U.S. Army General Officer Button Grouping

The British Army had used different button groupings to indicate various general ranks since the late 1700s. In 1832 the U.S. Army introduced something similar, which lasted into twentieth century. Initially, the senior position of commanding general was recognized by evenly spaced buttons, while other major generals grouped their buttons by threes, and brigadier generals in pairs. When Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general in March, 1864, he kept the same button arrangement as a major general, but when he was promoted to full general in 1866 he adopted buttons in three groups of four. In 1872, Army regulations provided a new arrangement of 3-4-3 to differentiate the lieutenant general from major generals.

General officers' double-breasted blue uniforms were suspended from wear in the First World War and were not re-authorized after the war. However, blue uniforms of the previous regulations were authorized for optional off-duty wear in 1929. In 1936 a new blue dress uniform for officers was prescribed, in a more modern, single-breasted style that did not allow for the generals' distinctive button grouping. In 1938 new blue dress uniforms were required for all officers and the option of wearing the old style was ended.

NOTE: The illustrations in the following table are intended to show the button arrangement only and do not account for variations over time, such as wider, narrower or converging horizontal spacing between the rows.

References:

1. US War Department, Adjutant General's Office, General Order 50, "Establishment of a new uniform for the Army," 11 June 1832.
2. US War Department, General Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1841, p. 365.
3. US War Department, Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Army of the United States, June 1851.
4. US War Department, General Order 75, "Uniform of the General and Lieutenant General," 27 August 1866.
5. US War Department, Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Army of the United States, July 1872.
6. US War Department, Army Regulations No. 600-38, "Dress Uniforms for Officers and Warrant Officers," 17 August 1938.

	1832¹ – 1841	1841² – 1851	1851³ – 1866	1866⁴ – 1872	1872⁵ – 1938⁶
General
Lieutenant General
Major General Commanding the Army
Major General
Brigadier General

Army General Officers Button Grouping