Ulysses S. Grant (Civil War Ranking System)?
When Ulysses S. Grant was given supreme command over the Union Army by Lincoln, he was promoted to the rank of Lt. General at the same time. But to be a Lieutenant General, it means you are in lieu of a higher ranking General. So my question is who was his higher ranking General, and why wasn’t he given supreme command of the Union Army?
The answer is in Wikipedia if you search “general of the armies.” It all revolved around not exceeding George Washington. Grant, until the end of the war, was in command of the Army of the Potomac, the premier Union force, but not the only one. He ranked Sherman by date of appointment until close to the end when the Wiki info fills in the blanks for you…
