This is a complete list of lieutenant generals in the United States Army before 1960. The grade of lieutenant general (or three-star general) is ordinarily the second-highest in the peacetime Army, ranking above major general and below general.
Originally created for George Washington during the Quasi-War with France, the grade lapsed for most of the 19th century and early 20th century because it was considered too lofty for the diminutive peacetime establishment. Unlike the grades of major general and below, the grade of lieutenant general was not considered a functional office during this period, but the penultimate military honor, reserved for only the most eminent of wartime generals. After the Spanish–American War, the lieutenant generalcy slowly transitioned from extraordinary accolade to routine appointment, and from permanent personal grade to temporary ex officio rank. The grade was revived permanently just before World War II and has been in continuous existence ever since.Wiener, "Three Stars and Up," Part One.
Before World War I, there was at most one lieutenant general on active duty at any time. In 1918 two field army commanders received wartime commissions as lieutenant generals to accord them rank equal to allied counterparts, the first time the grade had been conferred purely to facilitate future command instead of to reward past service. Dozens of lieutenant generals were appointed during World War II to lead the vastly expanded military establishment, and by January 1, 1960, the official Army register listed 33 lieutenant generals on active duty in the peacetime Army.U.S. Army Register, 1960; Wiener, "Three Stars and Up," Parts One and Four.
Taxonomy A lieutenant general of the line was an officer who was commissioned in the permanent grade of lieutenant general in the Regular Army and therefore maintained that rank regardless of assignment. (When the law passed in June 1916 in the reference, only major and brigadier generals were authorized in the US Army. No lieutenant generals were appointed as lieutenant generals of the line). A lieutenant general of the staff was an officer who held the temporary rank of lieutenant general in the Regular Army only while occupying an office designated by statute to carry that rank, and who reverted to a lower permanent grade upon relinquishing that office. An emergency lieutenant general was an officer whose Regular Army grade of lieutenant general was authorized only during the World War I emergency, which expired on June 30, 1920. A temporary lieutenant general was an officer who was commissioned in the temporary grade of lieutenant general in the Army of the United States, typically in addition to a lower permanent grade in the Regular Army. A brevet lieutenant general was an officer who held the rank of lieutenant general only by brevet, and remained commissioned in the permanent grade of major general.
List of U.S. Army lieutenant generals before 1960 The following list of lieutenant generals includes all officers appointed to that rank in the United States Army prior to January 1, 1960, including brevet and temporary lieutenant generals.The list of lieutenant generals is taken from the 1947 World Almanac, pp. 809–810; the Army Almanac, pp. 330–331; and the Army Register.
Entries are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was appointed to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty. Each entry lists the officer's name, date of rank,Dates of rank are taken from the Army Register. date the officer vacated the active-duty rank,Dates vacated are taken from the Army Register. An officer could vacate the active-duty rank of lieutenant general via death, retirement, resignation, promotion to a higher permanent grade, or reversion to a lower permanent grade upon relinquishing an office bearing the statutory rank of lieutenant general. number of years on active duty as lieutenant general (Yrs),The number of years on active duty as lieutenant general is taken to be the difference between the officer's date of rank and the date on which his active duty commission as lieutenant general was vacated, rounded to the nearest whole year. positions held as lieutenant general, and other biographical notes.Biographical notes include years of birth and death; dates of promotion to higher permanent grade; awards of the Medal of Honor, Congressional Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, or honors of similar significance; major government appointments; university presidencies or equivalents; familial relationships with significant military officers or significant government officials such as U.S. Presidents, cabinet secretaries, U.S. Senators, or state governors; and other unusual career events such as death in office or resignation. Dates are taken from Heitman, the Army Register, Eicher and Eicher, or Marquis Who's Who.
