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 as an unofficial rank insignia. The matter was not resolved until after Pershing's retirement when the Army declared that the four gold stars worn by Pershing were the official insignia for General of the Armies of the United States, thus creating the following hierarchy of Army general-officer ranks. As part of the American bicentennial celebrations, a proposal was raised in Congress to commemorate the leadership and historical importance of George Washington by appointing him to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States. In his own day, Washington had been appointed and served as "General and Commander