This is a complete list of lieutenant generals in the United States Army before 1960. The grade of lieutenant general (or three-star general) is ordinarily the second-highest in the peacetime Army, ranking above major general and below general.
Originally created for George Washington during the Quasi-War with France, the grade lapsed for most of the 19th century and early 20th century because it was considered too lofty for the diminutive peacetime establishment. Unlike the grades of major general and below, the grade of lieutenant general was not considered a functional office during this period, but the penultimate military honor, reserved for only the most eminent of wartime generals. After the Spanish–American War, the lieutenant generalcy slowly transitioned from extraordinary accolade to routine appointment, and from permanent personal grade to temporary ex officio rank. The grade was revived permanently just before World War II and has been in continuous existence ever since. [1]
Before World War I, there was at most one lieutenant general on active duty at any time. In 1918 two field army commanders received wartime commissions as lieutenant generals to accord them rank equal to allied counterparts, the first time the grade had been conferred purely to facilitate future command instead of to reward past service. Dozens of lieutenant generals were appointed during World War II to lead the vastly expanded military establishment, and by January 1, 1960, the official Army register listed 33 lieutenant generals on active duty in the peacetime Army. [2]
The following list of lieutenant generals includes all officers appointed to that rank in the United States Army prior to January 1, 1960, including brevet and temporary lieutenant generals. [4]
Entries are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was appointed to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty. Each entry lists the officer's name, date of rank, [5] date the officer vacated the active-duty rank, [6] number of years on active duty as lieutenant general (Yrs), [7] positions held as lieutenant general, and other biographical notes. [8]
Name | Photo | Date of rank [5] | Date vacated [6] | Yrs [7] | Position | Notes [8] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Washington | 3 Jul 1798 | 14 Dec 1799 | 1 |
| (1732–1799) Promoted to General of the Armies posthumously, 4 Jul 1976. U.S. President, 1789–1797. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1776. | |
2 | Winfield Scott | 29 Mar 1847 | 1 Nov 1861 | 15 |
| (1786–1866) Brevet rank. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1814. | |
3 | Ulysses S. Grant | 2 Mar 1864 | 25 Jul 1866 | 2 |
| (1822–1885) Promoted to general, 25 Jul 1866. U.S. President, 1869–1877. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1863. | |
4 | William T. Sherman | 25 Jul 1866 | 4 Mar 1869 | 3 |
| (1820–1891) Promoted to general, 4 Mar 1869. Superintendent, Louisiana Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, 1860–1861. Brother of U.S. Secretary of State John Sherman. | |
5 | Philip H. Sheridan | 4 Mar 1869 | 1 Jun 1888 | 19 |
| (1831–1888) Promoted to general, 1 Jun 1888. | |
6 | John M. Schofield | 8 Feb 1895 | 29 Sep 1895 | 1 |
| (1831–1906) Awarded Medal of Honor, 1892. Brother of Union Army brigadier general George W. Schofield. | |
7 | Nelson A. Miles | 6 Jun 1900 | 8 Aug 1903 | 3 |
| (1839–1925) [9] Candidate for Democratic Party nomination for U.S. President, 1904. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1892. | |
8 | Samuel B. M. Young | 8 Aug 1903 | 9 Jan 1904 | 0 |
| (1840–1924) Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park, 1907–1908. Father-in-law of Army major general George W. Read; grandfather of Army lieutenant general George W. Read Jr. | |
9 | Adna R. Chaffee | 9 Jan 1904 | 1 Feb 1906 | 2 |
| (1842–1914) Father of Army major general Adna R. Chaffee Jr. | |
10 | John C. Bates | 1 Feb 1906 | 14 Apr 1906 | 0 |
| (1842–1919) Son of U.S. Attorney General and Representative Edward Bates. | |
11 | Henry C. Corbin | 15 Apr 1906 | 15 Sep 1906 | 0 |
| (1842–1909) | |
12 | Arthur MacArthur Jr. | 15 Sep 1906 | 2 Jun 1909 | 3 |
| (1845–1912) Military Governor of the Philippines, 1900–1901. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1890. Son of Wisconsin Governor Arthur MacArthur Sr.; father of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur; great-uncle of U.S. Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II. | |
13 | Hunter Liggett | 16 Oct 1918 | 30 Jun 1920 | 2 |
| (1857–1935) [10] | |
14 | Robert L. Bullard | 16 Oct 1918 | 30 Jun 1920 | 2 |
| (1861–1947) [10] | |
* | Edgar Jadwin | 7 Aug 1929 | (none) | 0 |
| (1865–1931) | |
15 | Hugh A. Drum | 5 Aug 1939 | 15 Oct 1943 | 4 |
| (1879–1951) [11] [12] Commander, New York Guard, 1943–1948. | |
16 | Stanley H. Ford | 5 Aug 1939 | 30 Sep 1940 | 1 |
| (1877–1954) [13] | |
17 | Stanley D. Embick | 5 Aug 1939 | 27 Jun 1946 | 6 |
| (1877–1957) [11] [14] | |
18 | Albert J. Bowley | 5 Aug 1939 | 30 Nov 1939 | 0 |
| (1875–1945) [15] | |
19 | John L. DeWitt | 5 Dec 1939 | 10 Jun 1947 | 8 |
| (1880–1962) [16] [17] Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. | |
20 | Charles D. Herron | 31 Jul 1940 | 7 Feb 1941 | 1 |
