Major general (United States) fact that at his death George Washington was officially listed as holding the rank of lieutenant general, rather than full general, and it was regarded as improper for an officer to hold a rank equal to or superior to Washington's. To address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to wear three stars according to General Order No. 6 of March 13, 1861. When Ulysses S. Grant was appointed lieutenant general on March 9, 1864,
Major general used as a rank in the Portuguese military, but as an appointment title conferred to the general officer that acted as the military head of a service branch. The roles of Major-General of the Navy ("Major-General da Armada") and Major-General of the Army ("Major-General do Exército") became extinct in 1950, with their roles being unified in the then created Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. In the Russian Army, the rank "Major general" is known as "Генера́л-майо́р". In Somalia, major general is used within the Somali Armed Forces (SAF) for the highest-ranking military official. In Sweden, the