General of the Armies

Not to be confused with General of the Army (United States).

General of the Armies
of the United States
Flag of General of the Armies, presented to Pershing in 1922
General of the Armies John J. Pershing, the only person to hold the rank during his own lifetime
Country United States
Service branch United States Army
FormationSeptember 3, 1919 (1919-09-03)
Next higher rankNone
Next lower rankGeneral of the Army
Equivalent ranksNone

General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States. The rank has been conferred three times: to John J. Pershing in 1919, as a personal accolade for his command of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I; to George Washington in 1976, as a posthumous honor during the United States Bicentennial celebrations; and posthumously to Ulysses S. Grant in 2024.[1][2][3][4]

The grade is sometimes described as a six-star general, as being senior to the five-star grade of General of the Army, but no six-star insignia was ever officially created and Pershing, the only person to be General of the Armies during his own lifetime, never wore more than four stars.[5] Whether Pershing's grade should rank as four, five, or six stars has been a subject of debate ever since the five-star grades were created in 1944.[6] To make Washington unambiguously the highest ranking Army officer in 1976, Congress specified that his new grade of General of the Armies ranked above all other grades of the Army, past or present.[7]

The General of the Armies enjoyed several privileges not afforded to other generals, including a much higher salary and the right to retire at full pay and allowances. Even in retirement, Pershing—the only-ever living person with the rank—was the second-highest-paid official in the federal government, after only the president of the United States.[8]

  1. ^ Glynn, Erin (December 22, 2022). "Southwest Ohio native Ulysses S. Grant to get posthumous promotion". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT_2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference HR_7776 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Simpson, Brooks D. [@BrooksDSimpson] (October 11, 2024). "Someone got promoted!" (Tweet). Retrieved October 12, 2024 – via Twitter. [with scanned attachment copy of April 19, 2024, U.S. Department of Defense] Memorandum for the Secretary of the Army; Subject: Posthumous Advancement on the Retired List; . . . General Ulysses S. Grant . . . to the grade of General of the Armies . . .
  5. ^ Oliver, Raymond (August 1983). Why is the Colonel Called "Kernal"?. McClellan Air Force Base, California: Office of History, Sacramento Air Logistics Center. p. 20. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2021. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference HJRes519 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference PL_94-479 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Post-Gazette_1931-03-23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).