Commanding General of the United States Army

The Commanding General of the United States Army was the title given to the service chief and highest-ranking officer of the United States Army (and its predecessor the Continental Army), prior to the establishment of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1903. During the American Revolution (1775–1783), the title was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. In 1783, the title was simplified to Senior Officer of the United States Army. In 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United States Army. The office was often referred to by various other titles, such as "Major General Commanding the Army" or "General-in-Chief".

From 1789 until its abolition in 1903, the position of commanding general was legally subordinate to the Secretary of War; it was replaced by the creation of the statutory Chief of Staff of the Army in 1903.

Commanding General/General-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army

In the short existence of the Confederate States, the position of General-in-Chief only existed for about nine weeks, and only one man ever held this rank. For nearly four years, President Jefferson Davis refused to create such an office, which he saw as undermining his own authority. On January 31, 1865, during the American Civil War's final phase, Robert E. Lee was promoted to general-in-chief in a last-ditch effort to fend off the South's utter defeat. After a brief stint as chief officer of a lost cause, Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Appomattox on April 9. This left a vacancy in the general-in-chief position, and no successor was appointed. By the end of May, all Confederate institutions had ceased to exist.

Commanding General of the United States Army in The Guns of the South

President Abraham Lincoln promoted Ulysses S. Grant to the rank lieutenant general, giving him command of the entire Union Army in March 1864, just a few months before the Confederate States won Second American Revolution. While a talented general, his leadership was no match for the Confederate Army's new repeating rifles, and he was unable to win the war.

By contrast, the Confederate States fought and won the Revolution without ever appointing a general-in-chief to lead their army. By 1868, creating such an office was still not a Confederate priority.

Commanding General of the United States Army in "Lee at the Alamo"

After he stood siege at the Alamo in February and March 1861, Winfield Scott offered Robert E. Lee the position of Commanding General of the United States Army. As Virginia had seceded by that point, Lee declined, though he did remain with the Union.

Commanding General of the United States Army in Southern Victory

William Rosecrans, the last General-in-Chief of the United States Army.

The military office of general-in-chief was the title of the highest ranked officer in the both the U.S. and C.S. armies through the 19th century.

In the U.S. the general-in-chief was charged with planning overall strategy during a conflict, but at the same time, had limited supervisory authority over largely autonomous field armies. Thus, the general-in-chief's ability to carry out his duties was dependent on the cooperation of the officers under his command. This situation proved disastrous for the U.S. during both the War of Secession and the Second Mexican War. During the latter war in particular, the incumbent general-in-chief, William Rosecrans, proved completely inadequate in the face of a multi-front war against several enemies.

Thomas Jackson, General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army during the Second Mexican War.

These inadequacies were very costly to the US in the Second Mexican War and ultimately contributed to the loss of that war. Following the war, German military observer to the US Alfred von Schlieffen suggested that the U.S. reorganize the army, with an emphasis of centralizing command by doing away with the general-in-chief position and replacing it with the much more centralized Prussian-style General Staff, with the Chief of the General Staff as the senior officer. The U.S. adopted the system.

The C.S. established the position of general-in-chief after the War of Secession. Unlike Rosecrans, General Thomas Jackson had the respect of his subordinates, and was a more talented a strategist, and so during the Second Mexican War, was extremely successful in prosecuting the war against the U.S. Nonetheless, the CSA followed the USA's lead, establishing their own General Staff and doing away with the office of general-in-chief prior to the Great War.