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
Brigadier general rank. The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field. The rank name "général de brigade", (which translates as "brigade general"), was first used in the French revolutionary armies. In the first quarter of the 20th century, British and Commonwealth armies used the rank of brigadier general as a temporary appointment, or as an honorary appointment on retirement; in the 1920s this practice changed to the use of brigadier, which was not classed as a general officer. Some armies, such as Taiwan and