| (1877–1977) [18] | |
21 | Daniel Van Voorhis | 31 Jul 1940 | 18 Sep 1941 | 1 |
| (1878–1956) [19] Son of U.S. Representative H. Clay Van Voorhis. | |
22 | Herbert J. Brees | 1 Oct 1940 | 15 May 1941 | 1 |
| (1877–1958) [20] [21] | |
23 | Ben Lear | 1 Oct 1940 | 31 Dec 1945 | 5 |
| (1879–1966) [11] [22] Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. | |
24 | Delos C. Emmons | 25 Oct 1940 | 30 Jun 1948 | 8 |
| (1888–1965) [23] [24] | |
25 | Walter C. Short | 8 Feb 1941 | 16 Dec 1941 | 1 |
| (1880–1949) [25] | |
26 | Walter Krueger | 16 May 1941 | 5 Mar 1945 | 4 |
| (1881–1967) [26] Promoted to general, 5 Mar 1945. | |
27 | Lesley J. McNair | 9 Jun 1941 | 25 Jul 1944 | 3 |
| (1883–1944) Promoted to general posthumously, 19 Jul 1954. Killed in action. | |
28 | Douglas MacArthur | 27 Jul 1941 | 18 Dec 1941 | 0 |
| (1880–1964) [27] Promoted to general, 18 Dec 1941; to general of the Army, 18 Dec 1944. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1942; Congressional Gold Medal, 1962. Son of Army lieutenant general Arthur MacArthur Jr.; grandson of Wisconsin Governor Arthur MacArthur Sr.; uncle of U.S. Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II. | |
29 | Frank M. Andrews | 19 Sep 1941 | 3 May 1943 | 2 |
| (1884–1943) [28] Died in office. | |
30 | Henry H. Arnold | 15 Dec 1941 | 19 Mar 1943 | 1 |
| (1886–1950) [23] Promoted to general, 19 Mar 1943; to general of the Army, 21 Dec 1944; to general of the Air Force, 7 May 1949. | |
31 | George H. Brett | 7 Jan 1942 | 10 May 1946 | 4 |
| (1886–1963) [20] [23] [29] | |
32 | William S. Knudsen | 28 Jan 1942 | 1 Jun 1945 | 3 |
| (1879–1948) [30] Resigned, 1945. | |
33 | Joseph W. Stilwell | 25 Feb 1942 | 1 Aug 1944 | 2 |
| (1883–1946) Promoted to general, 1 Aug 1944. | |
34 | Brehon B. Somervell | 9 Mar 1942 | 6 Mar 1945 | 3 |
| (1892–1955) [31] Promoted to general, 6 Mar 1945. | |
35 | Jonathan M. Wainwright IV | 19 Mar 1942 | 6 Sep 1945 | 3 |
| (1883–1953) Promoted to general, 6 Sep 1945. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1945. | |
36 | Joseph T. McNarney | 15 Jun 1942 | 7 Mar 1945 | 3 |
| (1893–1972) [23] Promoted to general, 7 Mar 1945. | |
37 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 7 Jul 1942 | 11 Feb 1943 | 1 |
| (1890–1969) Promoted to general, 11 Feb 1943; to general of the Army, 20 Dec 1944. President, Columbia University, 1948–1953; U.S. President, 1953–1961. | |
* | James G. Harbord | 9 Jul 1942 | (none) | 0 |
| (1866–1947) Candidate for Republican Party nomination for U.S. Vice President, 1932. | |
* | William M. Wright | 9 Jul 1942 | (none) | 0 |
| (1863–1943) | |
38 | Jacob L. Devers | 6 Sep 1942 | 8 Mar 1945 | 3 |
| (1887–1979) Promoted to general, 8 Mar 1945. | |
39 | Robert L. Eichelberger | 15 Oct 1942 | 31 Dec 1948 | 6 |
| (1886–1961) Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. | |
40 | George C. Kenney | 15 Oct 1942 | 9 Mar 1945 | 2 |
| (1889–1977) [23] Promoted to general, 9 Mar 1945. | |
41 | Mark W. Clark | 11 Nov 1942 | 10 Mar 1945 | 2 |
| (1896–1984) Promoted to general, 10 Mar 1945. President, The Citadel, 1954–1966. | |
42 | Millard F. Harmon | 2 Feb 1943 | 27 Feb 1946 | 3 |
| (1888–1946) Died in office. | |
43 | Courtney H. Hodges | 16 Feb 1943 | 26 Apr 1945 | 2 |
| (1887–1966) [32] Promoted to general, 26 Apr 1945. | |
44 | George S. Patton Jr. | 12 Mar 1943 | 14 Apr 1945 | 2 |
| (1885–1945) Promoted to general, 14 Apr 1945. Father-in-law of Army four-star general John K. Waters. | |
45 | Carl A. Spaatz | 12 Mar 1943 | 11 Mar 1945 | 2 |
| (1891–1974) [23] Promoted to general, 11 Mar 1945. | |
46 | Simon B. Buckner Jr. | 4 May 1943 | 18 Jun 1945 | 2 |
| (1886–1945) Promoted to general posthumously, 19 Jul 1954. Killed in action. Son of Kentucky Governor Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr. | |
47 | Robert C. Richardson Jr. | 1 Jun 1943 | 31 Oct 1946 | 3 |
| (1882–1954) [11] [33] Promoted to general posthumously, 19 Jul 1954. | |
48 | Lloyd R. Fredendall | 1 Jun 1943 | 31 Mar 1946 | 3 |
| (1883–1963) [11] [34] | |
49 | Omar N. Bradley | 2 Jun 1943 | 12 Mar 1945 | 2 |
| (1893–1981) Promoted to general, 12 Mar 1945; to general of the Army, 22 Sep 1950. Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1977. | |
50 | Barton K. Yount | 13 Sep 1943 | 30 Jun 1946 | 3 |
| (1884–1949) [11] [23] President, American Institute for Foreign Trade, 1946–1949. | |
51 | Ira C. Eaker | 13 Sep 1943 | 30 Aug 1947 | 4 |
| (1896–1987) [20] [23] [35] Promoted to general on the retired list, 26 Apr 1985. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1978. | |
52 | George Grunert | 8 Oct 1943 | 31 Jul 1945 | 2 |
| (1881–1971) [11] [36] Father-in-law of Army lieutenant general Jonathan O. Seaman. | |
53 | William H. Simpson | 13 Oct 1943 | 30 Nov 1946 | 3 |
| (1888–1980) [11] [37] Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. | |
54 | Walter Bedell Smith | 13 Jan 1944 | 1 Jul 1951 | 7 |
| (1895–1961) Promoted to general, 1 Jul 1951. U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1946–1949; U.S. Under Secretary of State, 1953–1954. | |
55 | Richard K. Sutherland | 20 Feb 1944 | 30 Nov 1946 | 3 |
| (1893–1966) [11] Son of U.S. Senator Howard Sutherland. | |
56 | John C. H. Lee | 21 Feb 1944 | 31 Dec 1947 | 4 |
| (1887–1958) [11] | |
