General, Lieutenant-. The second rank among general officers, and next below that of general. The normal command of a lieutenant-general is that of a division, but he is sometimes intrusted with the command of an entire army.
General, Major-. The rank next below that of lieutenant-general, and above brigadier-general. He usually commands a division; a general of division.
General Officers. Are all officers whose authority extends beyond the immediate command of a regiment, and who have either separate districts or departments at home, or commands on foreign service. A brigade is the smallest body of men constituting the command of a general officer. In an army of very large proportions, the normal sequence of command would be the following: The general commanding-in-chief, generalissimo, captain-general, or field-marshal would command the whole force; the generals would have separate [corps d’armée]; the lieutenant-generals, wings of those [corps d’armée]; the major-generals, divisions in the wings; and brigadier-generals, brigades in the divisions. In practice, however, an army is rarely large enough to allow of this exact scheme of military hierarchy being carried out; and general officers are also frequently assigned to high commands without regard to seniority. In the U. S. service there are one general, one lieutenant-general (whose offices expire with the present incumbents), three major-generals, and six brigadier-generals. The President is ex officio commander-in-chief of the army. In the English service the sovereign is captain-general, and under the sovereign is the commander-in-chief, who takes rank as field-marshal. In the staff corps the word general is also used, as surgeon-, quartermaster-, adjutant-general, etc., to denote that the holder of the office has charge of his special department, and does not necessarily imply that he is a general officer. The chiefs of staff departments, however, in the U. S. service are usually of the rank of brigadier-general. In the German armies, and among the sovereigns of the North, there are certain generals of cavalry, and others of infantry, who take rank of all lieutenant-generals. In these armies it is usual for generals, lieutenant-generals, and major-generals to take their routine of duty, and rise progressively in the infantry or cavalry corps to which they were originally appointed, until they arrived at a chief command: whereas in France and other countries a major-general might be employed to take charge of either infantry or cavalry, without any regard being paid to the particular line of service in which he was bred.
General Orders. See [Orders].
General’s Guard. See [Garde].
Generalship. The office of general; the exercise of the functions of a general; the skill and conduct of a general officer; military skill in a commander.
Geneva. A walled town of Switzerland, and the capital of a small canton, at the western extremity of the lake of the same name. In 1784 and 1794 revolutions took place in the city and state of Geneva; in 1798 it was taken by the French, and, till 1813, it was the capital of the department Leman, in the French empire, under Napoleon I. In 1814 it joined the Helvetic Confederation.
Geneva, Convention of. In October, 1863, an international convention was held at Geneva, Switzerland, comprising 14 governments, including Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, Prussia and Italy, who were represented by delegates, and propositions were drawn up forming the “Red Cross Society,” for the succor of the wounded in time of warfare. It gave aid to the sick and wounded during the Franco-German war, and its flag is recognized by all powers as neutral.
Genius. In a military sense, natural talent or disposition to every kind of warlike employment, more than any other; or, the aptitude a man has received from nature to perform well and easily that which others can do but indifferently and with a great deal of pains.
Genoa. A fortified maritime city in Northwestern Italy, once a celebrated republic, now the capital of a province of Northwestern Italy. From the 11th to the 18th century Genoa was the capital of a flourishing republic; it was bombarded by the French in 1684, and submitted to the Austrians in 1746; but, in consequence of a citizen having been abused by an Austrian officer, the inhabitants rose and massacred most of the soldiery, and drove away the remainder. The republic in 1798 assumed the French form of government, with the title of Ligurian republic, and in 1805 it was annexed to the French empire. In 1815 it was ceded to the king of Sardinia, and in 1859 the French troops landed here on their route to oppose the Austrian army, which had invaded Sardinia.