General of the Armies in chief of the Army of the [United States]". but only wore the three-star insignia of an Army lieutenant general. As of 1782, when Washington was listed as a lieutenant general on the rolls of the United States Army, his rank was informally called "three-star general". The United States at this point had no four-star general rank and would not until 1866. At that time, the European rank of captain general was shortened to simply "general"; there would also be no lieutenant generals in the American army until Winfield Scott was "brevetted" to the rank of lieutenant general in 1855.
General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States The General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States, or simply General in Chief, was the senior-most officer in the Confederate States Army in 1865. On January 31, 1865, the 2nd Confederate States Congress provided “for the appointment of a General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States.” On February 6, General Robert E. Lee, Confederate States Army, was appointed to the position and served in that capacity until the end of the American Civil War. Lee retained command of the Army of Northern Virginia, serving