Captain General

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Captain General is a military rank which was formerly relatively common within various European forces, usually ranking above a lieutenant general, in the current location of a full General. In the present day, the rank is effectively extinct but still may be found rarely under certain circumstances.

The rank of Captain General was first created when the term "general" was added to certain leading officers on the battlefields of Europe during the Middle Ages. The first such general rank was that of sergeant major general (now just major general), followed by lieutenant general and captain general. An even higher rank, colonel general also existed and has survivied into the modern age

In lower ranks, the rank of captain is located between lieutenant and colonel. From this, the rank of captain general follows to be where the present rank of General currently stands. It is likely that the word "captain" was simply dropped over time, much like how sergeant was dropped from sergeant major general to form major general. In some Commonwealth nations, Captain-General is still an active rank reserved for the British Sovereign in certain military units.

A much older usage of the term Captain General arose in the navies of the 16th century. A Captain General was appointed as the leader of an entire vessel, where the Pilot would in fact captain the ship. The Captain General was, in such cases, usually an Army officer with little or no navigation and seamanship skill, but still by senority considered the senior officer of a vessel. In situations where the Captain General was killed or removed from post, the Pilot would become the Pilot Major or Captain Pilot. The navies of the Netherlands and Belgium were most common in using this practice of the rank Captain General.

A Captain General can also be:

• Commander of all military forces in a Vice-Regal Domain
• The next grade of general above brigadier general or colonel commandant
• The next grade of general above major general
• The next grade of general below full general
• The equivalent to a General of the Army (this is the current situation in Spain with the rank of Capitán general)

Currently in the United Kingdom the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines is the Captain-General, currently HRH Prince Philip.

In fiction

In J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Boromir is considered to be a captain general of Gondor.

In the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, "Captain-General" is the highest rank of the Ever Victorious Army of Seanchan, excepting only the rank of Marshal-General, which may be temporarily assigned to a Captain-General given the command of a war. In addition, Captain-General is also the title of both the leader of the Queen's Guard of Andor and the head of the Green Ajah of the Aes Sedai.

See also

• General, a description of the various general officer ranks, including the full general which is the successor to captain general.
• Captaincy General, a division of viceroyalty
• List of senior officers of the British Army
• Queen Elizabeth II's honorary military positionses:Capitán General