General-in-chief military forces in the field, as the generals-in-chief did in the 19th century. The rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" was conferred upon General John J. Pershing in 1919 and to Lieutenant General George Washington (posthumously) in 1975 by acts of Congress. Washington's date of rank was retroactively dated to 1799, so that he will always be the senior ranking general of the United States Army. (American general ranks and titles may be a little confusing; however, as reference is cited the public domain information of the Center for Military History of the United States Army
General of the Armies both the media and the public as to whether Pershing's rank "fit in" with the new five-star position. The situation was touchy from a diplomatic viewpoint, since the five-star General of the Army rank had been created largely to give American officers equal rank with British Army field marshals. The United States government was very hesitant to declare that Pershing held a senior rank to General of the Army, since this would elevate him to six-star status, the same as a grand marshal or generalissimo in Europe and possibly offend not only the British but also the French. To solve