General of the Armies
General of the Armies is the highest rank in the United States Army. It has only been conferred twice, but it has been heavily lobbied for in our history. The rank was given to John J. Pershing after his service in the First World War, and he retained it until his death in 1948. The rank came with full pay and privileges even after retirement, so that Pershing was the second highest-paid official in the federal government after the President.
After a flurry of promotions during World War II, efforts were made to appoint George Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations. These American officers were technically outranked by their British counterparts and well, that just wouldn’t do. Marshall said he would resist the promotion as long as Pershing was still alive. No World War II general achieved the rank. Congress created the rank of General of the Army at a five-star level, preserving Pershing’s status.
There was an effort made in the 1950’s to promote Douglas MacArthur to General of the Armies, led by his friends and supporters in Congress. Since MacArthur had awarded himself the first ever Purple Heart and lobbied heavily for the Medal of Honor, it isn’t hard to imagine that he was the one pushing for the rank behind the scenes.
It sounds like the sort of thing he would do.
Around the same time, and possibly in reaction to it, a New York Times story reported that George Washington had been outranked by forty five generals in American history.
On July 4, 1976, Washington was posthumously appointed to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, retroactive to 1799. This means that in all of American history, and in all American history to come, no American officer will ever outrank George Washington.
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