General of the Armies That a Commander of the United States shall be appointed and commissioned by the style of General of the Armies of the United States and the present office and title of Lieutenant General shall thereafter be abolished. The rank of General of the Armies was intended for bestowal upon George Washington, who held the rank of "General and Commander-in-Chief" which was a grade senior to all American major generals and brigadier generals from the American Revolutionary War. However, only a few months after the Congressional proposal, Washington died on December 14, 1799. The United States Army at that time had
General of the Armies active grade in the U.S. Army again became major general, with all lieutenant generals and generals (except for Pershing) reverted to this permanent rank of major general. Pershing then retired from the United States Army on September 13, 1924, and retained his rank on the U.S. Army retirement rolls until his death in 1948. Four-star generals were reauthorized in 1929, starting with Charles Pelot Summerall. Pershing at this time was no longer on active duty, but his rank was regarded as senior to a full general outside the regular promotion tier. On December 14, 1944, the United States Army established