57 | Raymond A. Wheeler | 21 Feb 1944 | 28 Feb 1949 | 5 |
| (1885–1974) | |
58 | James H. Doolittle | 13 Mar 1944 | 10 May 1946 | 2 |
| (1896–1993) [23] [38] Promoted to general on the retired list, 4 Apr 1985. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1942; Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1989. | |
59 | Lewis H. Brereton | 28 Apr 1944 | 1 Sep 1948 | 4 |
| (1890–1967) [23] | |
60 | Barney M. Giles | 28 Apr 1944 | 30 Jun 1946 | 2 |
| (1892–1984) [11] [23] | |
61 | Alexander M. Patch | 7 Aug 1944 | 21 Nov 1945 | 1 |
| (1889–1945) Promoted to general posthumously, 19 Jul 1954. Died in office. | |
62 | Daniel I. Sultan | 2 Sep 1944 | 14 Jan 1947 | 2 |
| (1885–1947) Died in office. | |
63 | Thomas T. Handy | 2 Sep 1944 | 13 Mar 1945 | 1 |
| (1892–1982) Promoted to general, 13 Mar 1945. | |
64 | Lucian K. Truscott Jr. | 2 Sep 1944 | 30 Sep 1947 | 3 |
| (1895–1965) [11] Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. | |
65 | Wilhelm D. Styer | 7 Nov 1944 | 29 Apr 1947 | 2 |
| (1893–1975) [16] Son of Army brigadier general Henry D. Styer; brother of Navy rear admiral Charles W. Styer Sr.; brother-in-law of Navy rear admiral Adrian M. Hurst; great-grandson of Navy rear admiral Charles Wilkes. | |
66 | Leonard T. Gerow | 1 Jan 1945 | 31 Jul 1950 | 6 |
| (1888–1972) Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. Brother of Army brigadier general Lee S. Gerow. | |
67 | Albert C. Wedemeyer | 1 Jan 1945 | 31 Jul 1951 | 7 |
| (1897–1989) Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. Special Representative of the President in China and Korea, 1947. Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1985. | |
68 | Harold L. George | 16 Mar 1945 | 30 Dec 1946 | 2 |
| (1893–1986) [20] [23] | |
69 | John K. Cannon | 17 Mar 1945 | 29 Oct 1951 | 7 |
| (1892–1955) [23] Promoted to general, 29 Oct 1951. | |
70 | Hoyt S. Vandenberg | 17 Mar 1945 | 1 Oct 1947 | 3 |
| (1899–1954) [23] Promoted to general, 1 Oct 1947. Director of Central Intelligence, 1946–1947. Nephew of U.S. Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg; son married daughter of Air Force four-star general Leon W. Johnson. | |
71 | Edmund B. Gregory | 14 Apr 1945 | 30 Jun 1946 | 1 |
| (1882–1961) [11] | |
72 | Oscar W. Griswold | 14 Apr 1945 | 31 Oct 1947 | 3 |
| (1886–1959) [11] | |
73 | Eugene Reybold | 15 Apr 1945 | 30 Jan 1946 | 1 |
| (1884–1961) [16] | |
74 | Walton H. Walker | 15 Apr 1945 | 23 Dec 1950 | 6 |
| (1889–1950) Promoted to general posthumously, 2 Jan 1951. Died in office. | |
75 | Wade H. Haislip | 15 Apr 1945 | 1 Oct 1949 | 4 |
| (1889–1971) Promoted to general, 1 Oct 1949. Governor, U.S. Soldiers' Home, 1951–1966. | |
76 | Levin H. Campbell Jr. | 16 Apr 1945 | 30 May 1946 | 1 |
| (1886–1976) [16] | |
77 | J. Lawton Collins | 16 Apr 1945 | 24 Jan 1948 | 3 |
| (1896–1987) Promoted to general, 24 Jan 1948. U.S. Special Representative to Vietnam, 1954–1955. | |
78 | Geoffrey Keyes | 17 Apr 1945 | 1 Aug 1954 | 9 |
| (1888–1967) [39] | |
79 | Lucius D. Clay | 17 Apr 1945 | 28 Mar 1947 | 2 |
| (1897–1978) Promoted to general, 28 Mar 1947. Special Representative of the President in Berlin, 1961–1962. Son of U.S. Senator Alexander S. Clay; father of Air Force four-star general Lucius D. Clay Jr. | |
80 | George E. Stratemeyer | 28 May 1945 | 31 Jan 1952 | 7 |
| (1890–1969) [23] | |
81 | Alvan C. Gillem Jr. | 3 Jun 1945 | 31 Aug 1950 | 5 |
| (1888–1973) Grandson of Union Army major general Alvan C. Gillem; father of Army lieutenant general Alvan C. Gillem II. | |
82 | Willis D. Crittenberger | 3 Jun 1945 | 31 Dec 1952 | 8 |
| (1890–1980) Chairman, Free Europe Committee, 1956–1959. | |
83 | Charles P. Hall | 4 Jun 1945 | 31 Dec 1948 | 4 |
| (1886–1953) | |
84 | Matthew B. Ridgway | 4 Jun 1945 | 11 May 1951 | 6 |
| (1895–1993) Promoted to general, 11 May 1951. Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1986; Congressional Gold Medal, 1990. | |
85 | LeRoy Lutes | 5 Jun 1945 | 31 Jan 1952 | 7 |
| (1890–1980) | |
86 | Troy H. Middleton | 5 Jun 1945 | 10 Aug 1945 | 0 |
| (1889–1976) [40] President, Louisiana State University, 1951–1962. | |
87 | Nathan F. Twining | 5 Jun 1945 | 10 Oct 1950 | 5 |
| (1897–1982) [23] Promoted to general, 10 Oct 1950. Brother of Marine Corps four-star general Merrill B. Twining. | |
88 | Ennis C. Whitehead | 5 Jun 1945 | 31 Jul 1951 | 6 |
| (1895–1964) [23] Father of Army major general Ennis C. Whitehead Jr.; grandfather of Army brigadier general Ennis C. Whitehead III. | |
89 | John R. Hodge | 6 Jun 1945 | 5 Jul 1952 | 7 |
| (1893–1963) Promoted to general, 5 Jul 1952. | |
90 | John E. Hull | 6 Jun 1945 | 30 Jul 1951 | 6 |
| (1895–1975) Promoted to general, 30 Jul 1951. | |
91 | Raymond S. McLain | 6 Jun 1945 | 30 Apr 1952 | 7 |
| (1890–1954) [41] | |
92 | Clarence R. Huebner | 17 Mar 1947 | 30 Nov 1950 | 4 |
| (1888–1972) | |
93 | Manton S. Eddy | 24 Jan 1948 | 31 Mar 1953 | 5 |
| (1892–1962) | |
94 | Stephen J. Chamberlin | 24 Jan 1948 | 31 Dec 1951 | 4 |
| (1889–1971) | |
95 | Henry S. Aurand | 24 Jan 1948 | 31 Aug 1952 | 5 |
| (1894–1980) Father of Navy vice admiral Evan P. Aurand. | |
96 | Willard S. Paul | 24 Jan 1948 | 31 Dec 1948 | 1 | (1894–1966) President, Gettysburg College, 1956–1961. | ||
