General officer brigadier general is brigadier, which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank, although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of brigadier general for comparative purposes. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major; confusion often arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general and lieutenant general. The distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both rank titles, creating
General officers in the United States generalissimo or grand marshal, and they have never been used at the same time as all other general-officer ranks. The rank of General of the Armies has been held only by John Pershing, promoted in 1919, and George Washington, promoted posthumously in 1976 as part of American Bicentennial celebrations. The rank of Admiral of the Navy has been held only by George Dewey, promoted in 1903 with date of rank retroactive to 1899. Proposals to bring back these ranks was made during World War II, with Douglas MacArthur and Chester W. Nimitz under consideration for appointment as General of the