What is Brevet (military)?
[[File:Custer3.jpg|thumb|right|200px|{{Center|Portrait of brevet Maj. Gen. George A. Custer, 1865}}]] A '''brevet''' in most militaries is a [[wikt:promotion|promotion]] to a higher [[rank]] without the increase in [[Salary|pay]] or full [[wikt:privilege|privilege]]s.<ref name=brevetDC>{{cite web |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/brevet |title=brevet |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |access-date=5 July 2016}}</ref> It is often given as an [[honor]].<ref name=brevetDC/> It was a term borrowed from the [[British]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and used in the [[Continental Army]]. Since that time the [[United States Congress]] has had several reasons for granting brevet ranks. In some of these instances the [[officer]] received the higher pay of the breveted rank. The term brevet comes from the [[Latin]] words ''breve'' and ''brevia'' meaning a [[Brief (law)|legal brief]].<ref name=Fry14>James Barnet Fry, ''The History and Legal Effect of Brevets in the Armies of Great Britain and The United States'' (New York: D. Van Nostrand publisher, 1877), p. 14</ref> == Early French armies == In the early history, the [[King of France]] would call on his [[Feudalism|feudal lords]] for troops.<ref name=Fry14/> These feudal lords raised armies and appointed officers, but they did not have the authority to give a rank in the king's army. The king would give a commissioned rank to leaders that would be recognized throughout his army by the use of [[Letters patent]] or brevet.<ref name=Fry14/> Soon all French officers from a cornet (sub-lieutenant) to the [[Marshal of France]] received their commission in this way. They came to be styled ''Officers a'Brevet''.<ref name=Fry14/> The official document granting the brevet was called a ''brevet d'invention''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fr/brevet%20d'invention |title=brevet d'invention |publisher=Vocabulary.com |access-date=5 July 2016}}</ref> == British army == The British army that served in the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] du