Commanding General of the United States Army

Commanding General of the United States Army
LTG Nelson A. Miles, the last Commanding General of the United States Army
Department of War
Reports to	Secretary of War
Appointer	The President with Congress advice and consent
Formation	June 15, 1775^{[nb 1]} June 1821^{[nb 2]}
First holder	GEN George Washington^{[nb 1]} MG Jacob Brown^{[nb 2]}
Final holder	LTG Nelson A. Miles
Abolished	August 8, 1903
Succession	Chief of Staff of the Army

Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the Army in 1903, there was generally recognized to be a single senior-most officer in the United States Army (and its predecessor the Continental Army), even though there was not a statutory office as such. During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the title was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. In 1783, the title was simplified to Senior Officer of the United States Army. In 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United States Army. The office was often referred to by various other titles, such as "Major General Commanding the Army" or "General-in-Chief."

From 1789 until its abolition in 1903, the position of Commanding General was legally subordinate to the Secretary of War, although this was at times contested.^{[nb 3]}

The position was abolished with the creation of the statutory Chief of Staff of the Army in 1903.

Office holders

Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army

#	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended	Notes
1.	GEN George Washington		June 15, 1775	December 23, 1783	Resigned at the end of the American Revolutionary War

Senior Officer of the United States Army

#	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended	Notes
1.	MG Henry Knox		December 23, 1783	June 20, 1784
2.	Brevet MAJ John Doughty		June 20, 1784	August 12, 1784	Served when all of the Army but 80 men were discharged
3.	Brevet BG Josiah Harmar		August 12, 1784	March 4, 1791
4.	MG Arthur St. Clair		March 4, 1791	March 5, 1792	Simultaneously served as Governor of the Northwest Territory (1787–1802)
5.	MG Anthony Wayne		April 13, 1792	December 15, 1796	Died in office
6.	BG James Wilkinson		December 15, 1796	July, 13 1798
7.	LTG George Washington		July 13, 1798	December 14, 1799	Did not actively command the Army during this period but was prepared to lead the Army if the need arose. Died in office.
8.	MG Alexander Hamilton		December 14, 1799	June 15, 1800	Served as inspector general of the Army with rank of major general from July 19, 1798. Became senior officer in the Army after the death of Washington.
9.	BG James Wilkinson		June 15, 1800	January 27, 1812	Promoted to major general during the War of 1812 and retired on June 15, 1815.
10.	MG Henry Dearborn		January 27, 1812	June 15, 1815	Previously served as Secretary of War (1801–1809). Last senior officer of the U.S. Army to be a veteran of the American Revolution.
11.	MG Jacob Brown		June 15, 1815	June 1821

Commanding General of the United States Army

#	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended	Notes
1.	MG Jacob Brown		June 1821	February 24, 1828	Died in office.
2.	MG Alexander Macomb		May 29, 1828	June 25, 1841	Died in office.
3.	Brevet LTG Winfield Scott		July 5, 1841	November 1, 1861	Commanded the army in the campaign to capture Mexico City from 1847 to 1848. Upon his retirement, he was the oldest serving commanding general of the U.S. Army in history at age 75.
4.	MG George B. McClellan		November 1, 1861	March 11, 1862
Vacant (March 11, 1862 – July 23, 1862)^{[nb 4]}
5.	MG Henry Halleck		July 23, 1862	March 9, 1864
6.	GEN Ulysses S. Grant		March 9, 1864	March 4, 1869	Resigned to become the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877)
7.	GEN William Tecumseh Sherman		March 8, 1869	November 1, 1883
8.	GEN Philip Sheridan		November 1, 1883	August 5, 1888	Died in office.
9.	LTG John Schofield		August 14, 1888	September 29, 1895
10.	LTG Nelson A. Miles		October 5, 1895	August 8, 1903	Last commanding general of the U.S. Army.

See also

List of United States military leaders by rank

References

Notes

1 2 Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
1 2 Commanding General of the United States Army
↑ King
↑ Eicher, Civil War High Commands. The gap from March 11, 1862 to July 23, 1862 was filled with direct control of the army by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, with the help of an unofficial "War Board" that was established on March 17, 1862. The board consisted of Ethan A. Hitchcock, the chairman, with Department of War bureau chiefs Lorenzo Thomas, Montgomery C. Meigs, Joseph G. Totten, James W. Ripley, and Joseph P. Taylor.

Footnotes

Bibliography

Historical Resources Branch; United States Army Center of Military History.
Eicher, John H.; Eicher, David J. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
Bell, William Gardner (2005). Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005: Portraits and Biographical Sketches. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History.
King, Archibald (1949/1960 reprint). Command of the Army (PDF). Military Affairs. Charlottesville, Virginia: The Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army. Check date values in: |date= (help)

Leaders of the United States Army

Senior Officer / Commanding General	Washington Knox Doughty Harmar St. Clair Wayne Wilkinson Hamilton Wilkinson Dearborn Brown Macomb Scott McClellan Halleck Grant Sherman Sheridan Schofield Miles

Chiefs of Staff	Young Chaffee Bates Bell Wood Wotherspoon Scott Bliss March Pershing Hines Summerall MacArthur Craig Marshall Eisenhower Bradley Collins Ridgway Taylor Lemnitzer Decker Wheeler Johnson Westmoreland Palmer Abrams Weyand Rogers Meyer Wickham Vuono Sullivan Reimer Shinseki Schoomaker Casey Dempsey Odierno Milley

Vice Chiefs of Staff	Collins Haislip Hull Bolte Palmer Lemnitzer Decker Eddleman Hamlett Abrams Haines Palmer Haig Weyand Kerwin Kroesen Vessey Wickham Thurman Brown RisCassi Sullivan Reimer Peay Tilelli Griffith Crouch Shinseki Keane Casey Cody Chiarelli Austin Campbell Allyn

Government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation

Congresses	1st Continental Congress 2nd Continental Congress The US in Congress Assembled Delegates Committee of the States

Congressional Officers	President Secretary (Charles Thomson)

Civil Officers	Postmaster General Superintendent of Finance/Agent of the Marine Secretary at War Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Military	Board of War Continental Army Commander in Chief Continental Navy Continental Marines

Star officer grades

General officer Flag officer Air officer

By star ranks	Six-star rank (proposed) Five-star rank Four-star rank Three-star rank Two-star rank One-star rank

By titles	Generalissimo Generalissimus of the Soviet Union Supreme Allied Commander Commander-in-chief Admiral of the navy General of the armies Generalfeldmarschall Field marshal Mareşal Marshal of the air force Marshal of the Russian Federation Marshal of the Soviet Union Mushir Caudillo Magister militum Spahbed Ispahsalar Beylerbey Constable of France Grand Domestic Shogun Dux bellorum Grand marshal Hetman Jenderal besar Reichsmarschall Sardar Serasker Strategos autokrator First marshal of the empire Dai-gensui Taewonsu Voivoda Wonsu Yuan Shuai Da Yuan Shuai Marshal of Yugoslavia

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