List of United States Military Academy alumni

Traditional hat toss anniversary graduation ceremony at the United States Military Academy in June 2002

Logo of the Military Academy

The United States Military Academy (USMA) is an undergraduate college in West Point, New York with the mission of educating and commissioning officers for the United States Army. The Academy was founded in 1802 and is the oldest of the United States' five service academies. It is also referred to as West Point (the name of the military base that the Academy is a part of.) The Academy graduated its first cadet, Joseph Gardner Swift, in October 1802. Sports media refer to the Academy as "Army" and the students as "Cadets"; this usage is officially endorsed. The football team is also known as "The Black Knights of the Hudson" and "The Black Knights". A small number of graduates each year choose the option of cross-commissioning into the United States Air Force, United States Navy, or the United States Marine Corps. Before the founding of the United States Air Force Academy in 1955, the Academy was a major source of officers for the Air Force and its predecessors. Most cadets are admitted through the congressional appointment system. The curriculum emphasizes the sciences and engineering fields.

The list is drawn from graduates, non-graduate former cadets, current cadets, and faculty of the Military Academy. Notable graduates include 2 American Presidents, 4 additional heads of state, 20 astronauts, 74 Medal of Honor recipients, 70 Rhodes Scholars, and 3 Heisman Trophy winners. Among American universities, the academy is fourth on the list of total winners for Rhodes Scholarships, seventh for Marshall Scholarships and fourth on the list of Hertz Fellowships.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Academicians

"Class year" refers to the alumni's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, in times of war, classes often graduate early. For example, there were two classes in 1943 – January 1943 and June 1943.

Main article: List of academicians trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Francis Henney Smith 1833 Major General of Virginia Cadets and Colonel in the Virginia Militia; first and longest serving superintendent of Virginia Military Institute (1839–1889) Daniel Harvey Hill 1842 Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army; professor at Washington and Lee University and Davidson College; later the first president of the University of Arkansas (1877–1884) George Washington Custis Lee 1854 First Lieutenant US Army, Major General CSA; graduated first in his class at the Academy; son of Robert E. Lee, class of 1829; President, Washington and Lee University (1871–1897) Alexander S. Webb 1855 Major General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg for personal bravery and leadership repulsing Pickett's Charge; president of the City College of New York (1869–1902) Winfield Scott Chaplin 1870 Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis (1891–1907), Dean of the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University. Faculty member at Maine State College, Imperial University in Tokyo, and Union College. John Mearsheimer 1970 Served five years as an Air Force officer; political science professor at University of Chicago (1982–present); proponent of offensive realism

Daniel H. Hill Custis Lee

Superintendents of the United States Military Academy

Main article: Superintendent of the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Sylvanus Thayer 1808 Commanded the academy 1817–1833. Known as the "Father of the Military Academy" for his lasting and profound impact. He later had a lasting impact upon Dartmouth College where the Thayer School of Engineering is named after him. Robert E. Lee 1829 Superintendent 1852–1855. Famous as a cadet for having never received a demerit. He was a rising star in the Army before the Civil War. At the beginning of the war, he swore his allegiance to Virginia and became the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. After the war, he became president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. Douglas MacArthur 1903 Commanded the academy 1919–1922 as the academy recovered from the strain of producing officers for the First World War. Implemented sweeping changes that brought the academy into the modern age. Later Chief of Staff of the Army. Awarded the Medal of Honor in 1942 and was the Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Commanded the Allied Forces during the early years of the Korean War before being relieved by President Truman. Maxwell D. Taylor 1922 Superintendent immediately following WWII from 1945–1949, Taylor abolished horse cavalry tactics and made great strides towards modernizing the curriculum, as well as the formalization of the Cadet Honor Code. He was later the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. William Westmoreland 1936 After graduating as the highest ranking cadet in his class, he served as superintendent 1960–1963 before becoming head of allied forces in the Vietnam War. General Westmoreland was later the Chief of Staff of the Army. He is buried in the West Point Cemetery.

Sylvanus Thayer Douglas MacArthur

Top-ranking graduates

Main article: List of United States Military Academy top-ranking graduates

Astronauts

Main article: List of astronauts trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Frank Borman 1950 Commanded Gemini 7 and Apollo 8, first to orbit moon and to see far side of the Moon Buzz Aldrin 1951 Pilot of Gemini 12 and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11; 2nd person to walk on the moon Michael Collins 1952 Member of Gemini 10 crew and member of the Apollo 11 crew Ed White 1952 Pilot of Gemini 4, died in the Apollo 1 fire; first American to perform a spacewalk David Scott 1954 Pilot of Gemini 8, Command Module Pilot of Apollo 9, and Commander of Apollo 15, walked on the moon. Richard Mullane 1967 Mission Specialist on STS-41-D, STS-27, and STS-36 William S. McArthur 1973 Mission Specialist on STS-58, STS-74, and STS-92; Commanded International Space Station Expedition 12 Jeffrey N. Williams 1980 Mission Specialist on STS-101; Flight Engineer of ISS Expeditions 13 and 21, Commander of Expedition 22 Shane Kimbrough 1989 Mission Specialist with Space Shuttle. Latest astronaut from West Point. Former pilot of Apache helicopters. Anne McClain 2002 One of two most recent astronauts selected from West Point. Former pilot of OH-58 Kiowa helicopters. Andrew Morgan 1998 One of two most recent astronauts selected from West Point. Medical doctor.

