上[將] in 4th tone instead of 1st tone? My understanding for the pronunciation of 將 is 4th tone for verb (e.g. 將數百之衆，轉而攻秦) and 1st tone for noun (e.g. 將軍; 將 in 象棋).

So why is it that for 上將 as in 海軍上將, the character is in 4th tone? My hypothesis is that it is from the usage of 將領 as a noun without a change in tone?
Interesting question. Why change tone? 

English is called a stress-timed language. In English, we often shift the stress to change from verb to noun as in:

v. produce, n. produce, v. refuse, n. refuse

I wonder if this is also generally true for Chinese? It is worth looking into.

"My understanding for the pronunciation of 將 is 4th tone for verb " you may be a little confused there.

jiāng has a lot of possibilities. Here are some.


快要：～要。～至。～来。即～。
带领，扶助：～雏。扶～。～军。
拿，持：～心比心。
把：～门关好。


jiàng does not have so many, but, for simple cases, it is nominal in nature.

　1. 军衔的一级，在校以上，泛指高级军官：～领。

　2. 统率，指挥：～百万之众。

This link has so many uses for 将 you could get dizzy! There is no clear distinction verb/noun -- jiāng/jiàng

btw is Vibius Vibidius Zosimus really your name?