Sergeant major general is a now mostly extinct name of
military rank
Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...
. A prominent example was
Philip Skippon in the English
New Model Army as organized by
Oliver Cromwell.
Over the course of the 17th century, the increasing professionalisation of armies saw sergeant major general become the most junior of the general ranks. At the same time, the ''
sergeant'' portion of the title was more and more commonly dropped; by the early 18th century, the rank's name had been permanently shortened to
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
.
Since sergeant major general had ranked below
lieutenant general, the newly named rank of major general appeared to create a precedence issue, in that a
major outranks a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
but a lieutenant general outranks a major general. This continues to cause confusion to those unfamiliar with the history of the rank, particularly in those armies using insignia similar to the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
. The rank is sometimes used by paramilitary organizations such as militias.{{cn, date=February 2019
Military ranks