|
General of the Army (GA) is a five-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the United States Army. A General of the Army ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to a fleet admiral and a General of the Air Force. There is no established equivalent five-star rank in the other Federal uniformed services (Marine Corps, Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps). Often called a "five-star general", the rank of General of the Army has historically been reserved for wartime use and is not currently active in the U.S. military. A special rank of General of the Armies, which ranks above General of the Army, exists but has been conferred only twice, to John J. Pershing and posthumously to George Washington.〔 ==Post–American Civil War era== On July 25, 1866, the U.S. Congress established the rank of "General of the Army of the United States" for General Ulysses S. Grant. His pay was "four hundred dollars per month, and his allowance for fuel and quarters" except "when his headquarters are in Washington, shall be at the rate of three hundred dollars per month."〔Ulysses S. Grant, General of the Army, General Orders No. 52, http://www.ulyssessgrant.org/p/general-of-army.html〕 When appointed General of the Army, Grant wore the rank insignia of four stars and coat buttons arranged in three groups of four. Unlike the World War II rank with a similar title, the 1866 rank of General of the Army was a four-star rank. This rank held all the authority and power of a 1799 proposal for a rank of "General of the Armies" even though Grant was never called by this title. In contrast to the modern four-star rank of general, only one officer at at time could hold the 1866–1888 rank of General of the Army. After Grant became the U.S. president, he was succeeded as General of the Army by William T. Sherman, effective March 4, 1869. In 1872, Sherman ordered the insignia changed to two stars with the coat of arms of the United States in between.〔 By an Act of June 1, 1888, the grade was conferred upon Philip Sheridan, who by then was in failing health. The rank of General of the Army ceased to exist with Sheridan's death on August 5, 1888.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「General of the Army (United States)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|