INSIGNIA OF RANK AND CORPS

The rank of an officer of the Army is indicated in two ways, first, by insignia of rank placed upon the epaulets and shoulder knots worn with full dress uniform, upon the shoulder straps worn with dress uniform, upon the cloth shoulder straps of the service coats and white coats and upon the collar of the olive-drab flannel shirt when it is worn without the coat; second, by the insignia upon the sleeves of the full dress coat, the special evening dress coat, the overcoat and the blue and white mess jackets, this braiding being of gold on the full dress coat, special evening dress coat and blue mess jacket, black upon the overcoat and white upon the white mess jacket.

The insignia of rank referred to above for the various ranks of officers, as shown in the illustrations, are as follows:

General—Four silver stars.

Lieutenant General—One large silver star and two smaller ones, one on each side of the larger star.

Major General—Two silver stars, one inch in diameter.

Brigadier General—One silver star, one inch in diameter.

Colonel—A silver spread eagle, three-quarters of an inch high and two inches from tip to tip of wings.

Lieutenant Colonel—A silver oak leaf, one inch high and one inch wide.

Major—A gold oak leaf, one inch high and one inch wide.

Captain—Two silver bars, one inch long and one-quarter of an inch wide.

First Lieutenant—One silver bar, one inch long and one-quarter of an inch wide.

Second Lieutenant—One gold bar, one inch long and one-quarter of an inch wide.

The insignia of rank upon the sleeves of the full dress coat, special evening dress coats, and blue mess jacket, are as follows:

General—A band of oak leaves in gold at the top of the cuff and four silver stars below the band.

Lieutenant General—A band of oak leaves in gold at the top of the cuff and one large silver star and two smaller silver stars, one on each side of the large star, below the band.

Major General—A band of oak leaves in gold at the top of the cuff and two silver stars one inch in diameter, below the band.

Brigadier General—A band of oak leaves in gold at the top of the cuff and one silver star one inch in diameter, below the band.

Colonel—A gold band one-half of an inch wide around the sleeve with a knot of three loops, one large loop placed vertically and two smaller loops placed horizontally at each side below the large loop, the knot being placed above the gold band, the dimensions of the knot being height eight inches and width six and three-quarters inches. The knot for the rank of colonel is composed of five rows of braid one-eighth of an inch wide spaced one-quarter of an inch apart. The insignia indicating the corps, department or arm of the service is worn in the center of the space formed by the lower curves of the knot and the gold band around the sleeve. For chaplains this insignia is a Latin cross of silver.

Lieutenant Colonel—The same as for a colonel except that the knot is composed of four rows of braid.

Major—The same as for a colonel except that the knot is composed of three rows of braid.

Captain—The same as for colonel except that the knot is composed of two rows of braid.

First Lieutenant—The same as for a colonel except that the knot is composed of one row of braid.

Second Lieutenant—There is no knot, the one-half inch band of gold braid around the sleeve with the insignia indicating the corps, department or arm of the service being the only ornamentation on the sleeves.

U. S. Army. Officers’ shoulder straps worn on blue dress coats

1.	General	2.	Lieutenant General
3.	Major General	4.	Brigadier General

U. S. Army. Officers’ shoulder straps worn on blue dress coats

1. Colonel		2. Lieutenant Colonel (Silver leaf)
	3. Captain	Major (Gold leaf)
4. First Lieutenant		5. Second Lieutenant

The sleeves of the white mess jackets have the same insignia to indicate rank and corps as those of the full dress coat but the band around the sleeve and the knot are made of white braid.

The rank of General officers is indicated on the overcoat by silver stars placed between the two bands of black braid on each sleeve.

The corps, department or arm of the service to which an officer belongs is shown in two ways; first, by the color of the “facings,” or distinctive color trimmings of the uniform, and second, by the insignia of the different corps, departments and arms of the service worn upon the collars and also upon the sleeves of the full dress coat, special evening dress coat, mess jackets and overcoat.

Facings.—The facings or distinctive colors for the various corps, departments and arms of the service are as follows:

General Officers	dark blue.
(except the Quartermaster General and Brigadier
Generals of the Quartermaster Corps)
Quartermaster General and Brigadier	buff.
Generals of the Quartermaster Corps	buff.
Adjutant General’s Department	dark blue.
Inspector General’s Department	dark blue.
Judge Advocate General’s Department	dark blue.
Quartermaster Corps	buff.
Ordnance Department	black piped with scarlet.
Signal Corps	orange piped with white.
Medical Corps	maroon.
Corps of Engineers	scarlet piped with white.
Cavalry	yellow.
Artillery	scarlet.
Infantry	light blue.
Chaplains	black.

