On July 25, 1866, Congress created the rank of “General of the Army of the United States” and promoted Ulysses Grant to it. At the time, Lieutenant General Grant was general-in-chief of the U.S. Army.
Please help get U.S. Grant posthumously promoted to the U.S. Army’s highest rank, General of the Armies (plural).
This was done for George Washington. As General Washington’s supreme military leadership uniquely helped create the nation, so General Grant’s uniquely preserved it. They are respectively forger and defender.
Contact your U.S. representative and U.S. senator and ask them to support the Ulysses S. Grant Bicentennial Recognition Act! It is House Joint Resolution 58 (H.J. Res. 58) and Senate Joint Resolution 26 (S.J. Res. 26).
You can find out who your members of Congress are at Congress.gov.
The Ulysses S. Grant Association and Grant Monument Association have led the charge in the promotion effort. Representative Ann Wagner and Senator Roy Blunt have introduced the act. It’s gained cosponsors in both chambers.
The Grant Monument Association provides further context:
The grade of General of the Armies of the United States was first established by Congress in 1799 as the highest rank in the U.S. Army. However, then-President John Adams refused to appoint anyone to the position because the U.S. was not at war. The grade was dissolved in 1802, when Congress passed the Military Peace Establishment Act without reference to the grade. In 1866, Congress established the grade of “General of the Army of the United States” as the highest rank in the U.S. Army, and Grant was immediately appointed to the position. In 1919, Congress authorized the president to appoint John Pershing to the grade of “General of the Armies of the United States” for his role in commanding military forces during World War I. Significant confusion arose between the previously established “General of the Army” (the position Grant held) and “General of the Armies” (the position created in 1799, then re-established in 1919). In 1976, Congress clarified that “General of the Armies of the United States” is the highest rank in the U.S. Army when it posthumously promoted George Washington to the grade in honor of the nation’s bicentennial. The Ulysses S. Grant Bicentennial Recognition Act would promote Grant to the same rank as George Washington.
The insignia of the rank of General of the Armies is an unsettled matter, though some colloquially refer to the rank itself as a “six-star general.” But this name is problematic, as the “General of the Armies” Wikipedia page explains.