97 | Leslie R. Groves | 24 Jan 1948 | 29 Feb 1948 | 0 |
| (1896–1970) [42] | |
98 | James A. Van Fleet | 19 Feb 1948 | 31 Jul 1951 | 3 |
| (1892–1992) Promoted to general, 31 Jul 1951. Special Representative of the President in the Far East, 1954. | |
99 | Edward H. Brooks | 18 Mar 1949 | 30 Apr 1953 | 4 |
| (1893–1978) | |
100 | Thomas B. Larkin | 21 Mar 1949 | 31 Dec 1952 | 4 |
| (1890–1968) | |
101 | Harold R. Bull | 25 Jul 1949 | 31 Jul 1952 | 3 |
| (1893–1976) | |
102 | Alfred M. Gruenther | 30 Sep 1949 | 1 Aug 1951 | 2 |
| (1899–1983) Promoted to general, 1 Aug 1951. President, American Red Cross, 1957–1964. | |
103 | William H. H. Morris Jr. | 1 Oct 1949 | 31 Mar 1952 | 2 |
| (1890–1971) | |
104 | Stafford L. Irwin | 15 Oct 1950 | 31 May 1952 | 2 |
| (1893–1955) Son of Army major general George LeRoy Irwin. | |
105 | Frank W. Milburn | 8 Feb 1951 | 30 Apr 1952 | 1 |
| (1892–1962) | |
106 | Joseph M. Swing | 9 Feb 1951 | 28 Feb 1954 | 3 |
| (1894–1984) Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, 1954–1962. | |
107 | John W. Leonard | 10 Feb 1951 | 31 Jan 1952 | 1 |
| (1890–1974) | |
108 | John B. Coulter | 11 Feb 1951 | 31 Jan 1952 | 1 |
| (1891–1983) Agent-General, United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency, 1953–1958. | |
109 | Edward M. Almond | 12 Feb 1951 | 31 Jan 1953 | 2 |
| (1892–1979) | |
110 | Charles L. Bolte | 13 Feb 1951 | 30 Jul 1953 | 2 |
| (1895–1989) Promoted to general, 30 Jul 1953. | |
111 | William M. Hoge | 31 May 1951 | 23 Oct 1953 | 2 |
| (1894–1979) Promoted to general, 23 Oct 1953. | |
112 | Doyle O. Hickey | 1 Jun 1951 | 31 Jul 1953 | 2 |
| (1891–1961) | |
113 | Maxwell D. Taylor | 29 Jul 1951 | 23 Jun 1953 | 2 |
| (1901–1987) Promoted to general, 23 Jun 1953. U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1964–1965; President, Institute for Defense Analyses, 1966–1969. | |
114 | Andrew D. Bruce | 30 Jul 1951 | 31 Aug 1954 | 3 |
| (1894–1969) President, University of Houston, 1954–1956. | |
115 | Lewis A. Pick | 31 Jul 1951 | 30 Nov 1952 | 1 |
| (1890–1956) | |
116 | Anthony C. McAuliffe | 1 Aug 1951 | 1 Mar 1955 | 4 |
| (1898–1975) Promoted to general, 1 Mar 1955. | |
117 | John W. O'Daniel | 20 Dec 1951 | 29 Feb 1956 | 4 |
| (1894–1975) [43] | |
118 | Horace L. McBride | 29 Apr 1952 | 30 Jun 1954 | 2 |
| (1894–1962) | |
119 | Willard G. Wyman | 8 Jun 1952 | 1 Mar 1956 | 4 |
| (1898–1969) Promoted to general, 1 Mar 1956. | |
120 | Williston B. Palmer | 9 Jun 1952 | 1 May 1955 | 3 |
| (1899–1973) Promoted to general, 1 May 1955. Brother of Army four-star general Charles D. Palmer. | |
121 | George H. Decker | 10 Jun 1952 | 31 May 1956 | 4 |
| (1902–1980) Promoted to general, 31 May 1956. | |
122 | John T. Lewis | 4 Jul 1952 | 30 Sep 1954 | 2 |
| (1894–1983) | |
123 | George P. Hays | 5 Jul 1952 | 30 Apr 1953 | 1 |
| (1892–1978) Awarded Medal of Honor, 1919. | |
124 | Daniel Noce | 29 Jul 1952 | 31 Oct 1954 | 2 |
| (1894–1976) | |
125 | Alexander R. Bolling | 30 Jul 1952 | 31 Jul 1955 | 3 |
| (1895–1964) Father of Army major Alexander R. Bolling Jr.; father-in-law of Army major general Roderick Wetherill Sr. | |
126 | William B. Kean | 31 Jul 1952 | 30 Sep 1954 | 2 |
| (1897–1981) Executive Director, Chicago Housing Authority, 1954–1957. | |
127 | Lyman L. Lemnitzer | 1 Aug 1952 | 25 Mar 1955 | 3 | (1899–1988) Promoted to general, 25 Mar 1955. Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1987. | ||
128 | William K. Harrison Jr. | 5 Sep 1952 | 28 Feb 1957 | 4 |
| (1895–1987) | |
129 | Paul W. Kendall | 16 Sep 1952 | 31 Aug 1955 | 3 |
| (1898–1983) | |
130 | Reuben E. Jenkins | 6 Nov 1952 | 28 Feb 1954 | 1 | (1896–1975) | ||
131 | Isaac D. White | 7 Nov 1952 | 22 Jun 1955 | 3 |
| (1901–1990) Promoted to general, 22 Jun 1955. | |
132 | Withers A. Burress | 1 Jan 1953 | 30 Nov 1954 | 2 |
| (1894–1977) Commandant, Virginia Military Institute, 1935–1940. | |
133 | Ralph J. Canine | 16 Mar 1953 | 30 Apr 1957 | 4 |
| (1895–1969) | |
134 | John E. Dahlquist | 1 May 1953 | 18 Aug 1954 | 1 |
| (1896–1975) Promoted to general, 18 Aug 1954. | |
135 | William H. Arnold | 22 Jun 1953 | 31 Jan 1961 | 8 |
| (1901–1976) | |
136 | Bruce C. Clarke | 23 Jun 1953 | 1 Aug 1958 | 5 |
| (1901–1988) Promoted to general, 1 Aug 1958. | |
137 | Cortlandt V. R. Schuyler | 3 Jul 1953 | 18 May 1956 | 3 |
| (1900–1993) Promoted to general, 18 May 1956. Commissioner, New York State Office of General Services, 1960–1971. | |
138 | Floyd L. Parks | 13 Oct 1953 | 29 Feb 1956 | 2 |
| (1896–1959) | |
139 | Walter L. Weible | 23 Oct 1953 | 31 Jan 1957 | 3 | (1896–1980) | ||
140 | Thomas F. Hickey | 25 Jan 1954 | Sep 1961 | 7 |
| (1898–1983) [44] | |
141 | Blackshear M. Bryan | 26 Jan 1954 | 1 Mar 1960 | 6 |
| (1900–1977) President, Nassau Community College, 1960–1965. | |
142 | Carter B. Magruder | 6 Apr 1954 | 1 Jul 1959 | 5 |
| (1900–1988) Promoted to general, 1 Jul 1959. | |
143 | Lemuel Mathewson | 7 Apr 1954 | 1 Jul 1961 | 6 |
| (1899–1970) [45] | |
144 | Henry I. Hodes | 16 Aug 1954 | 1 Jun 1956 | 2 |
| (1899–1962) Promoted to general, 1 Jun 1956. | |
145 | John H. Collier | 17 Aug 1954 | 1 Oct 1958 | 4 |
| (1898–1980) | |
146 | Charles E. Hart | 18 Aug 1954 | 1 Aug 1960 | 6 |
| (1900–1991) | |
147 | Hobart R. Gay | 30 Sep 1954 | 31 Aug 1955 | 1 |