Buzz Aldrin Ed White

Sherwood Spring USMA class of 1967 was an astronaut. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherwood_C._Spring

Businesspeople

• Henry A. du Pont, class of 1861. President & general manager of Wilmington & Western Railroad (1879–1899)
• Robert E. Wood, class of 1900. Chairman and CEO of Sears, Roebuck (1939–1954). Responsible for shifting the company's focus from a mail-order catalog company to a department store retailer. Wood also started AllState Insurance as a subsidiary of Sears. During World War I, BG Wood served as the Quartermaster of the Army and also served as the chief quartermaster during the construction of the Panama Canal.
• William T. Seawell, class of 1941. Chairman & CEO Pan Am Airways (1971–1981)
• Robert F. McDermott, class of 1943. Former Chairman & CEO of United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
• John F. Donahue, class of 1946. Founder and Chairman, Federated Investors ($400 Billion Dollar Asset Management Firm)
• Frank Borman, class of 1950. President Eastern Airlines (1975–1986)
• Walter F. Ulmer, class of 1952. President and CEO of Center for Creative Leadership (1985–1994)
• Rand Araskog, class of 1953. President, Chairman, CEO of ITT Communications.
• Dana G. Mead, class of 1957. Chairman and CEO of Tenneco (1994–1999), Chairman of MIT Corporation (since 2003)
• Pete Dawkins, class of 1959. Former Chairman and CEO of Primerica Financial Services, Vice-Chairman and EVP of Travelers Insurance, Vice Chairman of Bain and Company, Vice-Chairman of Citi Global Wealth Management, and currently Senior Partner at Flintlock Capital.
• Fred Malek, class of 1959. Founder and Chairman of Thayer Capital Partners, Chairman of Northwest Airlines.
• Frank J. Caufield, Co-Founder of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Jim Kimsey, class of 1962. Chairman and co-founder of AOL
• Daniel W. Christman, class of 1965. Superintendent of USMA from 1996 to 2001. Chairman of Ultralife Corporation, SVP of International Affairs for U.S. Chamber of Commerce (since 2003)
• William P. Foley II, class of 1967, Former CEO and current Chairman of Fidelity National Information Services
• Marshall Larsen, class of 1970. Chairman and CEO of Goodrich, Corporation (since 2003)
• Bob McDonald, class of 1975. CEO of Procter & Gamble
• Ken Hicks, class of 1974. President and CEO of Foot Locker and former President of JCPenney
• William Albrecht, class of 1974. President of Occidental Oil and Gas.
• Vincent Viola, class of 1977. Former Chairman of NYMEX (2001–2004), CEO of VirtuFinancial and owner and member of Chairman's Council of the New Jersey Nets.
• Alex Gorsky, class of 1982. CEO of Johnson & Johnson
• Joseph M. DePinto, class of 1986. President and CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc.
• Mark E. Green, class of 1986. Founder and former CEO of Align MD
• Anthony J. Guzzi, class of 1986. President and CEO of EMCOR Group, Inc. The world's largest specialty construction, facilities services, energy infrastructure provider and a Fortune 500 Company.
• Albert Dunlap, CEO of Scott Paper and Sunbeam.
• Keith McLoughlin, President and CEO of Electrolux
• Mark Clouse, class of 1990. President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company
• Anthony Noto, class of 1991. CFO of Twitter
• Brad Hunstable, class of 2001. Founder and President of Ustream.TV.
• Todd Bluedorn, Class of 1985. Chairman & CEO Lennox International

Engineers

Main article: List of engineers trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References John Williams Gunnison 1837 Captain; topographical engineer; supervised one of the Pacific Railroad surveys in 1853; Gunnison, Colorado and Gunnison, Utah are named in his honor Gouverneur K. Warren 1850 Major General; commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg for the defense of Little Round Top, Chief of Engineers of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War; participated in topographical and railroad explorations of the Mississippi River and trans-Mississippi West Orlando Metcalfe Poe 1856 Brigadier General; American Civil War; lighthouse, harbor, and river engineer; responsible for much of the early lighthouse construction on the Great Lakes; built the Poe Lock of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Poe Reef Light in Lake Huron is named in his honor John Moulder Wilson 1860 Brigadier General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Malvern Hill though acutely ill; Superintendent of the Academy (1889–1893); Chief of Engineers (1897–1901) George Washington Goethals 1880 Major General; chief engineer of the Panama Canal; Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (1914–1917) Lunsford E. Oliver 1913 Major General; initiated the research that led to the development of the steel treadway bridge; Commander of 5th Armored Division during World War II Hugh John Casey 1918 Major General; chief engineer of South West Pacific theatre of World War II in World War II; initial designer of The Pentagon

