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Army officer rank insignia evolved into 20th century

Today’s Army officers wear insignia of rank on their uniforms. The American version of this time-honored military practice began with Gen. George Washington in 1780 and evolved as the Army itself changed over the years.

“When Washington took command of the 14,500-man Continental Army in 1775, there was no standard uniform for officers or enlisted men, much less any standard insignia of rank,” uniform expert William K. Emerson said in a recent interview.

“But Washington needed some way to identify the four major generals and eight brigadier generals authorized by Congress, and so he started a rank system by wearing a light blue ribbon on his coat — reflecting that he was the commander in chief — and having his major and brigadier generals wear pink ribbons.”

Today’s officer rank insignia officially began in June 1780, when Washington abandoned blue and pink ribbons in favor of stars: Brigadier generals wore one star and major generals wore two stars on their epaulettes.

Experts differ as to why Washington selected stars for rank insignia. Some say he was inspired by the stars on the new American flag. But it is more likely that he chose stars because French flag officers of the time wore stars and, given the involvement of French forces in the American Revolution, it made sense to select rank insignia that would be recognized. The first three-star general was Washington himself, who was appointed a lieutenant general by Congress in 1798.

The next rank familiar to soldiers today was created in 1832, when colonels began wearing eagles. The eagle’s status as the national symbol and its presence in the U.S. coat of arms explains the choice.

At first, these eagles were both gold and silver — depending on the color of the epaulette. In 1851, however, all eagles became silver. The metal insignia familiar to soldiers today first came into use in 1902. It was not until 1926 that colonel’s eagles were made in pairs so that their heads would face to the wearer’s front.

In 1836, the War Department directed lieutenant colonels and majors to wear leaves to denote their rank. These leaves were embroidered on the shoulder straps of the uniform coat, and the color of the leaves depended on the border of the strap. Because this meant that some lieutenant colonels wore gold leaves and some silver, the practice ended in 1851, when the Army decided that all lieutenant colonels would wear silver leaves and all majors would wear gold leaves.

In 1836, captains and lieutenants — who had previously worn lace chevrons to denote their ranks — wore two bars and one bar, respectively, to reflect their officer status. At first, the bars could be either gold or silver but in 1872 all bars were silver.

Second lieutenants had no rank insignia, but the fact that they wore an officer uniform made them identifiable. Not until the U.S. entered World War I did second lieutenants get their own rank. In December 1917, the most junior Army officers put gold bars on their shoulders.

The last Army officer rank to be created was that of general of the Army. On Dec. 16, 1944, Congress confirmed George C. Marshall as the first person to hold this five-star rank. Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Henry H. Arnold followed. The last general of the Army was Omar N. Bradley, who received his fifth star in September 1950.

Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and is the regimental historian for the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. His e-mail address is borchfj@ aol.com. Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net.