"The Specter General" is a science fiction short story by American writer Theodore Cogswell, his first published work. It was initially published in the June 1952 issue of Astounding magazine. It was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the finest novellas prior to the introduction of the Nebula Awards in 1965 and included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two anthology (as "The Spectre General").