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Originally Posted by Jimbuna

1899 George Dewey becomes 1st in US to hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy.

Actually the only one so designated; all others, Five star admirals FADMs as opposed to Dewey's insignia as Admiral of the Navy A modest man, he always wore his Battle of Manila 'Dewey Medal' on his Admiral of the Navy uniform reversed: so as not to show off his image on the reverse side: There were 1,848 men of the Navy and Marine Corps eligible for the Medal.

The Navy originally had an established precursor 5-star rank of Admiral of the Navy, that was superior to Admiral. The rank used the 1867 regulation Admiral insignia. This rank was established and given only to Admiral George Dewey, in recognition of his victory at Manila Bay in 1898. On March 2, 1899, Congress passed Pub. L. 55–378 approving the creation of the rank. The Senate confirmed Dewey's promotion to that rank on March 14, 1903, and he was officially promoted to Admiral of the Navy on March 24, 1903, with a retroactive date-of-rank of March 2, 1899.one wonders if that incl. the 4 years' back pay??! The congressional act also stipulated that upon Dewey's death, the rank would cease to exist. Dewey died on January 16, 1917, ending the Navy's use of the rank.