| (1894–1983) Superintendent, New Mexico Military Institute, 1955–1963. | |
148 | Stanley R. Mickelsen | 1 Oct 1954 | 31 Oct 1957 | 3 |
| (1895–1966) | |
149 | Thomas W. Herren | 9 Dec 1954 | 31 Jul 1957 | 3 |
| (1895–1985) | |
150 | Claude B. Ferenbaugh | 10 Dec 1954 | 30 Sep 1955 | 1 |
| (1899–1975) | |
151 | Laurin L. Williams | 1 Mar 1955 | 30 Jun 1957 | 2 |
| (1895–1975) | |
152 | James M. Gavin | 25 Mar 1955 | 31 Mar 1958 | 3 | (1907–1990) U.S. Ambassador to France, 1961–1962. | ||
153 | Robert N. Young | 29 Jun 1955 | 30 Sep 1957 | 2 |
| (1900–1964) | |
154 | Robert M. Montague | 13 Jul 1955 | 20 Feb 1958 | 3 |
| (1899–1958) Died in office. | |
155 | George W. Read Jr. | 14 Jul 1955 | 1 Aug 1960 | 5 |
| (1900–1974) Son of Army major general George W. Read; grandson of Army lieutenant general Samuel B. M. Young. | |
156 | Samuel D. Sturgis III | 23 Jul 1955 | 30 Sep 1956 | 1 |
| (1897–1964) Son of Army major general Samuel D. Sturgis Jr.; grandson of Union Army major general Samuel D. Sturgis. | |
157 | Clovis E. Byers | 8 Aug 1955 | 1 Jun 1959 | 4 |
| (1899–1973) | |
158 | Charles D. Palmer | 19 Aug 1955 | 1 Oct 1959 | 4 |
| (1902–1999) Promoted to general, 1 Oct 1959. Brother of Army four-star general Williston B. Palmer. | |
159 | Samuel T. Williams | 15 Sep 1955 | 1 Sep 1960 | 5 |
| (1897–1984) | |
160 | Clyde D. Eddleman | 10 Oct 1955 | 1 Apr 1959 | 3 | (1902–1992) Promoted to general, 1 Apr 1959. | ||
161 | Alonzo P. Fox | 12 Nov 1955 | 31 May 1959 | 4 |
| (1895–1984) [46] Daughter married Army four-star general Alexander M. Haig Jr. | |
162 | James E. Moore | 17 Feb 1956 | 21 Apr 1960 | 4 |
| (1902–1986) Promoted to general, 21 Apr 1960. | |
163 | Edward T. Williams | 1 Mar 1956 | 28 Feb 1961 | 5 |
| (1901–1973) | |
164 | Lewis B. Hershey | 23 Jun 1956 | 23 Dec 1969 | 14 |
| (1893–1977) [47] Promoted to general on the retired list, 23 Dec 1969. | |
165 | Emerson L. Cummings | 18 Jul 1956 | 31 Mar 1962 | 6 |
| (1902–1986) | |
166 | Francis W. Farrell | 19 Jul 1956 | 1 Jul 1960 | 4 |
| (1900–1981) Director, New York State Civil Defense Commission, 1961–1963. | |
167 | John F. Uncles | 20 Jul 1956 | 1 Sep 1958 | 2 |
| (1898–1967) Daughter married Army major general Burnside E. Huffman. | |
168 | Ridgely Gaither | 27 Jul 1956 | 30 Apr 1962 | 6 |
| (1903–1992) Commissioner, Annapolis Police Department, 1966–1973. | |
* | Hanford MacNider | 7 Aug 1956 | (none) | 0 |
| (1889–1968) U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, 1925–1928; U.S. Ambassador to Canada, 1930–1932. | |
169 | Arthur G. Trudeau | 18 Oct 1956 | 30 Jun 1962 | 6 |
| (1902–1991) | |
170 | David A. D. Ogden | 24 Mar 1957 | 31 Oct 1957 | 1 |
| (1897–1969) | |
171 | Donald P. Booth | 21 Feb 1957 | 28 Feb 1962 | 5 |
| (1902–1993) | |
172 | Garrison H. Davidson | 25 Mar 1957 | 30 Apr 1964 | 7 |
| (1904–1992) | |
173 | William S. Lawton | 1 Jul 1957 | 1 Jun 1960 | 3 |
| (1900–1993) | |
174 | Robert M. Cannon | 30 Jun 1957 | 31 Aug 1961 | 4 |
| (1901–1976) | |
175 | Paul D. Harkins | 1 Jul 1957 | 2 Jan 1962 | 5 |
| (1904–1987) Promoted to general, 2 Jan 1962. | |
176 | Thomas J. H. Trapnell | 4 Feb 1958 | 31 Jul 1962 | 4 |
| (1902–2002) | |
177 | James F. Collins | 15 Mar 1958 | 1 Apr 1961 | 3 |
| (1905–1989) Promoted to general, 1 Apr 1961. President, American Red Cross, 1964–1970. | |
178 | Herbert B. Powell | 8 Apr 1958 | 1 Oct 1960 | 2 |
| (1903–1998) Promoted to general, 1 Oct 1960. U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, 1963–1967. | |
179 | Clark L. Ruffner | 1 May 1958 | 1 Mar 1960 | 2 |
| (1903–1982) Promoted to general, 1 Mar 1960. | |
180 | James D. O'Connell | 11 Jul 1958 | 1 May 1959 | 1 |
| (1899–1984) Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications and Director of Telecommunications Management, Office of Emergency Planning, 1964–1969. | |
181 | Thomas L. Harrold | 1 Aug 1958 | 30 Jun 1961 | 3 |
| (1902–1973) | |
182 | Gordon B. Rogers | 1 Sep 1958 | 31 Aug 1961 | 3 |
| (1901–1967) | |
183 | Guy S. Meloy Jr. | 1 Oct 1958 | 1 Jul 1961 | 3 |
| (1903–1968) Promoted to general, 1 Jul 1961. Father of Army major general Guy S. Meloy III. | |
184 | Paul D. Adams | 1 Apr 1959 | 3 Oct 1961 | 3 |
| (1906–1987) Promoted to general, 3 Oct 1961. | |
185 | Robert W. Colglazier Jr. | 17 Jul 1959 | 1 Feb 1966 | 7 |
| (1904–1993) [48] | |
186 | Emerson C. Itschner | 6 Sep 1959 | 31 Aug 1961 | 2 |
| (1903–1991) | |
187 | John H. Hinrichs | 7 Sep 1959 | 31 May 1962 | 3 |
| (1904–1990) Resigned, 1962. | |
188 | Robert F. Sink | 8 Sep 1959 | 1 Feb 1961 | 1 |
| (1905–1965) | |
189 | Leonard D. Heaton | 9 Sep 1959 | 1 Sep 1969 | 10 |
| (1902–1983) | |
190 | John C. Oakes | 1 Nov 1959 | 31 Dec 1963 | 3 |
| (1906–1982) Grandson of U.S. Representative Robert B. Hawley. | |
An officer held the active-duty grade of lieutenant general (Lt.gen.) in the U.S. Army until his death; retirement; resignation; reversion to lower permanent grade upon vacating a position carrying the ex officio rank; promotion to a higher grade such as general (Gen.) or general of the Army (Gen.Army); or transfer to the U.S. Air Force (USAF). A brevet lieutenant general (Bvt.lt.gen.) remained in the grade of major general. Grades in the Continental Army (CA) did not continue with the U.S. Army.
