Colonel William Winthrop singularly was the most influential person in developing the military law of the United States. A half century ago, the Supreme Court tendered to Winthrop the title, 'The Blackstone of Military Law, ' meaning simply that his influence outshone all others. He has been cited over twenty times by the highest court and well over a thousand times by other federal courts, state courts, and legal texts. In this, he surpasses most other legal scholars, save Joseph Story, John Marshall, or Felix Frankfurter.