History of the Office of The Inspector General of the United States Army (IG January 10, 1863April 1, 1864; January 2, 1881March 8, 1885) was assigned as the "de facto" head of the Office of the Inspector General, which, until then had not existed. 2 major generals, 7 brigadier generals, 18 colonels, 118 lieutenant colonels, and 149 majors of the regular army served inspector duty during the Civil War. On January 22, 1866, a War Department order established the duties of the inspector general as: In July 1866, the number of inspectors general with the rank of colonel was fixed at four; assistant inspectors general with the rank of lieutenant colonel at three;
Major Major Major is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank senior to that of an army captain, and one rank subordinate or below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks. Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers. In some militaries, notably France and Ireland, the rank of major is referred to as "commandant", while in others