The rank of lieutenant general in the United States Army was established in 1798 when President John Adams commissioned George Washington in that grade to command the armies of the United States during the Quasi-War with France. The next year, Congress replaced the office of lieutenant general with that of General of the Armies of the United States but Washington died before accepting the new commission, remaining a lieutenant general until posthumously promoted to General of the Armies in 1976. [49]
In 1855 Congress rewarded the Mexican War service of Major General Winfield Scott by authorizing his promotion to brevet lieutenant general, to rank from March 29, 1847, the date of the Mexican surrender at the Siege of Veracruz. [50] As a lieutenant general only by brevet, Scott remained in the permanent grade of major general but was entitled to be paid as a lieutenant general from the date of his brevet commission, resulting in a public tussle with Secretary of War Jefferson Davis over the amount of backpay Scott was owed. Congress resolved all issues in Scott's favor once Davis left office in 1857, and allowed Scott to retire at full pay in 1861. [51]
The grade of lieutenant general was revived in February 1864 to allow President Abraham Lincoln to promote Major General Ulysses S. Grant to command the armies of the United States during the American Civil War. After the war, Grant was promoted to general and his vacant lieutenant general grade was filled by Major General William T. Sherman. When Grant became President in 1869, Sherman succeeded him as general and Major General Philip H. Sheridan succeeded Sherman as lieutenant general. Congress suspended further promotions to general and lieutenant general in 1870, but made an exception in 1888 to promote Sheridan on his deathbed by discontinuing the grade of lieutenant general and merging it with the grade of general. [52]
In 1895 Congress briefly revived the grade of lieutenant general to promote Sheridan's successor as commanding general of the Army, Major General John M. Schofield. Schofield had lobbied for the grade to be permanently reestablished in order to cement the primacy of all future commanding generals over the Army's other major generals. However, Congress regarded the lieutenant generalcy as the penultimate military accolade, second only to promotion to full general, and refused to devalue the title's significance by conferring it on any future commanding general less eminent than previous recipients. Instead, Schofield himself was promoted to lieutenant general as a one-time personal honor eight months before he retired. [53] In retirement Schofield argued that the rank of lieutenant general ought to be permanently associated with the office of commanding general, not the individual officers occupying it, and that an officer serving as commanding general should hold the ex officio rank of lieutenant general while so detailed but revert to his permanent grade of major general upon leaving office. Over the next five decades, Schofield's concept of lieutenant general as temporary ex officio rank would slowly prevail over the concept of lieutenant general as permanent personal grade. [54]
The question of whether the lieutenant generalcy should be a permanent personal grade or a temporary ex officio rank was phrased in terms of the line of the Army, whose officers commanded combat formations, and its staff, whose officers performed specialized support functions. Permanent personal promotions to general officer grades were only available in the line, but staff officers could temporarily acquire general officer rank while detailed to an office bearing that statutory rank, so officers holding the permanent grade of general officer were called general officers of the line and ex officio general officers were called general officers of the staff. [3]
In June 1900 Schofield's successor as commanding general, Major General Nelson A. Miles, was made a lieutenant general of the staff by an amendment to the United States Military Academy appropriations bill that granted the rank of lieutenant general to the senior major general of the line commanding the Army. [55] Eight months later, the 1901 Army reorganization bill replaced this ex officio rank with the permanent grade of lieutenant general of the line. [56] When Miles retired in 1903, the senior major general was Adjutant General Henry C. Corbin, but as a staff corps officer Corbin was ineligible to command the Army, so the lieutenant generalcy went instead to the senior major general of the line, Samuel B. M. Young. Young reached the statutory retirement age five months later and was succeeded by Adna R. Chaffee. Seniority and scheduled retirements suggested that Chaffee would be succeeded in 1906 by Arthur MacArthur Jr., but both Corbin and Major General John C. Bates were scheduled to retire for age that year and it was decided that MacArthur's ascension would not be materially delayed by first promoting Bates and Corbin to lieutenant general for the few months of active duty remaining to them. [57]
Corbin's promotion became controversial when he declined to be detailed as chief of staff of the Army. Corbin felt the chief of staff should be a younger officer with the time and energy to enact a long-range program, not a superannuated placeholder on the cusp of retirement, so when Bates retired Corbin became lieutenant general but Brigadier General J. Franklin Bell became chief of staff. [58] However, by divorcing the Army's highest grade from its highest office, Corbin had again reduced the lieutenant generalcy to a personal honor. Many in Congress believed Corbin was not in the same class as Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and Schofield, and pressed to abolish the lieutenant generalcy immediately, but after a heated debate MacArthur's supporters managed to preserve the grade until after MacArthur's promotion. [59]
MacArthur was promoted to lieutenant general in August 1906. Since he was the last Civil War officer expected to succeed to the grade, Congress stopped further promotions to lieutenant general in March 1907 and stated that the active-duty grade would be abolished when MacArthur retired. [60] Later that month, MacArthur asked to be relieved of his duties, disgruntled at his anomalous position of being the ranking officer of the Army yet consigned to the command of a mere division and subject to orders from an officer he outranked, Chief of Staff Bell, whose four-year term extended beyond MacArthur's statutory retirement date. MacArthur returned home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he marked time writing up travel reports until he retired in 1909. [61]
In October 1917, Congress authorized the President to appoint as generals the chief of staff of the Army and the commander of the United States forces in France, and as lieutenant generals the commanders of the field armies and army corps, so that they would not be outranked by their counterparts in allied European armies. Unlike previous incarnations, these new grades were time-limited, authorized only for the duration of the World War I emergency, after which their bearers would revert to their lower permanent grades. The commander of the American Expeditionary Force, Major General John J. Pershing, was immediately appointed emergency general, as were two successive Army chiefs of staff, but no emergency lieutenant generals were named for over a year because the armies they would command had not yet been organized. [62]
