Captain general
Captain general is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title.
History
The term captain general started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander-in-chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term general in military settings. A popular term in the 16th and 17th centuries, but with various meanings depending on the country, it became less and less used in the 18th century, usually replaced with, simply, general or field marshal; and after the end of the Napoleonic Wars it had all but disappeared in most European countries, except Spain and former colonies. See also Feldhauptmann. Other ranks of general officer, as distinct from field officer, had the suffix "general"; e.g. brigadier general, colonel general, major general, lieutenant general.Republic of Venice
In the Republic of Venice, it meant the commander-in-chief in war time. The captain general of the land forces was usually a foreign mercenary or condottiere, but the Venetian navy was always entrusted to a member of the city's patriciate, who became Captain General of the Sea. It is at least documented since 1370 and was used up to the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797.Great Britain
From 30 June to 22 October 1513, Catherine of Aragon held the titles Governor of the Realm and Captain General of the King's Forces as Queen Regent of England, winning the Battle of Flodden against a Scottish invasion while Henry VIII was in France fighting the Battle of the Spurs.Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
In the mid-17th century, with the first establishment in England of something akin to a standing army, the title Captain General was used to signify its commanding officer. In 1645 Thomas Fairfax was appointed "Captain General and Commander-in-Chief all the armies and forces raised and to be raised within the Commonwealth of England." After the Restoration, King Charles II likewise designated General Monck "Captaine Generall of all our Armies and land forces and men … in and out of our Realmes of England, Scotland and Ireland and Dominion of Wales";. The office then remained in abeyance until 1678 when it was granted to the Duke of Monmouth, but he was deprived of this and other titles the following year. There were no subsequent appointments until the reign of Queen Anne.In the 18th century, the office of Captain General was held by the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Ormonde and the Duke of Marlborough again. Thereafter there was no permanent Commander-in-Chief or equivalent appointed until 1744; the following year the office of Captain General was vested in Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Cumberland resigned in 1757; his successors in command were for the most part appointed Commander-in-Chief but not Captain General, with one exception: the last appointment of a Captain General of the Forces was that of Prince Frederick, the Duke of York in 1799.
Any distinction that there may have been at this time between the office of "Captain General" and "Commander-in-Chief" is unclear. One difference is that the Commander-in-Chief was appointed by commission and the Captain General by patent, leading some to surmise that the appointment of Captain General was 'one of dignity, not of power'; however the matter is somewhat academic as most Captains General held the appointment of Commander-in-Chief simultaneously.
Other uses
Since the 17th century the title Captain General has been in use in England for the titular head of the Honourable Artillery Company and in Scotland for the senior officer of the Royal Company of Archers.In 1947 the position of Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Marines was changed by its incumbent, King George VI, to that of Captain General Royal Marines; likewise, the position of Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Artillery was changed by its incumbent, George VI, to Captain General.
The formal head of the Combined Cadet Force is also titled Captain General.
New South Wales
From 1787 to 1837, the Governor of New South Wales was referred to as Captain-General.Prussia
In Prussia a Generalkapitän was the commander of the castle guard and lifeguards.United States
In the Thirteen United Colonies and, later, the United States of America, during the American Revolutionary War, George Washington was the "Captain-General and Commander in Chief of the Forces." George Washington is the only general in the United States to be referred to as "Captain-General" of the armed forces.Connecticut
In Connecticut, the state Constitution of 1965 states that the Governor is also the Captain General of the Connecticut State Militia.Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, the Governor holds two different military titles. According to Article IX, section 3 of the Rhode Island Constitution, the Governor holds the titles of "captain-general" and "Commander-in-Chief".Vermont
The 1786 Constitution of Vermont, which became effective when Vermont was an independent country and continued in effect for two years after Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791, says "The Governor shall be captain-general and commander-in-chief of the forces of the State, but shall not command in person, except advised thereto by the Council, and then only as long as they shall approve thereof." The language remained in the 1793 Constitution of Vermont.Netherlands
was appointed to the office of "Captain General of the Union" and "Admiral General" of the Dutch Republic in 1587. This was a "confederal" office, under the States General of the Netherlands. He was also stadtholder of five of the seven provinces, which was a provincial appointive office, under the sovereign States of the several provinces. Maurice's nephew William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg was concurrently also a stadtholder but he held a normal commission in the States Army. The office was not hereditary, but after 1747 only members of the House of Orange-Nassau could be appointed to it.Spain
By the late 15th century, the title Captain General, besides being the usual meaning of commander-in-chief in the field, was also linked to the highest commander of specialized military branches, usually signaling the independence of that particular corps.No later than the fall of Granada the title was conferred also on officers with full jurisdiction of every person subject to fuero militar in a region. Those officers usually also acted as commanders for the troops and military establishments in their area and, as time passed, those duties were mostly united in the highest civilian authority of the area. During the period of Spanish rule in much of Latin America there were several Captaincies of the Spanish Empire. The military post of captain general as highest territorial commander lasted in Spain until the early 1980s.
Army
In the late 17th or very early 18th century, a personal rank of captain general was created in the Spanish Army as the highest rank in the hierarchy, not unlike the Marechal de France. When wearing uniform, the kings used captain general insignia. Valeriano Weyler, Governor General of Cuba in 1896–97 during the period preceding the Spanish–American War, held the rank. Briefly abolished by the Second Spanish Republic, it was restored during the regime of Francisco Franco in 1938; Franco himself was the only officer of this rank. Later King Juan Carlos I, Agustín Muñoz Grandes and Camilo Alonso Vega were promoted while on active duty; a few posthumous promotions and promotions of retired officers to this rank were also made. In 1999, the rank was reserved to the reigning monarch.Navy
The evolution of the title in the Spanish Navy is parallel to that of the army. During the 16th and 17th century the two main naval captain general posts were Capitán-General de la Armada del Mar Océano and Capitán-General de Galeras, roughly Commander-in-Chief for the Atlantic and the Mediterranean respectively.A peculiar usage of the rank arose in the Spanish Navy of the 16th century. A capitán-general was appointed by the king as the leader of a fleet, with full jurisdictional powers. The fleet second-in-command was the 'almirante', an officer appointed by the capitan-general and responsible for the seaworthiness of the squadron. One captain-general that sailed under the Spanish flag that is now well known was Ferdinand Magellan, leader of the first fleet to sail around the world.
Under the Nationalist regime of 1939–1975, the only holder of the rank of capitán general de la armada was the Caudillo, Generalísimo Francisco Franco.
Air force
The rank of Captain General of the Air Force, originally created by Franco for himself, currently is reserved for the reigning monarch.Portugal
Army
The title was given, in 1508, to the commander-in-chief of the Ordenanças.During the Portuguese Restoration War, after 1640, the "Captain-General of the Arms of the Kingdom", became the commander-in-chief of the Portuguese Army, under the direct authority of the War Council and the King. In 1762 the post of the captain-general was replaced by the title marechal-general – fieldmarshall-general.