Which military rank did Congress confer posthumously on George Washington during the United States Bicentennial?

Congress conferred the rank of General of the Armies on George Washington during the United States Bicentennial.

Public Law 94-479 was approved in 1976 to ensure that no United States Army officer would outrank Washington, who had been the first commanding general of the Continental Army. The appointment was posthumous, because Washington had died in 1799.

The law made Washington’s effective appointment date July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The Department of the Army issued the formal order in 1978, making the appointment administratively explicit.

General of the Armies is distinct from General of the Army, the five-star rank created during World War II. The higher title had previously been conferred on John J. Pershing in 1919 and was later granted posthumously to Ulysses S. Grant in 2024.