What military rank did George Washington receive posthumously during the 1976 United States Bicentennial?

George Washington received the rank of General of the Armies posthumously during the 1976 United States Bicentennial.

Public Law 94-479, approved in 1976, specified that Washington would rank first among all officers of the United States Army, past and present. The appointment took effect on July 4, 1976, the Bicentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Washington had commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later became the nation’s first president. Although he had left military service long before 1976, Congress used the Bicentennial to recognize his historic position above every other American Army officer.

The title is easy to confuse with General of the Army, the five-star rank used by several twentieth-century commanders. General of the Armies is a separate and higher title. Washington is generally regarded as its principal holder; John J. Pershing also held the rank, but Washington was designated senior to all other Army officers.