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 the Army, past or present". The legislation implicitly clarified the relationship of Washington's rank to Pershing's. Public Law 94-479, which codified the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, did not create a separate rank from Pershing's but rather simply clarified that, while Washington and Pershing held the same rank, Washington was to be considered senior although having obtained the rank at a later date. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was considered for appointment to the rank of General of the Armies both during and after World War II, but a formal promotion order for his