How many U.S. Army five-star generals have
there been and who were they?
The temporary grade of "General of the Army" (five-star)
was provided for by Public Law 482, 78th Congress, approved December
14, 1944, and became permanent on March 23, 1946, under provisions
of Public Law 333, 79th Congress.
Five-Star Generals and Dates of Rank:
General of the Army George C. Marshall:
December 16, 1944
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur:
December 18, 1944
General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower: December 20, 1944
General of the Army Henry H. Arnold: December 21, 1944
(Redesignated General of the Air Force pursuant to Public Law
58, 81st Congress, approved May 7, 1949):
General of the Army Omar N. Bradley: September
20, 1950
Note:
The grade of General of the Armies of the United States is associated
with two officers in our history, George Washington and John J.
Pershing, although only General Pershing actually held it.
After Washington's death, an Act of May 14, 1800, specifically
authorized President Adams to suspend any further appointment
to the office of General of the Armies of the United States, "having
reference to economy and the good of the service." Although
the office was not expressly referred to in any of the actions
taken to reduce or disband forces that had been raised in contemplation
of war with France, it ceased when it was not mentioned in the
Act of March 16, 1802, which determined the peacetime military
establishment.
Congress enacted legislation authorizing the grade of General
of the Army on July 25, 1866, and on that date the new grade was
conferred on Lieutenant General Ulysses S.
Grant. The grade was recognized and continued in various acts
until the Act of July 15, 1870, which contained the requirement
that "the offices of general and lieutenant general shall
continue until a vacancy shall exist in the same, and no longer,
and when such vacancy shall occur in either of said offices shall
become inoperative, and shall, by virtue of this act, from thence
forward be held to be repealed."
William T. Sherman, Grant's successor as Commanding General of
the Army, was appointed as General of the Army on March 4, 1869,
and upon his retirement in February 1884 was placed on the retired
list as General of the Army. Under the provisions of the Act of
March 3, 1885, authorizing the appointment of a "general
of the Army on the retired list," this grade was also conferred
on General Grant shortly before his death on July 23, 1885. The
title ceased to exist as a grade of military rank at Sherman's
death on February 14, 1891.
Sherman's successor was Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan,
who could not be promoted to General of the Army because of the
1870 law. Congress, however, enacted legislation on June 1, 1888,
shortly before Sheridan's death, that discontinued the grade of
lieutenant general and merged it with that of General of the Army.
The grade of General of the Army was conferred on Sheridan and
was discontinued when he died, while still on active duty on August
5, 1888.
War Department General Orders No. 75, September 5, 1866, prescribed
that the insignia for the newly authorized General of the Army
grade would be four stars. General Grant wore this insignia, as
did General Sherman until War Department General Orders No. 92,
October 26, 1872, changed the insignia to two silver stars with
the arms of the United States in gold between them. General Sherman,
and later General Sheridan, wore the new insignia.
Congress revived the grade of General of the Armies of the United
States by Public Law 45, approved September 3, 1919, to honor
General John J. Pershing for his wartime
service. He retired with that rank on September 13, 1924, and
held it until his death on July 15, 1948. No other officer held
this specific title until 1976, when President Ford posthumously
appointed George Washington General of the Armies of the United
States and specified that he would rank first among all officers
of the Army, past and present.
When General Pershing was appointed General of the Armies, he
continued to wear the four stars that he, as well as Generals
Tasker H. Bliss and Peyton C. March, had adopted under the provisions
of then current uniform regulations, which permitted them to prescribe
the insignia denoting their grade. Army Regulations 600-35, Personnel:
The Prescribed Uniform, October 12, 1921, and all subsequent editions
during General Pershing's lifetime, made no mention of insignia
for General of the Armies but prescribed that generals would wear
four stars. General Pershing at no time wore more than four stars.
Following the establishment of the General of the Army grade
on December 14, 1944, Army Regulations 600-35 were changed to
prescribe that Generals of the Army would wear five stars. Although
General Pershing continued to wear only four, he remained preeminent
among all Army personnel, by virtue of Congressional action and
Army Regulations governing rank and precedence, until his death
on July 15, 1948.
Sources: United States Code, 1946 Edition, Volume Four, Title
50; The Army Almanac (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Company,
1959); Department of the Army, Official Army Register,
Volume I (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1951);
Raymond Oliver, "Why is the Colonel Called Kernel,"
(McClellan, AFB: Office of History, Sacramento Air Logistics Center,
August 1983); William Gardner Bell, Commanding Generals and
Chiefs of Staff, 1775-1987 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center
of Military History, 1987).