The insignia to designate the corps, department or arm of the service to which an officer belongs, as shown in the illustrations, are made of bright metal, gold or silver according to the corps, for blue and white uniforms and dull finish bronze for service uniforms. They are worn on the sleeves of the full dress coat, special evening dress coat, blue mess jacket and white mess jacket, and on each side of the collars of the dress coat, service coats and olive-drab flannel shirt.

The bright metal insignia are as follows:

All officers.—The letters “U. S.” in Gothic design, five-eighths of an inch high, each letter followed by a period, are worn on each side of the collar of the dress and service coats. For officers of the Reserve Corps the letter “R” is added and for officers of the Volunteers the letter “V” is added. These letters are of gold except for officers of the Engineer Corps who wear them in silver.

U. S. Army. Officers’ insignia indicating rank

Shoulder straps worn on the olive-drab service coats
and the white coat

1.	General	2.	Lieutenant General
3.	Major General	4.	Brigadier General

U. S. Army. Officers’ insignia indicating rank

Shoulder straps worn on the olive-drab service coats
and the white coat

1. Colonel	2. Lieutenant Colonel (Silver leaf),
	Major (Gold leaf)
3. Captain.	4. First Lieutenant (Silver Bar),
5. Field Clerk	Second Lieutenant (Gold Bar)

General Staff Corps.—A gold five-pointed star one and a quarter inches in diameter surmounted by the coat of arms of the United States in gold and enamel.

Corps of Engineers.—The letters “U. S.” of silver and a turretted castle of silver.

Chaplains.—A silver Latin cross.

Adjutant General’s Department.—A gold shield one inch high.

Inspector General’s Department.—A sword and fasces of gold, crossed and surmounted by a gold wreath with the inscription “Droit et Avant” in blue enamel on the wreath.

Judge Advocate General’s Department.—A sword and pen crossed and surmounted by a wreath, all of gold.

Quartermaster Corps.—A sword and a key crossed on a wheel surmounted by an eagle, in gold except the rim of the wheel which is in blue enamel set with thirteen gold stars.

Medical Corps.—A caduceus of gold.

Medical Reserve Corps.—The same surmounted by the letters “R. C.” in bronze.

Sanitary Corps.—The same surmounted by the letters “S. C.”

Dental Surgeons.—The same surmounted by the letters “D. C.” in bronze.

Acting Dental Surgeons.—The same in silver with gold letters.

Ordnance Department.—A flaming spherical shell of gold.

Signal Corps.—Two crossed signal flags with a vertical torch at the center, all of gold.

Cavalry.—Two sabers of gold crossed with the number of the regiment in the angle above them.

Field Artillery.—Two field guns of gold crossed with the number of the regiment in the angle above them.

Coast Artillery.—Two gold cannons crossed, surmounted at the center by an oval of red enamel with a gold projectile point up.

Infantry.—Two gold rifles crossed with the number of the regiment in the angle above them.

Philippine Scouts.—The same as for infantry but with the letter “P” in the angle above the crossed rifles.

Porto Rico Regiment.—The same but with the letters “P. R.”

Aides-de-camp.—A shield of the United States surmounted by a spread eagle of gold, the stripes of the shield red and white and the field blue enamel with gold stars, the number of which correspond to the rank of the General officer upon whose staff the aide-de-camp is serving.

Regimental Staff Officers.—Regimental adjutants and quartermasters have the devices of the insignia of the Adjutant General’s Department or of the Quartermaster Corps respectively in the angle below the insignia of their arm of the service.

Veterinarians.—An insignia consisting of a caduceus surcharged with the letters V. C.

Assistant Inspectors of small arms practise for regiments of the Organized Militia wear the insignia of the arm of the service to which the regiment belongs with the number of the regiment above it and a bursting shell below it.

Officers’ Buttons.—The design for Engineers is an eagle with the motto “Essayons” above a fort and rising sun, and for other officers it is the U. S. coat of arms.

U. S. Army. Officers’ collar insignia indicating arm of the Service, Corps or Department

1. All officers of the Regular Army	2. All officers of the National Army
3. All officers of the Reserve	4. All officers of the National Guard
5. Quartermaster Corps	6. Signal Corps
7. Inspector General’s Department	8. Judge Advocate General’s Department

U. S. Army. Officers’ collar insignia indicating arm of
the Service, Corps or Department

1. Adjutant General’s Department	2. General Staff Corps
3. Medical Corps	4. Sanitary Corps
5. Veterinary Corps	6. Chaplain

Uniform and Insignia of the Cadets at the
U. S. Military Academy, West Point, N. Y.

