Major General is a two-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-8. Major General ranks above
Brigadier General and below
Lieutenant General. Major General is equivalent to a Rear Admiral (upper half) in the other uniformed services.
The rank of Major General was abolished as a rank of the U.S. Army by the Act of March 16, 1802 [11] and restored by the Act of January 11, 1812 [12] as preparations were being made for the War of 1812. Major General has been a rank in the U.S. Army ever since.
Until the American Civil War, Major General was the highest rank that could be attained by an officer in the U.S. Army, though Winfield Scott had been given the brevet (honorary) rank of Lieutenant General [13] in 1855. This was a consequence of the fact that at his death George Washington was officially listed as holding the rank of Major general, rather than full general, and it was regarded as improper for an officer to hold a rank equal to or superior to Washington's. To address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies ("six star general") in 1976.
The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to wear three stars according to General Order No. 6 of March 13, 1861. [14] When Ulysses S. Grant was appointed Lieutenant General on March 9, 1864 [15] and took command of the Union forces, he used the three star insignia formerly assigned to that position.
There was no Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps until Commandant Charles Heywood was specially promoted by Act of Congress in July 1902. From his retirement on October 3, 1903, Brigadier General was again the highest rank in the Marine Corps until May 21, 1908 when the office of Commandant was raised to the rank of Major General. It remained the highest rank in the Marine Corps until January 20, 1942 when the office of Commandant was raised to the rank of Lieutenant General.
