United States Army Rank Structure
Uploaded by Brainy81 on Jan 19, 2022
United States Army Rank Structure, 1814
Unified Rank Structure:
Enlisted Grade:
Volunteer - A newly conscripted man into the United States Army from state and territorial militias.
Private - A trained, and fully operational soldier within the United States Army.
Corporal - A Junior Non-Commissioned Officer, this rank is used to denote soldiers with leadership capabilities and to give them basic leadership roles such as commanding a squad or detachment of men for basic operations.
Sergeant - A non-commissioned officer tasked with the duties of commanding troops of men in battle under the direction of superior officers. During the period, a Sergeant had many possible duties and positional appointments, all while being under the same general grade.
Sergeant Appointments: As previously noted, Sergeants during the period were not denoted as much by separate ranks, but by appointments which were virtually superior grades of Sergeants. These appointments served as the predecessors of the current rank structures we know today. Some of these include, but are not limited to:
Company First Sergeant
Quartermaster Sergeant
Regimental Sergeant Major, as well as:
Company, Battalion, and Regimental Flag Bearers
Platoon Sergeants
Line Sergeants
Clerks
Mess Cooks, and a myriad of other things:
These aforementioned ranks serve as the hubris for regimental and company staff positions. As such, they all still fall under a single rank with differing positions and responsibilities. As confusing as it may be, this is the historical and proper structure of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps during the period. Their duties are wide, and their power is great. Take care to listen to your Sergeants Major, and your staff who hold greater power, for they control the vast swaths of men beneath them and fill the duties with whom they are intrusted.
Commissioned Officers:
Ensign - The entry level officer rank, most commonly given to newly appointed officers from West Point and various other military college institutions.
Subaltern - A seasoned company grade officer, the predecessor to the rank and grade of “Second Lieutenant”. This rank is also attributed to being called Coronet in the cavalry corps. Can command platoons.
Lieutenant - Company line officer who serves generally as the Executive Officer of a Company Commander. Can command platoons.
Captain - A Company Commander within the United States.
Major - A Battalion Commander, but mostly served as an Executive Officer within a Regiment.
Lieutenant Colonel - Another Battalion Commander, most commonly seen as actually commanding such units.
Colonel - A Regimental Commander.
Brigadier General - A...