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 to hold the position, thus granting the rank the same authority as the initial concept of General of the Armies. William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan would also hold the position. By Sheridan's tenure, the insignia had been changed to that of a major general superimposed upon a golden national eagle. The rank of General of the Army of the United States ceased to exist upon the death of Sheridan in 1888. The next proposal to create a superior general rank would occur thirty one years later during the First World War. In the interim, the highest possible general officer