On October 21, 1918, Major Generals Hunter Liggett, commander of the First Army, and Robert L. Bullard, commander of the Second Army, were nominated to be emergency lieutenant generals, less than three weeks before the Armistice. [63] With victory imminent, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker sought legislation to reward the Army's high commanders by making their emergency grades permanent. However, Army Chief of Staff Peyton C. March had alienated many members of Congress by unilaterally reorganizing the Army without their input and his enemies blocked every effort to honor any officer but Pershing with higher rank. In the end, Pershing was promoted to permanent General of the Armies, but March, Liggett, and Bullard reverted to their permanent grades of major general when their emergency grades expired on July 1, 1920. [64]
After the war, there were a number of unsuccessful attempts to retire as lieutenant generals a list of officers that variously included Major Generals March, Liggett, Bullard, Enoch H. Crowder, Joseph T. Dickman, Leonard Wood, John F. Morrison, James G. Harbord, James W. McAndrew, Henry P. McCain, Charles P. Summerall, Ernest Hinds, Harry F. Hodges, William Campbell Langfitt, and George W. Goethals; Surgeon General Merritte W. Ireland; and Colonel William L. Kenly. [65] Finally, on August 7, 1929, the Army chief of engineers, Major General Edgar Jadwin, was retired as a lieutenant general by a 1915 law that automatically promoted officers one grade upon retirement if they had helped build the Panama Canal. [66] There was some consternation that a peacetime staff corps officer had secured more or less by chance a promotion deliberately withheld from the victorious field commanders of World War I, so the year after Jadwin's promotion all World War I officers were advanced to their highest wartime ranks on the retired list, including Liggett and Bullard. [67]
In 1942, Congress allowed retired Army generals to be advanced one grade on the retired list or posthumously if they had been recommended in writing during World War I for promotion to a higher rank which they had not since received, provided they had also been awarded the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, or the Distinguished Service Medal; retired Major Generals James G. Harbord and William M. Wright were both advanced to lieutenant general under this provision. [68]
After Pershing retired in 1924, the rank of the Army chief of staff reverted to major general, the highest permanent grade in the peacetime Army. However, the Navy continued to maintain three ex officio vice admirals and four ex officio admirals, including the chief of naval operations, so in 1929 Congress raised the ex officio rank of the Army chief of staff to full general. [69] In 1939 Congress also assigned the ex officio rank of lieutenant general to the major generals of the Regular Army specifically assigned to command each of the four field armies, allowing President Franklin D. Roosevelt to appoint the first new active-duty lieutenant generals since World War I: First Army commander Hugh A. Drum, Second Army commander Stanley H. Ford, Third Army commander Stanley D. Embick, and Fourth Army commander Albert J. Bowley. Congress extended similar rank in July 1940 to the major generals commanding the Panama Canal and Hawaiian Departments. [70]
As general officers of the staff, these new lieutenant generals bore three-star rank only while actually commanding a field army or department, and reverted to their permanent two-star rank upon being reassigned or retired. However, during World War II most lieutenant generals of the staff received concurrent personal appointments as temporary lieutenant generals in the Army of the United States so that they could be reassigned without loss of rank. Postwar legislation allowed officers to retire in their highest temporary grades, so most lieutenant generals of the staff eventually retired at that rank. [71] Of the lieutenant generals of the staff who were never appointed temporary lieutenant generals, Albert J. Bowley, Stanley H. Ford, Charles D. Herron, Daniel Van Voorhis, Herbert J. Brees, and Walter C. Short retired as major generals upon reaching the statutory retirement age; and Lloyd R. Fredendall qualified to retire in grade due to physical disability incurred during his term as lieutenant general. After the war, Brees and Short both applied to be advanced to lieutenant general on the retired list under a 1948 law; Brees was promoted but the administration specifically declined to advance Short, who had been relieved of command of the Hawaiian Department a few days after the defeat at Pearl Harbor. [72]
In September 1940, Congress authorized the President to appoint Regular Army officers to temporary higher grades in the Army of the United States during time of war or national emergency. The first temporary lieutenant general appointed under this authority was Major General Delos C. Emmons, Commander, General Headquarters Air Force; followed by Major General Lesley J. McNair, Chief of Staff, General Headquarters, U.S. Army. In July 1941, retired four-star general Douglas MacArthur was recalled to active duty and appointed temporary lieutenant general as Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. [73]
Dozens of officers were promoted to temporary lieutenant general during World War II. Lieutenant generals typically commanded one of the numbered field armies or air forces; served as deputy theater commanders; or headed major headquarters staffs, administrative commands, or support organizations. Officers were only allowed to retire in their temporary grades if they were retired due to disability incurred in the line of duty, but those compelled by good health to retire in a lower grade were eventually restored to their highest wartime ranks on the retired list. [74]
Subject to Senate approval, anyone could be appointed temporary lieutenant general, even a civilian. In January 1942, the outgoing Director General of the Office of Production Management, William S. Knudsen, was commissioned temporary lieutenant general in the Army of the United States, the only civilian ever to join the Army at such a high initial rank. [75]
The modern office of lieutenant general was established by the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, which authorized the President to designate certain positions of importance and responsibility to carry the ex officio rank of general or lieutenant general, to be filled by officers holding the permanent or temporary grade of major general or higher. Officers could retire in their highest active-duty rank, subject to Senate approval. The total number of positions allowed to carry such rank was capped at 15 percent of the total number of general officers, which worked out initially to nine generals and thirty-five lieutenant generals, of whom four generals and seventeen lieutenant generals were required to be in the Air Corps. All Air Corps personnel were transferred in grade to the United States Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947. [76]
Lieutenant generals typically headed divisions of the General Staff in Washington, D.C.; field armies in Europe, Japan, and the continental United States; the Army command in the Pacific; the unified command in the Caribbean; the occupation force in Austria; and senior educational institutions such as the National War College, the Army War College, and the Armed Forces Staff College. During the Korean War, the commanding general of the Eighth Army was elevated to full general, and the Eighth Army deputy commanding general and subordinate corps commanders were elevated to lieutenant general.
