General of the Army (United States)

Please see "General of the Army" for other nations which use this rank

General of the Army is historically the second most senior rank in the United States Army, equivalent to a Field Marshal in other militaries. An even higher rank, that being General of the Armies of the United States, has only been conferred twice in the history of the United States armed forces.

Army 5 Star Insignia

On July 25, 1866, the U.S. Congress established the grade of "General of the Army" for Ulysses S. Grant, and later appointed William T. Sherman (on 4 March 1869) and then Philip H. Sheridan (on 1 June 1888, just weeks before he died) to the rank. In all of these cases, the generals wore four stars as their insignia, except between 1872 and 1888, when Sherman and Sheridan wore two stars with the arms of the United States in between.

The first rank of General of the Army was considered more of a title rather than a rank. Those holding the position maintained a regular rank on the U.S. Army rolls, typically that of Major General as this was the highest authorized permanent rank of the United States Regular Army. Ulysses S. Grant was a Lieutenant General and, when appointed General of the Army, was authorized the special insignia of four stars (although still technically a Lieutenant General). Thus, technically all later four star Generals outrank the 19th century Generals of the Army.

The five-star General of the Army rank was created by Public Law 482 of the 78th Congress, passed on 14 December 1944, first as a temporary rank, then made permanent 23 March 1946 by an act of the 79th Congress. This was done to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with their British counterparts. (The acts also created a comparable rank of Fleet Admiral for the Navy). The second General of the Army rank is considered separate from the 19th century version and the two are not considered comparable.

The five officers who have held the 1944 version of General of the Army were:

•	George C. Marshall	16 December 1944
•	Douglas MacArthur	18 December 1944
•	Dwight D. Eisenhower	20 December 1944
•	Henry H. Arnold	21 December 1944
•	Omar Bradley	20 September 1950

The timing of the first four appointments was to correspond to the appointment of the U.S. Navy's five-star admirals to establish both a clear order of seniority and a near-equivalence between the services.

An even higher rank, that of General of the Armies, was appointed to John J. Pershing in September of 1919. George Washington was also posthumously promoted to this rank in 1976.

Following the establishment of the United States Air Force in 1947, the equivalent rank of General of the Air Force was established. The only person to hold the rank of General of the Air Force was Henry H. Arnold.

A General of the Army has the pay grade of O-11. The insignia consists of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching. The rank still exists today, although no-one has held it since General Bradley died in 1981.