Commanding General of the United States Army

Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army 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 in 1903.

United States Army Commanding Generals

Continental Army General and Commander-in-Chief

#	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended	Notes
1.	MG George Washington		June 15, 1775	December 23, 1783	Resigned at the end of the American Revolutionary War

United States Army Senior Officer

#	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended	Notes
1.	MG Henry Knox		December 23, 1783	June 20, 1784
2.	MAJ John Doughty		June 20, 1784	August 12, 1784	Served when all of the Army but 80 men was discharged
3.	BG Josiah Harmar		August 12, 1784	March 4, 1791
4.	MG Arthur St. Clair		March 4, 1791	March 5, 1792
5.	MG Anthony Wayne		April 13, 1792	December 15, 1796	Died in office
6.	BG James Wilkinson		December 15, 1796	July 13, 1798
7.	LTG George Washington		July 13, 1798	December 14, 1799	Died in office
8.	MG Alexander Hamilton		December 14, 1799	June 15, 1800
9.	BG James Wilkinson		June 15, 1800	January 27, 1812
10.	MG Henry Dearborn		January 27, 1812	June 15, 1815
11.	MG Jacob Brown		June 15, 1815	June 1821

Commanding General

#	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended	Notes
1.	MG Jacob Brown		June 1821	February 24, 1828	Died in office
2.	MG Alexander Macomb		May 29, 1828	June 25, 1841	Died in office
3.	Brevet LTG Winfield Scott		July 5, 1841	November 1, 1861
4.	MG George B. McClellan		November 1, 1861	March 11, 1862	[1]
5.	MG Henry Wager Halleck		July 23, 1862	March 9, 1864
6.	GEN Ulysses S. Grant		March 9, 1864	March 4, 1869	Resigned to become the 18th President of the United States
7.	GEN William Tecumseh Sherman		March 8, 1869	November 1, 1883
8.	GEN Philip Sheridan		November 1, 1883	August 5, 1888	Died in office
9.	LTG John Schofield		August 14, 1888	September 29, 1895
10.	LTG Nelson A. Miles		October 5, 1895	August 8, 1903

See also

• List of United States military leaders by rank

Notes

1. ^ Eicher, Civil War High Commands. The gap from March 11, 1862, to July 23, 1862, was filled with direct control of the army by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, with the help of an unofficial "War Board" that was established on March 17, 1862. The board consisted of Ethan A. Hitchcock, the chairman, with Department of War bureau chiefs Lorenzo Thomas, Montgomery C. Meigs, Joseph G. Totten, James W. Ripley, and Joseph P. Taylor.

References

• Historical Resources Branch; United States Army Center of Military History.
• Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.

Further reading

• Bell, William Gardner (2005). Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff 1775-2005: Portraits and Biographical Sketches. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/books/CG&CSA/CG-TOC.htm.