By mid-1952, the number of active-duty general officers had swelled to nearly twice its World War II peak. In response, Congress enacted the Officer Grade Limitation Act of 1954, which tied the maximum number of generals to the total number of officers. However, the real limit was the so-called Stennis ceiling imposed by Mississippi Senator John C. Stennis, whose Senate Armed Services Committee refused to confirm general or flag officer nominations beyond what he considered to be a reasonable total, which typically was much lower than the statutory limit. The Stennis ceiling remained in effect from the mid-1950s until the post-Vietnam War drawdown. [77]
Unlike the temporary general and flag officer ranks of World War II, the 1947 ranks were attached to offices, not individuals, and were lost if an officer was reassigned to a lesser job. [78] Army generals almost always preferred to retire rather than revert to a lower permanent grade. A rare exception was Lt. Gen. John W. O'Daniel, who temporarily relinquished his third star upon becoming chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in French Indochina so that he would not outrank the theater commander in chief, French lieutenant general Henri Navarre. O'Daniel got his star back five months later when France withdrew from Indochina following Navarre's defeat at Dien Bien Phu. [79]
The following list of Congressional legislation includes all acts of Congress pertaining to appointments to the grade of lieutenant general in the United States Army before 1960. [80]
Each entry lists an act of Congress, its citation in the United States Statutes at Large, and a summary of the act's relevance.
Legislation | Citation | Summary |
---|---|---|
Act of May 28, 1798 | 1 Stat. 558 | Authorized one grade of lieutenant general (George Washington). |
Act of March 3, 1799 | 1 Stat. 752 | Terminated grade of lieutenant general upon the appointment of a "general of the armies of the United States." |
Joint Resolution No. 9 of February 15, 1855 | 10 Stat. 723 | Authorized grade of lieutenant general to be specially conferred once by brevet to acknowledge eminent services of a major general of the Army during the Mexican War (Winfield Scott). |
Act of August 3, 1861 | 12 Stat. 287 | Authorized the brevet lieutenant general to retire for disability at full pay. |
Act of February 29, 1864 | 13 Stat. 11 | Authorized one grade of lieutenant general (Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Philip H. Sheridan). |
Act of July 15, 1870 | 16 Stat. 318 | Terminated grade of lieutenant general at next vacancy. |
Act of June 1, 1888 | 25 Stat. 165 | Terminated grade of lieutenant general and merged with grade of general (Philip H. Sheridan). |
Joint Resolution No. 9 of February 5, 1895 | 28 Stat. 968 | Authorized grade of lieutenant general to be specially conferred once to acknowledge distinguished services of a major general of the Army (John M. Schofield). |
Act of June 6, 1900 | 31 Stat. 655 | Assigned ex officio rank of lieutenant general to the senior major general of the line commanding the Army (Nelson A. Miles). |
Act of February 2, 1901 | 31 Stat. 748 | Authorized one grade of lieutenant general (Nelson A. Miles, Samuel B. M. Young, Adna R. Chaffee, Henry C. Corbin, John C. Bates, Arthur MacArthur Jr.). |
Act of March 2, 1907 | 34 Stat. 1160 | Terminated grade of lieutenant general at next vacancy, except on retired list. |
Act of March 4, 1915 | 38 Stat. 1191 | Authorized one-grade promotion upon retirement of any officer detailed for more than three years in Panama with the Isthmian Canal Commission, if not otherwise promoted by this Act (Edgar Jadwin). |
Act of October 6, 1917 | 40 Stat. 410 | Authorized emergency grade of lieutenant general for each commander of an army or army corps during the World War I emergency (Hunter Liggett, Robert L. Bullard). |
Act of June 4, 1920 | 41 Stat. 760 | Terminated all emergency grades. |
Act of June 21, 1930 | 45 Stat. 793 | Authorized promotion on the retired list to highest grade held during World War I (Hunter Liggett, Robert L. Bullard). |
Act of August 5, 1939 | 53 Stat. 1214 | Assigned ex officio rank of lieutenant general to major generals commanding the four armies of the United States. |
Act of July 31, 1940 | 54 Stat. 781 | Assigned ex officio rank of lieutenant general to major generals commanding the Panama Canal and Hawaiian Departments. |
Act of September 22, 1941 | 55 Stat. 728 | Authorized temporary general officer grades in the Army of the United States during the World War II emergency. |
Act of July 9, 1942 | 56 Stat. 655 | Authorized one-grade promotion on the retired list or posthumously of general officers who, for services rendered during World War I, were recommended in writing for promotion to increased rank not since received, and who also received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, or Distinguished Service Medal (James G. Harbord, William M. Wright). |
Act of June 29, 1943 | 57 Stat. 149 |
|
Act of July 26, 1947 [National Security Act of 1947] | 61 Stat. 503 |
|
Act of August 7, 1947 [Officer Personnel Act of 1947] | 61 Stat. 886 |
|
Act of June 24, 1948 [Private Law 80-394-A] | 62 Stat. 1393 | Authorized promotion of Leslie R. Groves to lieutenant general on the retired list, with retired pay of a major general and honorary date of rank as lieutenant general from July 16, 1945. |
Act of June 29, 1948 [Army and Air Force Vitalization and Retirement Equalization Act of 1948] | 62 Stat. 1085 | Authorized promotion on the retired list of Regular Army and Regular Air Force officers to the highest temporary grades in which they served satisfactorily for at least six months between September 6, 1940, and June 30, 1946 (Herbert J. Brees, George H. Brett, Ira C. Eaker, Harold L. George). |
Act of October 12, 1949 [Career Compensation Act of 1949] | 63 Stat. 806 | Established pay grade O-8 for general, lieutenant general, and major general. |
Joint Resolution of January 2, 1951 [Private Law 81-1083] | 64 Stat. A271 | Authorized posthumous promotion of Walton H. Walker to general. |
Act of May 5, 1954 [Officer Grade Limitation Act of 1954] | 68 Stat. 65 |
|
Act of July 19, 1954 | 68 Stat. 492 | Authorized promotion to general on the retired list or posthumously of any officer who, while a lieutenant general, was:
|
Act of August 7, 1956 [Private Law 84-892] | 70 Stat. A201 | Authorized promotion of Hanford MacNider to lieutenant general on the retired list. |
Act of May 20, 1958 | 72 Stat. 124 | Established pay grade O-9 for lieutenant general. |
A tombstone promotion is an advance in rank awarded at retirement. It is often an honorary promotion that does not include any corresponding increase in retired pay, whose only benefit is the right to be addressed by the higher rank and have it engraved on one's tombstone.