Brevet
an honorary rank in the army. If the individual receiving it is a member of the regular army of the United States, the commission must emanate from Congress and pass through the hands of the President and Secretary of War; if he be a member of the national guard of one of the States, he receives his commission from the Governor of the State by virtue of authority vested in that functionary by the laws and Constitution of the State. The form of the brevet shows a nominal advancement from a lower to a higher grade; as a Brigadier-General, who becomes a Brevet Major-General, or Major-General by brevet. The brevet is granted for a special service in advance of the officer's regular promotion to the next higher grade, and the officer receiving it is entitled to have it recognized as a part of his title, as "John Jones, Colonel, and Brevet Brigadier-General."