General of the Armies
In the
United States Army military hierarchy,
General of the Armies is traditionally considered a rank superior to a
five-star general, also known as "
General of the Army" (note the difference between the names of the two ranks). It is sometimes considered a six-star rank, though no insignia was ever authorized. The full title of the military rank is "General of the Armies of the United States", although the rank is commonly referred to simply as "General of the Armies". The only people in history to hold the title General of the Armies were
John J. Pershing and
George Washington.
John 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 in
1919 in recognition of his performance as the commander of the
American Expeditionary Force. General Pershing was offered the option to create his own insignia for the new position, but continued to wear the four stars of a regular
General. At the time of Pershing's appointment to the rank, the position was considered more of a title than a rank, comparable to the Civil War title "General of the Army."
The tradition of General of the Armies being considered a six-star rank only began in
World War II with the establishment of the
five-star rank
General of the Army. 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. When asked whether or not this made Pershing a six-star general, the then
Secretary of War (
Henry L. Stimson) stated that Pershing was superior to a five-star general but, as he was no longer active in the military and had never worn more than four General's stars, he should not be seen as holding six-star rank.
During his lifetime,
George Washington (
February 22 1732 –
December 14 1799) never held the rank "General of the Armies." During the
American Revolution he held the title of "General and Commander in Chief" in the Continental Army. After his death, Washington was listed as a
Lieutenant General on the Continental rolls, and he never wore more than three stars on his military uniform.
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, after he had left office as
President of the United States. Washington never exercised active authority under his new rank, however, and Adams made the appointment mainly to frighten the
French, with whom war seemed certain.
On
11 October 1976, by Act of
Congress, Washington was posthumously appointed to the rank of General of the Armies. The appointment was backdated to
July 4,
1776 and was not considered a promotion to six-star general, but rather a symbolic promotion that made Washington the most-senior United States military officer. By
executive order of President
Gerald Ford, it was also determined that George Washington would always remain senior and could never be outranked by any other officer of the U.S. military.
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Conjectural Design for General of the Armies |
Whether or not General of the Armies is a six-star rank will most likely remain unanswered unless the
United States Congress ever again appoints anyone to the position. This almost occurred in 1945, as part of the preparation for the invasion of
Japan, when 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 to promote MacArthur to General of the Armies was dropped.
The matter was raised again in 1955, when the United States Congress considered a bill authorizing President
Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote Douglas 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 George Marshall, as well. Due to the various complications, MacArthur declined promotion and the bill to promote him was dropped.
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.
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 Armies, 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.
*
U.S. Army officer rank insignia*
List of U.S. military leaders by rank*
The Origin of the Ranks and Rank Insignia Now Used by the United States Armed Forces*
History of the rank General of the Armies of the United States
