Commanding General of the United States Army

The Commanding General of the United States Army was the Commander in Chief of the US Army prior to the establishment of the Chief of Staff of the Army .

history

In the Continental Army there was the post of Commander In Chief (German: Oberbefehlshaber) and the post designation Continental Army General (German: General des Kontinentalheeres), which were combined with George Washington in one person. After Washington had given up the post, a senior officer (German: senior officer ) was appointed.

With the adoption of the United States Constitution , the President of the United States was given supreme command of the armed forces. As of June 1783, the post was named Senior Officer of the United States Army . In 1821 the name was changed to Commanding General of the United States Army .

In 1903 the post of Chief of Staff of the Army was established .

Commanding Generals of the United States Army

Continental Army General and Commander In Chief

	Surname	image	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
1.	Continental Army General George Washington		June 15, 1775	December 23, 1783

Senior officer

	Surname	image	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
1.	Major General Henry Knox		December 23, 1783	June 20, 1784

Senior Officer of the United States Army

	Surname	image	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
1.	Brigadier general of artillery John Doughty		June 20, 1784	August 12, 1784
2.	Brevet Brigadier General Josiah Harmar		August 12, 1784	March 4, 1791
3.	Brigadier General Arthur St. Clair		March 4, 1791	March 5, 1792
4th	Major General Anthony Wayne		April 13, 1792	December 15, 1796
5.	Major General James Wilkinson		December 15, 1796	July 13, 1798
6th	Lieutenant General George Washington		July 13, 1798	December 14, 1799
7th	Major General Alexander Hamilton		December 14, 1799	June 15, 1800
8th.	Major General James Wilkinson		June 15, 1800	January 27, 1812
9.	Major General Henry Dearborn		January 27, 1812	June 15, 1815
10.	Major General Jacob Brown		June 15, 1815	June 1821

Commanding General of the United States Army

	Surname	image	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
1.	Major General Jacob Brown		June 1821	February 24, 1828
2.	Major General Alexander Macomb		May 29, 1828	June 25, 1841
3.	Lieutenant General Winfield Scott		July 5, 1841	November 1, 1861
4th	Major General George Brinton McClellan		November 1, 1861	March 11, 1862
5.	Major General Henry Wager Halleck		July 23, 1862	March 9, 1864
6th	General of the Army Ulysses Simpson Grant		March 9, 1864	March 4, 1869
7th	General of the Army William Tecumseh Sherman		March 8, 1869	November 1, 1883
8th.	General of the Army Philip Sheridan		November 1, 1883	August 5, 1888
9.	Lieutenant General John Schofield		August 14, 1888	September 29, 1895
10.	Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles		October 5, 1895	August 8, 1903

See also

• Historical ranking of the highest officers in the United States

literature

• Historical Resources Branch; United States Army Center of Military History .
• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands , Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ During this time all units of the army were disbanded except for 80 men
2. ^ Eicher, Civil War High Commands . Between March 11, 1862 and July 23, 1862, the army was led directly by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton . On March 17, 1862, an unofficial war cabinet was set up. It consisted of Chairman Ethan A. Hitchcock , Lorenzo Thomas , Montgomery C. Meigs , Joseph G. Totten , James W. Ripley, and Joseph P. Taylor .

Web links

• " Chronological List of Senior Officers of the United States Army ", in Bell, William Gardner. COMMANDING GENERALS AND CHIEFS OF STAFF 1775-2005: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer , Center of Military History, United States Army, 2005. ( ISBN 0-16-072376-0 )