The rank of general (or full general, or four-star general) is the highest rank normally achievable in the United States Army. It ranks above lieutenant general (three-star general) and below general of the Army (five-star general).
There have been 265 four-star generals in the history of the U.S. Army. Of these, 251 achieved that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Army; eight were promoted after retirement; five were promoted posthumously; and one (George Washington) was appointed to that rank in the Continental Army, the U.S. Army's predecessor. Generals entered the Army via several paths: 165 were commissioned via the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), 56 via Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university, 16 via Officer Candidate School (OCS), 13 via direct commission (direct), 11 via ROTC at a senior military college, one via ROTC at a military junior college, one via direct commission in the Army National Guard (ARNG), one via the aviation cadet program, and one via battlefield commission.
List of generals Entries in the following list of four-star generals are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was promoted to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Army. Each entry lists the general's name, date of rank, active-duty positions held while serving at four-star rank, number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank (Yrs), year commissioned and source of commission, number of years in commission when promoted to four-star rank (YC), and other biographical notes. + List of United States Army four-star generals # Name Photo Date of rank Position Yrs Commission YC Notes * General and Commander in Chief, Continental Army, 1775–1783. 8 1775 (direct) 0 (1732–1799) Promoted to General of the Armies, 4 Jul 1976. Chancellor, College of William & Mary, 1788–1799; U.S. President, 1789–1797. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1776. 1 Commanding General, U.S. Army (CGUSA), 1864–1869. 3 1843 (USMA) 23 (1822–1885) Promoted to General of the Armies, 19 Apr 2024. U.S. President, 1869–1877. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1863. Married great-aunt of Navy four-star admiral U. S. Grant Sharp Jr. 2 Commanding General, U.S. Army (CGUSA), 1869–1883. 14 1840 (USMA) 29 (1820–1891) Superintendent, Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, 1860–1861. Brother of U.S. Secretary of State John Sherman. 3 Commanding General, U.S. Army (CGUSA), 1883–1888. 0 1853 (USMA) 35 (1831–1888) Died in office. 4 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1917–1918. U.S. Military Representative, Supreme War Council, 1918–1919. 2 1875 (USMA) 42 (1853–1930) President, U.S. Army War College, 1903–1905, 1909; Governor, U.S. Soldiers' Home, 1920–1927. 5 Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces (CG AEF), 1917–1921. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1921–1924. 7 1886 (USMA) 31 (1860–1948) Promoted to General of the Armies, 3 Sep 1919. Chairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1923–1948; Chairman, Tacna-Arica Plebiscitary Commission, 1925–1926. Awarded Pulitzer Prize for History, 1932; Congressional Gold Medal, 1946. 6 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1918–1921. 2 1888 (USMA) 30 (1864–1955) 7 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1926–1930. 1 1892 (USMA) 37 (1867–1955) President, The Citadel, 1931–1953. 8 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1930–1935. Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (CG USAFFE), 1941–1942. Commander in Chief, South West Pacific Area (CINCSWPA), 1942–1945. Commander in Chief, South West Pacific Area/Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific (CINCSWPA/CINCAFPAC), 1945. Supreme Commander, Allied Powers/Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific (SCAP/CINCAFPAC), 1945–1947. 9 1903 (USMA) 27 (1880–1964) Promoted to general of the Army, 18 Dec 1944. Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy, 1919–1922. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1942; Congressional Gold Medal, 1962. Grandson of Wisconsin Governor Arthur MacArthur Sr. 9 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1935–1939. Chairman, War Department Personnel Board, 1941–1945. 8 1898 (USMA) 37 (1875–1945) Commandant, U.S. Army War College, 1935. 10 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1939–1945. 5 1902 (VMI) 38 (1880–1959) Promoted to general of the Army, 16 Dec 1944. Special Representative of the President in China, 1945–1947; U.S. Secretary of State, 1947–1949; Chairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1949–1959; President, American Red Cross, 1949–1950; U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1950–1951. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1946; Nobel Peace Prize, 1953. * (retired) 0 1891 (USMA) 49 (1868–1968) Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, 1924–1926. 11 Commander in Chief, Allied (Expeditionary) Force (CINC Allied Forces), 1942–1943. Commander in Chief, Allied Forces/Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Theater of Operations/Commanding General, North African Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (CINC Allied Forces/CINC MTO/CG NATOUSA), 1943–1944. Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force/Commanding General, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (SCAEF/CG ETOUSA), 1944–1945. 1 1915 (USMA) 28 (1890–1969) Promoted to general of the Army, 20 Dec 1944. President, Columbia University, 1948–1953; U.S. President, 1953–1961. 12 Commanding General, Army Air Forces (CG AAF), 1942–1944. Commanding General, Army Air Forces/Commanding General, Twentieth Air Force (CG AAF), 1944–1945. 1 1907 (USMA) 36 (1886–1950) Promoted to general of the Army, 21 Dec 1944; to general of the Air Force, 7 May 1949. 13 Deputy Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia/Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, China Burma India Theater (DSACSEA/CG USAFCBI), 1943–1944. Commanding General, Army Ground Forces (CG AGF), 1945. Commanding General, Tenth Army, 1945. Commanding General, Western Defense Command, 1945–1946. Commanding General, Sixth Army, 1946. 