, a telephone, and a container on it. There are two wooden chairs with blue patterned cushions in front of the desk, two large potted plants near the windows, and American flags behind the desk. The room appears formal and well-decorated.]() *President Clinton's cat, "Socks," sitting at the Resolute Desk in 1994. (Wikimedia Commons)* The desk remained in the White House until the assassination of President Kennedy, when Lyndon Johnson allowed it to go around the country on a traveling expedition and then sending it to the Smithsonian Institution. The desk has been modified twice, the most significant was the addition of a door panel in the front which bears the Presidential Seal. Franklin D. Roosevelt had this added to hide his leg braces from the press. That seal is only one of three that features the eagle's head turned toward the 13 arrows on its talon, instead of the olive branch. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()