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 upon within Congress and by 1982 the proposal had been dropped. There have been no further efforts since to promote a member of the United States armed forces to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States. General of the Armies The General of the Armies of the United States, or more commonly referred to as General of the Armies (abbreviated as GAS or Gas), is the highest possible rank in the United States Army. The rank is informally equated to that of a six-star general or Generalissimo and is currently one of the two highest possible