2 1904 (USMA) 40 (1883–1946) Died in office. 14 Commanding General, Sixth Army, 1943–1946. 1 1901 (direct) 44 (1881–1967) 15 Commanding General, Army Service Forces (CG ASF), 1942–1946. 1 1914 (USMA) 31 (1892–1955) 16 Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean/Commanding General, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (DSACMED/CG MTOUSA), 1944–1945. Commanding General, U.S. Forces European Theater/Military Governor, U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany (CG USFET), 1945–1947. Senior Member, United Nations Military Staff Committee, 1947. Commanding General, Air Materiel Command (CG AMC), 1947–1949. Chairman, Department of Defense Management Committee, 1949–1952. 7 1915 (USMA) 30 (1893–1972) 17 Commanding General, Sixth Army Group, 1944–1945. Commanding General, Army Ground Forces (CG AGF), 1945–1948. Chief, Army Field Forces (CAFF), 1948–1949. 4 1909 (USMA) 36 (1887–1979) Chairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1960–1969. 18 Commanding General, Allied Air Forces, South West Pacific Area (CG AAFSWPA), 1942–1945. Member, Military Staff Committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1945–1946. Commanding General, Strategic Air Command (CG SAC), 1946–1948. Commander, Air University, 1948–1951. 6 1917 (cadet) 28 (1889–1977) 19 Commanding General, Fifteenth Army Group, 1944–1945. U.S. High Commissioner, Austria/Commanding General, U.S. Forces Austria, 1945–1947. Commanding General, Sixth Army, 1947–1949. Chief, Army Field Forces (CAFF), 1949–1952. Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander in Chief, Far East Command/Military Governor of the Ryukyu Islands (CINCUNC/CINCFE), 1952–1953. 8 1917 (USMA) 28 (1896–1984) President, The Citadel, 1954–1965; Chairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1969–1984. 20 Commanding General, U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe (CG USSAFE), 1945. Commanding General, U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (CG USASTAF), 1945. Deputy to the Commanding General, Army Air Forces for Special Organizational Planning, 1945–1946. Commanding General, Army Air Forces (CG AAF), 1946–1947. Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (CSAF), 1947–1948. 3 1914 (USMA) 31 (1891–1974) 21 Commanding General, Twelfth Army Group, 1944–1945. Administrator, Veterans Administration, 1945–1947. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1948–1949. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff/Chairman, NATO Military Committee (CJCS), 1949–1950. 5 1915 (USMA) 30 (1893–1981) Promoted to general of the Army, 22 Sep 1950. Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, 1977. 22 Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (DCSA), 1944–1947. Commanding General, Fourth Army, 1947–1949. Commander in Chief, European Command (CINCEUR), 1949–1952. Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Europe/Commander, Central Army Group (CINCUSAREUR/COMCENTAG), 1952. Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (DCINCEUR), 1952–1954. 9 1916 (VMI) 29 (1892–1982) 23 Commanding General, Third Army, 1944–1945. Commanding General, Fifteenth Army, 1945. 0 1909 (USMA) 36 (1885–1945) Died in office. Father-in-law of Army four-star general John K. Waters. 24 Commanding General, First Army, 1944–1949. 4 1909 (direct) 36 (1887–1966) 25 Commanding General, Fourth Army, 1946. 1 1906 (USMA) 39 (1883–1953) National Commander, Disabled American Veterans, 1948–1949. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1945. 26 Commander in Chief, European Command/Military Governor, U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany (CINCEUR), 1947–1949. 2 1918 (USMA) 29 (1897–1978) 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. 27 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (VCSA), 1948–1949. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1949–1953. U.S. Military Representative, NATO Military Committee (USMILREP), 1953–1956. 8 1917 (USMA) 31 (1896–1987) U.S. Special Representative to Vietnam, 1954–1955.Statement of Military Service of J. Lawton Collins, O-5247 (OMPF p. 404); in 28 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (VCSA), 1949–1951. 2 1912 (USMA) 37 (1889–1971) President, Association of the United States Army, 1950–1951; Governor, U.S. Soldiers' Home, 1951–1966. * (posthumous) 0 1912 (USMA) 38 (1889–1950) Died in office. Father of Army four-star general Sam S. Walker. 29 Supreme Commander, Allied Powers/Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander in Chief, Far East Command/Military Governor of the Ryukyu Islands (SCAP/CINCUNC/CINCFE), 1951. Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander in Chief, Far East Command/Military Governor of the Ryukyu Islands (CINCUNC/CINCFE), 1951–1952. Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), 1952. Supreme Allied Commander Europe/Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (SACEUR/USCINCEUR), 1952–1953. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (CSA), 1953–1955. 4 1917 (USMA) 34 (1895–1993) Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1986; Congressional Gold Medal, 1990. 30 Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), 1950–1953. 2 1917 (direct) 34 (1895–1961) U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1946–1948; U.S. Under Secretary of State, 1953–1954. 31 Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (VCSA), 1951–1953. Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander in Chief, Far East Command/Military Governor of the Ryukyu Islands (CINCUNC/CINCFE), 1953–1955. 4 1917 (direct) 34 (1895–1975) Chairman, President's Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities, 1958–1961. 32 Commanding General, Eighth U.S. Army (CG EUSA), 1951–1953. 2 1915 (USMA) 36 (1892–1992) Special Representative of the President in the Far East, 1954. 33 Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (COFS SHAPE), 1951–1953. Supreme Allied Commander Europe/Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command (SACEUR/USCINCEUR), 1953–1956. 5 1917 (USMA) 34 (1899–1983) President, American Red Cross, 1957–1964. 34 Chief, Army Field Forces (CAFF), 1952–1953. 1 1917 (direct) 35 (1893–1963) 35 Commanding General, Eighth U.S. Army (CG EUSA), 1953–1954.