Sergeant major general Sergeant major general Sergeant major general is a now mostly extinct military rank. A prominent example was Philip Skippon in the English New Model Army as organized by Oliver Cromwell. Over the course of the 17th century, the increasing professionalisation of armies saw sergeant major general become the most junior of the general ranks. At the same time, the "sergeant" portion of the title was more and more commonly dropped; by the early 18th century, the rank's name had been permanently shortened to major general. Since sergeant major general had ranked below lieutenant general, the newly named rank of major
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