Generals get their starts by moving up in rank in the military. Each amount of stars stand for a different rank.
There are Inspectors General, Attorney Generals and four different levels of Military Generals starting with Brigadier General (One Star), Major General (Two Stars), Lieutenant General (Three Stars) and General (with Four Stars).
4 star generals are in the US
on their shoulders bye leave
generals-1-4 stars, 5-star outranks all. they're all called Generals....crz
On 18 June 1780.
One star: Brigadier General. Two stars: Major General Three Stars: Lieutenant General Four Stars: General Five Stars: General of the Armies (rare).
Their rank insignia will usually be stars, though some nations may use other devices.
Because there has never been a General to surrender in that rank like the other ranks
South, fourth on the seniority list of full generals (four stars) from August 1861.
Four-star generals are among the highest-ranking officers in the United States military. As of October 2023, notable four-star generals include the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Additionally, there are four-star generals in various combatant commands and other senior leadership positions across the military branches. The precise list of four-star generals can change frequently due to retirements and new appointments.
There were well over one thousand men who served as brigadier generals or higher during the war, over 600 for the Union and about 425 for the Confederacy.The highest ranking Union general was Ulysses Grant, who was a lieutenant general (three stars). He was the only one in the Union army at this rank. All other Union generals were major generals (two stars) or brigadier generals (one star). George Washington had been a lieutenant general in the Revolution and out of reverence for his memory the Union army believed that no one should have the same rank as Washington. This caused problems as some men promoted early in the war to major general (two stars) did not work out to be good commanders, but there they were with seniority over all later-appointed major generals. For this reason Grant was finally made a three star in March, 1864, so he would clearly outrank all other Union generals.The Confederacy had no problems with raising officers to three star and four star rank. There were eight full generals (four stars) in the Confederate army, in order of seniority Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, Pierre G. T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, Edmund Kirby Smith and John Bell Hood. There were over thirty three star Confederate generals.
As of June 23, 2008, there are 57 active-duty woman serving as generals in the armed services, five of whom are lieutenant generals, according to the Pentagon. On that date, Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody was nominated to the rank of general. If approved by the Senate, she will be the first woman in the U.S. military to wear four stars.