With the 250th Birthday of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps just around the corner, I decided to honor those men who have held the top position in each branch of service over the years, starting with the Army.

1. General of the Armies George Washington (1775-1783)
2. Maj. General Henry Knox (1783-1784)
3. Major John Doughty (1784)
4. Brig. General Josiah Harmar (1784-1791)
5. Maj. General Arthur St. Clair (1791-1792)
6. Maj. General Anthony Wayne (1792-1796)
7. Brig. General James Wilkinson (1796-1798)
8. General of the Armies George Washington (1798-1799)
9. Maj. General Alexander Hamilton (1799-1800)
10. Brig. General James Wilkinson (1800-1812)
11. Maj. General Henry Dearborn (1812-1815)
12. Maj. General Jacob Brown (1815-1828)
13. Maj. General Alexander Macomb (1828-1841)
14. Lt. General Winfield Scott (1841-1861)
15. Maj. General George B. McClellan (1861-1862)
(VACANT) 11 Mar 1862 - 23 July 1862
16. Maj. General Henry W. Halleck (1862-1864)
17. General of the Armies Ulysses S. Grant (1864-1869)
18. General of the Army William T. Sherman (1869-1883)
19. General of the Army Philip Sheridan (1883-1888)
20. Lt. General John Schofield (1888-1895)
21. Lt. General Nelson A. Miles (1895-1903)
22. Lt. General Samuel B.M. Young (1903-1904)
23. Lt. General Adna R. Chaffee (1904-1906)
24. Lt. General John C. Bates (1906)
25. Maj. General J. Franklin Bell (1906-1910)
26. Maj. General Leonard Wood (1910-1914)
27. Maj. General William W. Wotherspoon (1914)
28. Maj. General Hugh L. Scott (1914-1917)
29. General Tasker H. Bliss (1917-1918)
30. General Peyton C. March (1918-1921)
31. General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1921-1924)
32. Maj. General John L. Hines (1924-1926)
33. General Charles P. Summerall (1926-1930)
34. General Douglas MacArthur (1930-1935)
35. General Malin Craig (1935-1939)
36. General of the Army George C. Marshall (1939-1945)
37. General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (1945-1949)
38. General Omar Bradley (1948-1949)
39. General J. Lawton Collins (1949-1953)
40. General Matthew B. Ridgway (1953-1955)
41. General Maxwell D. Taylor (1955-1959)
42. General Lyman L. Lemnitzer (1959-1960)
43. General George H. Decker (1960-1962)
44. General Earle G. Wheeler (1962-1964)
45. General Harold K. Johnson (1964-1968)
46. General William C. Westmoreland (1968-1972)
(ACTING) General Bruce Palmer Jr. (1972)
47. General Creighton W. Abrams Jr. (1972-1974)
48. General Frederick C. Weyand (1974-1976)
49. General Bernard W. Rogers (1976-1979)
50. General Edward C. Meyer (1979-1983)
51. General John A. Wickham Jr. (1983-1987)
52. General Carl E. Vuono (1987-1991)
53. General Gordon R. Sullivan (1991-1995)
54. General Dennis J. Reimer (1995-1999)
55. General Erik K. Shinseki (1999-2003)
(ACTING) General John M. Keane (2003)
56. General Peter J. Schoomaker (2003-2007)
57. General George W. Casey Jr. (2007-2011)
58. General Martin E. Dempsey (2011)
59. General Raymond T. Odierno (2011-2015)
60. General Mark A. Milley (2015-2019)
61. General James C. McConville (2019-2023)
62. General Randy A. George (2023-Present)

Notes:

1. George Washington was posthumously promoted to General of the Armies of the United States in 1976 by Congress, back-dating the promotion to 1775 and thus making him the most senior officer to ever serve in the United States Army.

2. John J. Pershing was given the title General of the Armies of the United States while he lived and thus was the most senior officer who ever served in the United States until Washington was granted seniority over him in 1976.

3. Ulysses S. Grant was posthumously promoted to General of the Armies of the United States by Congress in 2022, thus making him the third and final general officer in the history of the United States Army to receive the mythical "sixth star."

4. Both Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley would eventually be promoted to General of the Army (1944 and 1950 respectively), however when they served their tour of duty as the most senior U.S. Army commander, both were still four-star generals.

This post was edited on 4/28/24 at 12:43 pm