Commanding General of the United States Army

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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

	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended
1.	Lt. Gen. George Washington		15 June 1775	23 December 1783

	Name	Photo	Term began	Term ended
1.	Maj. Gen. Henry Knox		23 December 1783	20 June 1784

	Name	Term began	Term ended
1.	Maj. John Doughty	20 June 1784	12 August 1784)	served when all of the Army but 80 men was discharged
2.	Col./Brig. Gen. Josiah Harmar	12 August 1784	4 March 1791
3.	Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair	4 March 1791	5 March 1792
4.	Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne	13 April 1792	15 December 1796
5.	Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson	15 December 1796	13 July 1798
6.	Lt. Gen. George Washington	13 July 1798	14 December 1799
7.	Maj. Gen. Alexander Hamilton	14 December 1799	15 June 1800
8.	Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson	15 June 1800	27 January 1812
9.	Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn	27 January 1812	15 June 1815
10.	Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown	15 June 1815	June 1821)

	Name	Term began	Term ended
1.	Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown	June 1821	24 February 1828
2.	Maj. Gen. Alexander Macomb	29 May 1828	25 June 1841
3.	Maj. Gen./Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott	5 July 1841	1 November 1861
4.	Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan	1 November 1861	11 March 1862
5.	Maj. Gen. Henry Wager Halleck	23 July 1862	9 March 1864
6.	Gen. Ulysses S. Grant	9 March 1864	4 March 1869
7.	Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman	8 March 1869	1 November 1883
8.	Gen. Philip Sheridan	1 November 1883	5 August 1888
9.	Maj. Gen./Lt. Gen. John Schofield	14 August 1888	29 September 1895
10.	Maj. Gen./Lt. Gen. Nelson A. Miles	5 October 1895	8 August 1903

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

Chronological List of Senior Officers of the United States Army, in Bell, William Gardner. COMMANDING GENERALS AND CHIEFS OF STAFF 1775-2005: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer, Center of Military History, United States Army, 2005. (ISBN 0-16-072376-0)