The Corps of Cadets at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N. Y., is organized into Battalions of four companies each. The Corps of Cadets is commanded by an officer of the Army especially detailed for this duty, who, unless of actual higher rank, has the local rank and pay of a Lieutenant Colonel while performing this duty.

The Battalions are commanded by officers of the Army detailed from the Department of Tactics of the Military Academy and while performing the duty of Battalion Commanders they have the rank and pay of Majors.

The other officers of the Corps of Cadets are selected from the cadets at the Academy, the grades of rank being as follows:

Captain.
Adjutant.
Quartermaster.
Lieutenant.
Sergeant Major.
Quartermaster Sergeant.
First Sergeant.
Company Quartermaster Sergeant.
Sergeant.
Corporal.
Privates First Class, according to class standing.
Privates Second Class, according to class standing.
Privates Third Class, according to class standing.
Privates Fourth Class, according to class standing.

The insignia of these various ranks, worn on the full dress coat, are as follows:

Captains.—Chevrons of four stripes of single gold lace braid on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Adjutant.—Chevrons of three stripes of single gold lace braid on a black background with three arcs of the same braid beneath, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Quartermaster.—Chevrons of three stripes of single gold lace braid with three horizontal stripes of the same braid beneath on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Lieutenants.—Chevrons of three stripes of single gold lace braid on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Sergeant Major.—Chevrons of two stripes of single gold lace braid with two arcs of the same braid beneath on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Quartermaster Sergeant.—Chevrons of two stripes of single gold lace braid with two horizontal stripes of the same braid beneath on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

First Sergeants.—Chevrons of two stripes of single gold lace braid with a diamond shaped lozenge in the angle beneath, on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Company Quartermaster Sergeants.—Chevrons of two stripes of single gold lace braid with one horizontal stripe beneath, on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Sergeants.—Chevrons of two stripes of single gold lace braid on a black background, on each arm above the elbow, points up.

Color Bearer.—Chevrons the same as for sergeants with a star in the angle beneath.

Corporals.—Chevrons of two stripes of single gold lace braid on a black background, on each arm below the elbow, points up.

Color Corporals.—Chevrons the same as for corporals with a star in the angle beneath.

U. S. Army. Officers’ collar insignia indicating arm of
the Service, Corps or Department

1. Aide-de-camp to General Officer	2. Ordnance Corps
3. Engineer Corps	4. Adjutant of Engineer Corps
5. Field Artillery	6. Coast Artillery

U. S. Army. Officers’ collar insignia indicating arm of
the Service, Corps or Department

1. Cavalry

2. Infantry

3. Adjutant of Infantry

4. Quartermaster of Infantry

On the dress coats and overcoats the chevrons worn by the Cadet Officers are of the same designs as those above described for the full dress coats except that they are made of black cloth on a gray background and those worn on the overcoats are of only one-third the size of those for the full dress and dress coats.

The Cadets are divided into four classes according to the year’s course they are pursuing, the first class corresponding to the seniors at a college, the second class corresponding to the juniors, the third class corresponding to the sophomores and the fourth class corresponding to the freshmen.

The class to which a Cadet belongs is indicated by stripes worn upon the sleeves of the full dress and dress coats and the overcoat, three stripes for the first class, two stripes for the second class, one stripe for the third class and none for the fourth class, thus each stripe shows one year of service as a Cadet.

On the sleeves of the full dress coat these stripes are of gold soutache braid placed diagonally across the outer side between the wrist and the elbow; on the sleeves of the overcoat they are the same as for the full dress coat except that they are made of black soutache braid; and for the dress coat the stripes are of black soutache braid placed across the outer side of the sleeve parallel to the broad black braid on the cuff.

Cadets who are classed as “Distinguished” on account of high standing in their studies and drills wear a five-pointed gold star on each side of the collar of the full dress and dress coats.

The uniforms of the West Point cadets are of gray cloth for wear during the winter and of white duck for wear during the summer, the color of the winter uniforms being that which is usually known as “cadet gray.” Each cadet is required to have complete outfits of full dress, dress and white uniforms.

Their full dress uniform consists of a full dress coat, gray or white trousers, full dress hat, black leather shoes, white waist-belt and white cross-belts. Cadet officers wear a plume of black feathers in the hat, a white sword belt and a red silk sash. The Cadet Sergeant Major, Cadet Quartermaster Sergeant and Cadet First Sergeants wear a white sword belt and a red silk sash.

