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Commanding General of the United States Army

 

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Commanding General of the United States Army



 
 
Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Chief of Staff of the United States Army

File:USChiefofStaffArmy.PNGThe Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the highest ranking officer in the United States Army and is member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ....
 in 1903, there was generally a single senior-most officer in the army. From 1783, he was known simply as the Senior Officer of the United States Army, but in 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United States Army. The position was abolished with the creation of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Chief of Staff of the United States Army

File:USChiefofStaffArmy.PNGThe Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the highest ranking officer in the United States Army and is member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ....
 in 1903.

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Name Photo Term began Term ended Notes
1.






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Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Chief of Staff of the United States Army

File:USChiefofStaffArmy.PNGThe Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the highest ranking officer in the United States Army and is member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ....
 in 1903, there was generally a single senior-most officer in the army. From 1783, he was known simply as the Senior Officer of the United States Army, but in 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United States Army. The position was abolished with the creation of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Chief of Staff of the United States Army

File:USChiefofStaffArmy.PNGThe Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the highest ranking officer in the United States Army and is member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ....
 in 1903.

United States Army Commanding Generals


Continental Army General and Commander In Chief

Name Photo Term began Term ended Notes
1. LTG George Washington
George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
 
Portrait of George Washington
15 June 1775 23 December 1783


Senior Officer


Name Photo Term began Term ended Notes
1. MG Henry Knox
Henry Knox

Henry Knox was an United States bookseller from Boston, Massachusetts who became the chief artillery officer of the Continental Army and later the nation's first United States Secretary of War....
 
23 December 1783 20 June 1784


United States Army Senior Officer


Name Photo Term began Term ended Notes
1. MAJ John Doughty
Johndoughty
20 June 1784 12 August 1784 served when all of the Army but 80 men was discharged
2. BG Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar

Josiah Harmar was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolution and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for seven years....
 
12 August 1784 4 March 1791  
3. MG Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair

Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office....
 
Arthurstclairofficialportrait
4 March 1791 5 March 1792  
4. MG Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of Brigadier general and the sobriquet of "Mad Anthony"....
 
13 April 1792 15 December 1796  
5. BG James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson was a United States soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign....
 
15 December 1796 13 July 1798  
6. LTG George Washington
George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
 
Portrait of George Washington
13 July 1798 14 December 1799  
7. MG Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, a Founding Fathers of the United States, economist, and political philosopher. He led calls for the Philadelphia Convention, was one of America's first Constitutional lawyers, and cowrote the Federalist Papers, a primary source for Constitutional interpretation....
 
Alexander Hamilton Portrait By John Trumbull 1806
14 December 1799 15 June 1800  
8. BG James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson was a United States soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign....
 
15 June 1800 27 January 1812  
9. MG Henry Dearborn
Henry Dearborn

Henry Dearborn was an American physician, statesman and veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, New Hampshire, where he attended public schools....
 
Henrydearborn
27 January 1812 15 June 1815  
10. MG Jacob Brown
Jacob Brown

Jacob Jennings Brown was an American army officer in the War of 1812....
 
15 June 1815 June 1821


Commanding General


Name Photo Term began Term ended Notes
1. MG Jacob Brown
Jacob Brown

Jacob Jennings Brown was an American army officer in the War of 1812....
 
June 1821 24 February 1828  
2. MG Alexander Macomb
Alexandermacomb
29 May 1828 25 June 1841  
3. LTG Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful List of United States Presidential candidates of the Whig Party in 1852. Known as "Old Fuss and Feathers" and the "Grand Old Man of the Army", he served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American history and many historians rate him the ablest America...
 
5 July 1841 1 November 1861  
4. MG George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
 
Georgemcclellan
1 November 1861 11 March 1862
5. MG Henry Wager Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck

Henry Wager Halleck was a United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory, "Old Brains." He was an important participant in the admission of California as a state and became a successful lawyer and land developer....
 
23 July 1862 9 March 1864  
6. GEN Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant , was an United States general and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States ....
 
9 March 1864 4 March 1869  
7. GEN William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an United States soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemente...
 
8 March 1869 1 November 1883  
8. GEN Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan

Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to Major general and his close association with Lieutenant general Ulysses S....
 
Philip Sheridan
1 November 1883 5 August 1888  
9. LTG John Schofield
John Schofield

John McAllister Schofield was an United States soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He later served as U.S. Secretary of War and commanding general of the United States Army....
 
Schofieldofficialportrait
14 August 1888 29 September 1895  
10. LTG Nelson A. Miles
Nelson A. Miles

Nelson Appleton Miles was an American soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.Early life...
 
Nelsonmiles
5 October 1895 8 August 1903  


See also

  • List of United States military leaders by rank
    List of United States military leaders by rank

    This is a list of the highest-ranking General officer and flag officers who have served in the Military of the United States. Only those holding a rank equivalent to the modern rank of five stars or more, or four stars at a time when such rank was extraordinary, are listed....


External links

  • , 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)