General of the Armies

[6] Washington died on December 14, 1799, and the grade lapsed on March 16, 1802, when not mentioned in the law that defined the peacetime military establishment.

[10] During World War I, Congress authorized the ex officio grade of general for the chief of staff of the Army and the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France, but only during the wartime emergency.

[14][15] Six weeks later, the House Military Affairs Committee reported out two bills authorizing Pershing and March to each be appointed General of the Armies.

[26][27] In 1928, Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis even increased the 17-gun salute authorized for a General of the Armies to the 19 guns of a European field marshal.

[28] Pershing transferred to the retired list on September 12, 1924, but continued to draw full pay and allowances, a privilege not granted to other generals.

King and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson both suspected that as Pershing's longtime protégé, Marshall would resist any rank equivalent to General of the Armies while his mentor was still alive.

[33] In February 1944, King's lobbying led both houses of Congress to submit bills reviving the grades of General of the Armies and Admiral of the Navy.

[31][34] However, House Naval Affairs Committee chairman Carl Vinson wanted King and Marshall to have even higher rank, so the House bills inserted a five-star fleet admiral below a six-star Admiral of the Navy, which the Army was expected to match with its own five-star grade and a six-star General of the Armies.

Even King thought six stars was too much, and public opposition convinced supporters of higher grades to defer legislation until after a successful landing in Europe.

[31][32] With the invasion of Europe well underway by September 1944, the War Department finally gave its blessing to a five-star grade on condition that it not be called General of the Armies, a title reserved for the higher rank held by Pershing.

[35] In a press conference on September 14, 1944, Stimson said: I have been asked by members of Congress for the War Department's view on an amendment which will provide for similar advanced army rank.

[48] The proposal stalled in the House Armed Services Committee after the Defense Department opposed it on the grounds that promoting only MacArthur would downgrade all other five-star officers and "arouse interservice, intraservice and popular misunderstanding and controversies.

[53] Citing this low rank, Senator Edward Martin introduced a bill in April 1954 to appoint Washington posthumously as General of the Armies.

"[2] Representative Lucien N. Nedzi objected that Washington's stature was already so high that giving him a modern Army rank just made Congress look ridiculous.

[40] When the question was asked again in 1992, the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry considered Pershing's rank to be equivalent to five stars and junior to Washington.

[58][60] Instead, the annual defense policy bill used different language to authorize Grant's appointment to the grade of General of the Armies, adding a clause that tied his rank and precedence to that of Pershing.

Pershing and Bliss also replaced the regulation bronze "U.S." insignia on their collars with a gold eagle representing the Great Seal of the United States.

[7][64][65] In 1937, Pershing created a custom full dress uniform to attend the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, denoting his rank with four gold stars embroidered on each sleeve.

[70] The General of the Armies retired with full pay and allowances, another benefit created for Sherman and inherited by Pershing, who continued to receive $21,500 for the rest of his life.

When Army chief of staff Charles P. Summerall retired in 1931, his annual compensation fell to only $6,000, three-quarters of a major general's pay.

On March 2, 1899, Congress created the grade of Admiral of the Navy to honor George Dewey for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay.

Both grades carried the same annual pay of $13,500 for life, and the proposal to create more Admirals of the Navy in 1944 continued to tie their compensation to the General of the Armies.

The office of General of the Armies was created for George Washington in 1799, but he was not actually appointed until 1976.
John J. Pershing was General of the Armies from September 3, 1919, until his death on July 15, 1948.
President Woodrow Wilson accidentally gave Pershing a commission to be a general instead of a General of the Armies.
The General of the Armies had a spacious office in the old State, War, and Navy Building until 1947.
Army chief of staff and Pershing protégé George C. Marshall resisted further appointments to General of the Armies while Pershing was still alive.
Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson insisted that the Army's five-star grade not be called General of the Armies.
There were multiple unsuccessful attempts to promote Douglas MacArthur to General of the Armies after the Korean War .
Secretary of the Army Clifford L. Alexander Jr. signed the order to promote George Washington to General of the Armies on March 13, 1978, 179 years after the grade was originally created for him.
Ulysses S. Grant was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies in 2024.
Pershing never wore more than four stars as General of the Armies.
Instead of the regulation bronze "U.S." collar insignia, Pershing wore a gold eagle representing the Great Seal of the United States .
Admiral of the Navy George Dewey held a unique grade often treated as the U.S. Navy equivalent of General of the Armies.