British Army General Officers

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Origin and History

On the eve of the Seven Years' War, in 1755, the British Army General Officers were organised as follows:

• Captain-General: [[Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (also colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards)
• Generals (Full)
  • Sir Robert Rich (also colonel of the 4th Regiment of Dragoons)
  • Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth (also colonel of the 5th Regiment of Dragoons in the Irish Establishment)
  • William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington and Viscount Petersham (also colonel of the2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards)
  • Sir John Ligonier (also colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards and colonel-en-second of the Royal Regiment of Artillery)
• Lieutenant Generals: about 31 individuals
• Major Generals: about 35 individuals
• Brigadier Generals: not a permanent rank; temporary rank only used in wartime; typically a colonel appointed to lead a corps of several regiments.

Note: General Officers would not include standard colonels and below. For these ranks, please refer to our article British Line Infantry Organisation.

References

Steward, Nicholas: A List of the Officers of the British Army to August 1755, Steward Archives, Salem, Massachusetts, 2015

Acknowledgement

Kenneth P. Dunne for the initial version of this article