The full dress coat is of gray cloth, fitting closely, single-breasted, with three rows of gilt bell buttons down the front, eight buttons in each row, one row in the center and one row on each side, the coat being cut away just below the waist line across the front and having short skirts behind. The skirts of the coat have twelve gilt bell buttons, three down the plait of each skirt, the upper one at the waist, and three placed lengthwise on each skirt. The coat has a square standing collar with one bell button on each side. Each cuff has three bell buttons. The collar, front of the coat, the cuffs and the skirt of the coat are trimmed with black silk cord in designs as shown in the illustration.

Copyright, 1908, by Brig. General J. B. Aleshire, Qr. Master General. U. S. A.

Cadets, U. S. Military Academy

Full dress, dress and service uniforms

1. Cadet, Sergeant (Dress)

2. Cadet, Private (Campaign Uniform)

3. Cadet, Corporal (Dress)

4. Cadet, First Sergeant (Full Dress)

5. Cadet, Captain (Full Dress)

6. Cadet, Adjutant (Full Dress)

7. Cadet, Private (Full Dress)

8. Captain of Infantry (Full Dress)

The trousers for winter wear with both the full dress and dress uniforms are of gray cloth with black stripes one and one-half inches wide down the outer seams.

The full dress hat is of black felt, bell-crowned, six inches high, with a sloping visor. It is trimmed with gilt decorations, bears the insignia of the Military Academy on a gilt plate in front, has a black pompon set in a gilt socket on the front at the center (a black plume being worn by cadet officers, instead of the pompon), and a gilt scale chain strap worn above the visor.

When mounted the cadets wear gray cloth breeches and riding leggings instead of trousers.

The dress uniform of the cadets consists of a dress coat, dress cap, gray or white trousers, black leather shoes, white waist-belt and white cross-belts and leather gloves. Cadet officers wear a white sword belt and a worsted sash.

The dress coat is of gray cloth, single-breasted, with a straight standing collar, closed down the center of the front by buttons concealed beneath a fly, the coat reaching to about nine inches below the waist. The coat is trimmed around the collar, down the front, around the bottom edge and up the side seams of the back with black mohair braid one inch wide, the braid down the front being double. There is also one stripe of the same braid around each sleeve two and one-half inches from the lower edge of the cuff.

The dress cap is of gray cloth, bell-crowned, three and one-half inches high, with a band of black mohair braid one and three-quarter inches wide and a sloping visor of black patent leather. In the front and center of the cap is worn the insignia of the United States Military Academy in gilt metal one and three-quarter inches high.

The overcoat is of gray kersey, double-breasted, with six buttons on each side down the front, coat to reach within ten inches of the ground when the wearer is standing. It has a stand and fall collar five inches deep. There are also two buttons at the hip and one at the bottom of each plait behind. All of the buttons are gilt, seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, and bear the arms of the U. S. Military Academy with the word “Cadet” around the margin at the top and the letters “U. S. M. A.” around the margin at the bottom. There is also a cape of the same material as the coat, cut circular, extending to the hip buttons. The coat and cape are lined with gray woolen material.

The raincoat is a sleeveless sack overcoat of gray waterproof material with a cape attached to the coat, the skirts of the coat extending to within eight inches of the ground.

The cadets are also furnished with a gray woolen shirt which is sometimes worn at drills without the coat.

At certain of the drills and exercises a service hat of felt similar to the “campaign hat” is worn.

UNIFORM AND INSIGNIA OF FIELD CLERKS,
U. S. ARMY

By the Act of Congress of August 29, 1917, the grades of Army Field Clerk and Field Clerk Quartermaster Corps were established in the United States Army. These officers are appointed by the Secretary of War and take precedence in rank next after Cadets and before all noncommissioned officers, so that their position is similar in relative rank to that of Warrant officers in the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

The Army Field Clerks belong to the Adjutant General’s Department and the Field Clerks Quartermaster Corps are a part of that corps.

They wear the same uniform as commissioned officers, omitting all insignia of rank and the brown bands of braid around the cuffs of the service coat. On their service hats they wear a hat cord of black and silver twisted strands.

Army Field Clerks wear on each side of the collar of the service coat a bronze insignia consisting of two quill pens crossed with a miniature adjutant general’s shield in the lower angle.

Field Clerks Quartermaster Corps wear on each side of the collar of the service coat a bronze insignia consisting of two quill pens crossed with a miniature Quartermaster Corps insignia in the lower angle.