United States Army Adjutant General ' s Corps The Adjutant General Corps . Branch is a branch of the United States Army first established in 1775 . History . The Adjutant General ' s Corps dates back to the formation of the American Army . Horatio Gates , a former British Army officer , is honored as the father of the Adjutant General ' s Corps . On 16 June 1775 , the Continental Congress appointed him as the first Adjutant General to George Washington with the commission of a brigadier general . Historically , he was the second officer to receive a commission in the Continental Army , preceded only by George Washington . With that appointment , the second oldest existing branch of the Army was born . General Gates ' primary duty was to serve as key advisor and principal assistant to General Washington . Through his skill and ability , he organized the state militias into what became the Continental Army . Horatio Gates proved himself an able assistant as well as a competent field commander . Under his leadership , the Continental Army won the battle of Saratoga — considered by many to be the turning point of the Revolutionary War . Following this important strategic victory over the British , the Continental Congress awarded what was then our nation ' s highest honor , the Congressional Gold Medal . The use of the Horatio Gates Bronze and Gold Medals , which recognize superior achievement and service to the Regiment , dates from this important event . Adjutant General Corps officers served in the War of 1812 . Two men in particular who served as the Adjutant General during this period rose to prominence . General Alexander Macomb gained fame by repulsing the British in the Battle of Plattsburgh , and later becoming the Commanding General of the Army ; Zebulon Pike , the famous explorer , died in battle while leading the attack on York , Canada . With the appointment of Brevet Brigadier General Roger Jones in 1825 , the office grew in importance . During his tenure , General Jones molded the office of the Adjutant General into the central bureau of the War Department . Adjutants General became the only officers invested with the authority to speak and sign official correspondence " for the commander " . Recognizing this , the Army began appointing West Point graduates almost exclusively as Adjutants General from 1839 through the early 1900s . The first two graduates so appointed , Samuel Cooper and Lorenzo Thomas , served with distinction as Adjutants General during the Civil War . Cooper served the Confederacy , while Thomas served the Union . In 1861 , two assistant Adjutants General , Major McDowell and Captain Franklin , drew up the plans to organize the more than 500 , 000 men who volunteered to fight for the Union . Their efforts , and others like them on both sides , built the massive armies of our Civil War years . Following the Civil War , Brigadier General Edward Townsend took on the mission of compiling all the records of the war , both North and South . The Adjutant General ' s Department ' s " War of the Rebellion : Official Records " became an invaluable contribution to American military history . The Department also discharged more than 800 , 000 men and enlisted 36 , 000 new recruits for the post Civil War Regular Army . On 14 December 1872 , the Adjutant General ' s Department adopted the old topographic engineer shield as its own branch insignia . The shield symbolized the Adjutant General ' s role of speaking " for the commander " . Thirteen embossed stars replaced the " T . E . " on the upper shield , creating the crest worn by all Adjutant General ' s Corps officers of today . By the onset of the Spanish - American War in 1898 , the Adjutant General ' s Office had evolved as the central coordinating bureau in the Army ( continuing the legacy it developed during the Civil War ) . Major General William H . Carter , under the direction of visionary Secretary of War Elihu Root , continued our modernization efforts by implementing the general staff concept based upon European models . The Adjutant General ' s Department and the newly organized general staff evolved over the years as some functions were transferred and others modified . Several functions , formally part of the Adjutant General ' s Office , now evolved into independent staff agencies after World War I . The Inspector General , the Provost Marshal , the Assistant Chief for Intelligence , and the Chief of Military History all owe their beginnings to The Adjutant ' s General Office . During World War II , more than 15 , 000 officers , soldiers , and civilians served in the Office of the Adjutant General . By the end of the war , the Adjutant General ' s Corps processed more than six million soldiers back into civilian life . In what has been described as one of the most successful administrative tasks ever carried out , the AG Corps processed nearly one - half million discharges a month in accomplishing this difficult mission . Since World War II , the Adjutant General ' s Corps has been combat tested on several far - flung battlefields such as Korea , Vietnam , Grenada , Panama , and , most recently , in the Persian Gulf War ( Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm ) . AG soldiers mobilized 139 , 207 reserve component soldiers ( equating to 1 , 045 Reserve and National Guard units of all types ) , recalled 1 , 386 retirees to active duty , deployed 1 , 600 Army civilians to Southwest Asia , processed over 10 , 000 individual and unit replacements , and delivered more than 27 , 000 tons of mail to deployed Army forces . Branch insignia . A silver metal and enamel shield 1 inch in height on which are thirteen vertical stripes , 7 silver and 6 red ; on a blue chief 1 large and 12 small silver stars . The basic design — the shield from the Coat of Arms of the United States — was adopted in 1872 as a solid shield of silver , bearing thirteen stars . In 1924 , this design was authorized to be made in gold metal with the colors red , white , and blue in enamel . In December 1964 , the insignia was changed to silver base metal with silver stars and silver and red enamel stripes . Branch Plaque The plaque design has the branch insignia in proper colors on a white background and the branch designation in silver letters . The rim is gold . A silver color metal and enamel device 1 1 / 8 inches in height consisting of a shield blazoned : Azure ( dark blue ) within a border Gules , an inescutcheon paly of thirteen Argent and Gules , on a chief Azure a mullet Argent between a pattern of twelve of the like ( as on The Adjutant General ' s insignia of branch ) , and enclosed in base by two laurel branches Or . Attached above the shield a silver scroll inscribed with the numerals " 1775 " in red and attached below the shield a silver triparted scroll inscribed " DEFEND AND SERVE " in dark blue . The Regimental Insignia was approved on 23 December 1986 . The coat of arms appears on the breast of a displayed eagle on the regimental flag . The coat of arms is : Azure ( dark blue ) within a bordure per bordure Argent and Gules , an inescutcheon paly of thirteen Argent and Gules ; on a chief Azure a mullet Argent between a pattern of twelve of the like ( as on The Adjutant General ' s Corps insignia of branch ) , all within a bordure Argent and enclosed in base by two laurel leaves Or . Displayed above the eagle ' s head is the crest ( On a wreath of the colors Argent and Azure the numerals " 1775 " Gules . ) Dark blue and scarlet are branch colors of The Adjutant General ' s Corps . The inner white border signifies unity and the good conscience of those who have done their duty . The inner red , white and blue shield is the insignia of The Adjutant General ' s Corps and the gold laurel wreath around its base stands for excellence in accomplishing the mission . The " 1775 " in the crest is the year The Adjutant General ' s Corps was created . The color red symbolizes valor and the blood shed in our war for independence . Dark blue piped with Scarlet . Dark Blue - 65012 cloth ; 67126 yarn ; PMS 539 . Scarlet - 65006 cloth ; 67111 yarn ; PMS 200 . The pompons on the Adjutant Generals ' caps were topped with white in 1851 . The facings were listed in the specification for the Adjutant General ' s uniform in September 1915 as dark blue . In Circular number 70 dated 28 October 1936 , the Adjutant General ' s Corps and the National Guard Bureau exchanged colors and the present colors were established for the Adjutant General ' s Corps . The blue used in the branch insignia is ultramarine blue rather than the branch color . 16 June 1775 . The post of Adjutant General was established 16 June 1775 , and has been continuously in operation since that time . The Adjutant General ' s Department , by that name , was established by the act of 3 March 1813 and was redesignated The Adjutant General ' s Corps in 1950 . Current configuration . The United States Army Adjutant General School is currently at Fort Jackson .