The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/311328
12 SAR MAGAZINE Washington, Generally Speaking By Joseph W. Dooley 1 W hat rank is General Washington? That sounds like a question Groucho Marx might ask. Historian James Thomas Flexner referred to George Washington as "the indispensable man." Americans all know he was a general, but have you ever wondered what grade of general? How many stars did General Washington have? Members of the military services may know the grades of generals and the corresponding number of stars. But for readers who are unfamiliar with these, let me review. A one-star general is a Brigadier General; two stars is a Major General; three stars is a Lieutenant General; four stars is just plain General. During World War II, Congress created the fve-star general, the modern rank of General of the Army. This rank was originally temporary (Public Law 78-482), but later was made permanent (Public Law 79-333). There had been an earlier grade that also was called General of the Army. This position was held successively by Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan following the Civil War. But these men were not fve-star generals. Only fve men have held the modern rank of General of the Army—all of them served in the World War II. They were, in order of seniority, George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry H. "Hap" Arnold and Omar N. Bradley. Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower and Arnold all were promoted to General of the Army between Dec. 16 and 21, 1944. Bradley was promoted to General of the Army on Sept. 20, 1950. Hap Arnold would retain his rank of fve-star general when the U.S. Air Force was established as a military service separate from the U.S. Army, making Arnold the only man who has been both General of the Army and General of the Air Force. 2 But back to Washington. How many stars does he have? When the Continental Congress named Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army on June 19, 1775, he was commissioned as a Major General. There would be other Major Generals in the Continental Army, but as Commander in Chief, Washington outranked them. O O O O O O The very model of a modern general … At center is a likeness of George Washington as General of the Armies. Notice the six-star insignia. This image was rendered by Chris Fisher (cfsherarts@aol.com), based on the image of Washington on the one-dollar bill, left, which in turn is based on the "Athenaeum Portrait," right, by Gilbert Stuart. SPRING_14_sar5-21.indd 12 5/7/14 4:13 PM