Name PhotoDate of rankDate vacatedYrsPositionNotes Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1798–1799. (1732–1799) Promoted to General of the Armies posthumously, 4 Jul 1976. U.S. President, 1789–1797. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1776. Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1841–1861. (1786–1866) Brevet rank. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1814. Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1864–1869. (1822–1885) Promoted to general, 25 Jul 1866. U.S. President, 1869–1877. Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, 1863. Commander, Military Division of the Mississippi, 1864–1866. Commander, Military Division of the Missouri, 1866–1869. (1820–1891) Promoted to general, 4 Mar 1869. Superintendent, Louisiana Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, 1860–1861. Brother of U.S. Secretary of State John Sherman. Commander, Military Division of the Missouri, 1869–1883. Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1883–1888. (1831–1888) Promoted to general, 1 Jun 1888. Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1888–1895. (1831–1906) Awarded Medal of Honor, 1892. Brother of Union Army general George W. Schofield. Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1895–1903. (1839–1925)Senior major general of the line commanding the Army with rank of lieutenant general, 6 Jun 1900 – 1 Feb 1901; promoted to lieutenant general, 2 Feb 1901. Candidate for Democratic Party nomination for U.S. President, 1904. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1892. Commanding General, U.S. Army, 1903. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, 1903–1904. (1840–1924) Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park, 1907–1908. Father-in-law of Army general George W. Read; grandfather of Army general George W. Read Jr. Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, 1904–1906. (1842–1914) Father of Army general Adna R. Chaffee Jr. 10 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, 1906. (1842–1919) Son of U.S. Attorney General and Representative Edward Bates. 11 Commander, Northern Division, 1906. (1842–1909) 12 Commander, Pacific Division, 1906–1907. Special duty, 1907–1909. (1845–1912) Military Governor of the Philippines, 1900–1901. Awarded Medal of Honor, 1890. Son of Wisconsin Governor Arthur MacArthur Sr.; father of Army general Douglas MacArthur; great-uncle of U.S. Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II. 13 Commander, First Army, 1918–1919. Commander, Third Army, 1919–1921. (1857–1935)Emergency lieutenant general, 16 Oct 1918 – 30 Jun 1920. Retired as major general; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 21 Jun 1930. 14 Commander, Second Army, 1918–1919. Commander, Second Corps Area, 1919–1925. (1861–1947) * (none) (none) (1865–1931) 15 Commanding General, First Army, 1938–1941. Commanding General, First Army/Northeast Defense Command, 1941. Commanding General, First Army/Eastern Theater of Operations, 1941–1942. Commanding General, First Army/Eastern Defense Command, 1942–1943. Commanding General, First Army/Eastern Defense Command/Chairman, Inter-American Defense Board, 1943. (1879–1951)Retired as lieutenant general for disability in line of duty.Commanding General, First Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 5 Aug 1939 – 7 Oct 1943. Commander, New York Guard, 1943–1948. 16 Commanding General, Second Army, 1938–1940. (1877–1954)Commanding General, Second Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 5 Aug 1939 – 30 Sep 1940. Retired as major general, 31 Jan 1941. 17 Commanding General, Third Army, 1938–1940. Senior War Department Member, Permanent Joint Board on Defense for Canada and the United States, 1940–1942, and Mexico and the United States, 1942. Chairman, Inter-American Defense Board, 1942–1943 and 1943–1946. Senior War Department Member, Joint Strategic Survey Committee, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1942–1946. (1877–1957)Commanding General, Third Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 5 Aug 1939 – 30 Sep 1940. Retired as major general, 31 Jan 1941; recalled as major general, 1 Feb 1941; appointed temporary lieutenant general, 7 Jan 1942 – 27 Jun 1946; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 15 Feb 1946. 18 Commanding General, Fourth Army, 1938–1939. (1875–1945)Commanding General, Fourth Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 5 Aug 1939 – 30 Nov 1939. Retired as major general, 30 Nov 1939. 19 Commanding General, Fourth Army, 1939–1941. Commanding General, Fourth Army/Western Defense Command, 1941–1943. Commandant, Army-Navy Staff College, 1943–1946. (1880–1962)Retired as major general; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 4 Jun 1948.Commanding General, Fourth Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 5 Dec 1939 – 15 Sep 1943. Retired as major general, 31 Jan 1944; recalled as lieutenant general, 1 Feb 1944 – 10 Jun 1947; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 4 Jun 1948; promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. 20 Commanding General, Hawaiian Department, 1938–1941. (1877–1977)Commanding General, Hawaiian Department, with rank of lieutenant general, 31 Jul 1940 – 7 Feb 1941. Retired as major general, 31 Mar 1941. 21 Commanding General, Panama Canal Department, 1940–1941. Commanding General, Panama Canal Department/Caribbean Defense Command, 1941. (1878–1956)Commanding General, Panama Canal Department, with rank of lieutenant general, 31 Jul 1940 – 18 Sep 1941. Retired as major general, 31 Oct 1942. Son of U.S. Representative H. Clay Van Voorhis. 22 Commanding General, Third Army, 1940–1941. (1877–1958)Retired as major general; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1948.Commanding General, Third Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 1 Oct 1940 – 15 May 1941. Retired as major general, 30 Jun 1941; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1948. 23 Commanding General, Second Army, 1940–1941. Commanding General, Second Army/Central Defense Command, 1941–1943. Member, War Department Personnel Board, 1943–1944. Commanding General, Army Ground Forces, 1944–1945. Deputy Commanding General, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army, 1945. (1879–1966)Commanding General, Second Army, with rank of lieutenant general, 1 Oct 1940 – 30 May 1943. Appointed temporary lieutenant general, 1 Oct 1940; retired as major general, 31 May 1943; recalled as lieutenant general, 1 Jun 1943 – 31 Dec 1945; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1943; promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. Promoted to general on the retired list, 19 Jul 1954. 24 Commander, General Headquarters Air Force, 1940–1941. Commander, Air Force Combat Command, 1941. Commanding General, Hawaiian Department, 1941–1943. Commanding General, Western Defense Command, 1943–1944. Commanding General, Alaskan Department, 1944–1946.