Brevet

The U.S. Army used brevets from the Revolution onward. During the Civil War almost every senior Union officer received some brevet, most of them in the war's last months, for gallant or meritorious service.

When an obituary, county history or gravestone gives a high rank, check whether it was a brevet. A man called General may have actually served as a colonel, and his service record will show the real rank he held.