Major general (United States) and two of artillery commanded by a brigadier general. The rank of major general was abolished in the U.S. Army by the Act of March 16, 1802, and restored by the Act of January 11, 1812, as preparations were being made for the War of 1812. Major general has been a rank in the U.S. Army ever since. Until the American Civil War, major general was the highest rank that could be attained by an officer in the U.S. Army, though Winfield Scott had been given the brevet rank of lieutenant general in 1855. This was a consequence of the
General of the Armies recognized six-star general rank in the United States military hierarchy. John Pershing's status also remained in a very gray area, in particular because of the vague statements made by Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, and the fact that Pershing was never on active duty at the same time as a five-star General of the Army. In the early 1950s, supporters of Douglas MacArthur began to petition the United States government to authorize a "promotion" to the rank of General of the Armies. MacArthur was at this time a retired five-star general and, with the movement to promote him, it