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This article is about highest possible rank in the United States military. Also note the separate page for the rank General of the Army (United States). For other nations which use that rank, see General of the Army.

General of the Armies of the United States is the highest possible rank in the United States military hierarchy, equal to a Generalissimo. The only people in United States history to hold the title General of the Armies were John J. Pershing and, posthumously, George Washington.

John Pershing

John J. Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), the senior U.S. Army General of World War I, was granted the rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" in 1919 in recognition of his performance as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force. This was authorized under Pub. L. 66–45 on September 3, 1919. Pershing retired from the United States Army in that rank on September 13, 1924 and held it until his death in 1948.

Insignia

General Pershing was offered the option to create his own insignia for the new position. He chose to continue to wear the four stars of a General, but in gold, instead of the four silver stars used by a regular general. Army Regulations 600-35, Personnel: The Prescribed Uniform, October 12, 1921, and all subsequent editions during General Pershing's lifetime, made no mention of insignia for General of the Armies but prescribed that generals would wear four stars.

On December 14, 1944, when the rank of General of the Army was established, Army Regulations 600-35 were changed to prescribe that Generals of the Army would wear five silver stars. General Pershing continued to wear only four gold stars, but he remained preeminent among all Army personnel until his death in 1948.

In 1945, the Institute of Heraldry prepared a conjectural insignia which would have incorporated a sixth star into the five-star design of General of the Army. As no proposal to appoint a new General of the Armies was ever firmly developed, the United States Army has never officially approved a six-star general insignia.

Six-Star Rank?

During World War II, when the United States Army established a five-star rank it also created the question of whether General of the Armies should then be considered a six-star rank. By order of seniority, it was decided that General Pershing (still living when the rank of General of the Army was created in 1944) would be senior to all the newly appointed General of the Army officers.

Some people have interpreted General Pershing's seniority to five-star generals to mean that General of the Armies is a six-star rank. However, it could alternatively be said that General of the Armies is a five-star rank, and Pershing's seniority is merely a result of the fact that he achieved his rank earlier than the other five-star generals.

When the five-star General of the Army rank was created, the then Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson was asked whether Pershing was a six-star general. Stimson responded that:

It appears the intent of the Army was to make the General of the Armies senior in grade to the General of the Army. I have advised Congress that the War Department concurs in such proposed action.

By this statement, Pershing was declared superior to a five-star general, but as he was no longer active in the military and had never worn more than four General's stars, he was never viewed as holding six-star rank.

However, it has been speculated that if the United States ever created a six-star rank, it might be called General of the Armies. This almost occurred with Douglas MacArthur.

Douglas MacArthur

In 1945 as part of the preparation for Operation Downfall (the planned invasion of Japan) a proposal was discussed in the War Department to appoint Douglas MacArthur to the rank of General of the Armies. Following the use of the atomic bomb in August 1945, however, the proposal was dropped.

The matter was raised again in 1955, when the United States Congress considered a bill authorizing President Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote MacArthur to General of the Armies, in recognition of his many years of service. At that time, the Army Judge Advocate General warned that, should MacArthur accept promotion to the new rank, he would lose a large amount of retirement pay and benefits associated with the much more firmly-established rank of five-star General of the Army, which he still held. The Army General Staff was also concerned that George C. Marshall was senior to MacArthur and that, should MacArthur be made a General of the Armies, a similar measure would have to be passed promoting Marshall as well. Because of the various complications, MacArthur declined promotion and the bill to promote him was dropped.

But some people continued to push for MacArthur to get promoted. The MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk has numerous letters on file dating from 1962 to 1964 between advocates (former MacArthur aides and others) and government officials attempting to obtain the six-star promotion. In the letters, in a congressional record appendix from February 1962 (pages A864-A865), and in the bill to promote him, this promotion was referred to alternately as "six-star general" and "general of the armies". The proponents even obtained a vote of neutral support from Harry Truman. (He would neither support nor attempt to scuttle the promotion.) The proponents' promotion attempts were ultimately scuttled by the John F. Kennedy assassination and then MacArthur's passing in 1964.

George Washington

During his lifetime, George Washington (February 22 1732 – December 14 1799) never held the rank "General of the Armies." During the American Revolutionary War he held the title of "General and Commander in Chief" of the Continental Army.

George Washington was not answerable to the Continental Congress or to the President of Congress while he commanded the Continental Army. In that regard, George Washington was the only person in United States history to actively command all branches of military forces of the United States with complete authority.

A year prior to his death, Washington was appointed by President John Adams to the rank of Lieutenant General in the United States Army during the Quasi-War with France. Washington never exercised active authority under his new rank, however, and Adams made the appointment to frighten the French, with whom war seemed certain.

After World War II, which saw the introduction of U.S. "5-star" officers which outranked Washington, both Congress and the President revisited the issue of Washington's rank with regards to the current time period. To maintain George Washington's proper position as the first Commanding General of the United States Army, he was appointed, posthumously, to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 January 19, 1976, approved by President Gerald R. Ford on October 11, 1976. The Department of the Army Order 31-3, issued on March 13, 1978 had an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976. The rank ensures that no United States military officer outranks George Washington.

United States Navy

In the United States Navy the equivalent of General of the Armies was the rank Admiral of the Navy. It has only been held by one person in history, George Dewey. As with General of the Army, a proposal was made during World War II to bring back the rank as a six-star equivalent, under the title Flag Admiral. Chester Nimitz was briefly considered for the position, but the proposal was dropped by the United States Navy Department before the war ended, and has not been revived since.

Sources

• Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff (Center for Military History)
• How many U.S. Army five-star generals have there been and who were they? from the U.S. Army Center of Military History
• Military service record of Douglas MacArthur, Military Personnel Records Center
• Naval service record of Chester Nimitz, Military Personnel Records Center

References

1. Service Record of Douglas MacArthur -- 1945 Promotion Proposal Package.
2. ^
3. Promotion order of George Washington, Military Personnel Records Center (Image:Orders 31-3.jpg and Image:Orders 31-3 Cover Letter.jpg).

External links

• The Origin of the Ranks and Rank Insignia Now Used by the United States Armed Forces
• Abandoned proposal for six-star rank in Second World War
• General of the Armies of the United States and General of the Army of the United States

See also

• U.S. Army officer rank insignia
• List of U.S. military leaders by rank

v t e United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks

Pay grade / branch of service Officer candidate O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6 O-7 O-8 O-9 O-10 Wartime grade Special grade Insignia Army CDT / OC 2LT 1LT CPT MAJ LTC COL BG MG LTG GEN GA GAS Marine Corps Midn / Cand 2ndLt 1stLt Capt Maj LtCol Col BGen MajGen LtGen Gen Navy MIDN / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM FADM Air Force Cdt / OT 2d Lt 1st Lt Capt Maj Lt Col Col Brig Gen Maj Gen Lt Gen Gen GAF Space Force Cdt / OT 2d Lt 1st Lt Capt Maj Lt Col Col Brig Gen Maj Gen Lt Gen Gen Coast Guard CDT / OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM PHS Corps OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM ADM NOAA Corps OC ENS LTJG LT LCDR CDR CAPT RDML RADM VADM No universal insignia for officer candidate rank No official insignia and not currently listed by the Army as an obtainable rank. John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: (collar) (epaulettes) These ranks are reserved for wartime use only, and are still listed as ranks within their respective services Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created Grade has never been created or authorized

• Military ranks of the United States Army