1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Adjutant-General

ADJUTANT-GENERAL, an army official, originally (as indicated by the word) the chief assistant (Lat. adjuvare) staff-officer to a general in command, but now a distinct high functionary at the head of a special office in the British and American war departments. In England the second military member of the Army Council is styled adjutant-general to the forces. He is a general officer and at the head of his department of the War Office, which is charged with all duties relative to personnel. The adjutant-general of the United States army is one of the principal officers in the war department, the head of the bureau for army correspondence, with the charge of the records, recruiting, issue of commissions, &c. Individual American states also have their own adjutant-general, with cognate duties regarding the state militia. In many countries, such as Germany and Russia, the term has retained its original meaning of an officer on the personal staff, and is the designation of personal aides-de-camp to the sovereign.

By a looseness of translation, the superintendents of provinces, in the order of Jesuits, who act as officials under the superintendence of and auxiliary to the general, are sometimes called adjutants-general.