Orlando Metcalfe Poe Lunsford E. Oliver

Government

Heads of state

Name Class year Notability References Jefferson Davis 1828 Mexican–American War veteran; U.S. Representative from Mississippi (1845–1846); U.S. Senator from Mississippi (1847–1851); United States Secretary of War (1853–1857); President of the Confederate States of America (1861–1865) Ulysses S. Grant 1843 General of the Army of the United States; Mexican–American War; Siege of Vicksburg, Battle of Chattanooga, Siege of Petersburg, accepted Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House; 18th President of the United States (1869–1877) Dwight D. Eisenhower 1915 General of the Army; trained tank crews in Pennsylvania during World War I; World War II; commander of European Theater of Operations and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (1942–1945); 1st Military Governor of American Occupation Zone in Germany (1945); President of Columbia University (1948–1950, 1952–1953); 1st Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952); 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) Anastasio Somoza Debayle 1946 General; Head of the Nicaraguan National Guard (1947–1967); President of Nicaragua (1967–1972; 1974–1979) Fidel V. Ramos 1950 General; Korean War and Vietnam War veteran; Chief of the Philippine Constabulary (1970–1986); Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1986–1988); Secretary of National Defense (1988–1991); President of the Philippines (1992–1998) José María Figueres 1979 Entered Costa Rican government service after graduating from the Academy; Minister of Foreign Trade (1986–1988); Minister of Agriculture (1988–1990); President of Costa Rica (1994–1998)

Dwight D. Eisenhower Fidel V. Ramos

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

• Hoyt Vandenberg, class of 1923, DCI 10 June 1946 – 1 May 1947
• David H. Petraeus, class of 1974. DCIA 6 September 2011 – 9 November 2012
• Mike Pompeo, class of 1986. DCIA 23 January 2017 – 26 April 2018 (Became United States Secretary of State )

Cabinet members

• Andrew J. Donelson, class of 1820. President's Secretary (1829–1837)
• Jefferson Davis, class of 1828. United States Secretary of War (1853–1857)
• Montgomery Blair, class of 1835. United States Postmaster General (1861–1864)
• William Tecumseh Sherman, class of 1840, United States Secretary of War (1869)
• Gustavus Woodson Smith, class of 1842, Confederate States Secretary of War (1862)
• John Schofield, class of 1853, United States Secretary of War (1868–1869)
• Marshall Carter, class of 1931, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (1962–1965) and Director of the National Security Agency (1965–1969)
• Rafael M. Ileto, class of 1943. Philippine Secretary of National Defense (1986–1988)
• Brent Scowcroft, class of 1947, National Security Advisor (1974–1977, 1989–1993)
• Alexander Haig, class of 1947, United States Secretary of State (1981–1982)
• Fidel V. Ramos, class of 1950, Philippines Secretary of National Defense (1988–1991)
• John Block, class of 1957. United States Secretary of Agriculture (1981–1986)
• Jim Nicholson, class of 1961. United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2005–2007)
• Barry McCaffrey, class of 1964, U.S. Drug Czar (1996–2001)
• Eric K. Shinseki, class of 1965, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009-2014)
• James Peake, class of 1966, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2007–2009)
• Robert Alan McDonald, class of 1975, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (2014-2017) <Registrar, USMA>
• Mike Pompeo, class of 1986, United States Secretary of State (2018 – present) and Formerly Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2017-2018)
• Mark Esper, class of 1986, 27th United States Secretary of Defense (2019 – present) and Formerly 23rd United States Secretary of the Army (2017-2019)

Ambassadors

Name Class year Notability References Alexander Lawton 1839 Brigadier General CSA; graduated from Harvard Law School, class of 1842; seriously wounded at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 and served as the Confederacy's second Quartermaster General for the remainder of the war; became president of the American Bar Association in 1882; served as minister to Austria-Hungary (1887–1889) James Longstreet 1842 Major USA, Lieutenant General CSA; Mexican–American War; excelled in several battles during the American Civil War, including the Second Battle of Bull Run and Battle of Antietam; severely wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness; ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1897–1904) William Rosecrans 1842 Major General; commander Army of the Cumberland, Battle of Stones River, Tullahoma Campaign, Battle of Chickamauga; U.S. Minister to Mexico (1868–1969); U.S. Representative from California (1881–1885); Register of the Treasury (1885–1893) Horace Porter 1860 Brigadier general; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Chickamauga; Ambassador to France (1897–1905) Maxwell Davenport Taylor 1922 General; instituted the Cadet Honor Code at the Academy; commander of 101st Airborne Division (1944–1945); Chief of Staff of the Army (1955–1959); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1962–1964); United States Ambassador to South Vietnam (1964–1965) Jerrold M. North 1954 Ambassador; Career Foreign Service Officer; served in the Army before entering the Department of State. As a member of the US diplomatic corps, Jerry served overseas in Europe, Africa and the Far East and was the first US ambassador to Djibouti, (1980–1982); Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA, as Foreign Affairs Advisor (1982–1984); Department of State, as Director of Employee Performance (1984–1985)

Horace Porter

• Andrew J. Donelson, class of 1820. Chargé d'affaires of the United States to the Republic of Texas (1845). U.S. Minister to Prussia (1846–49). U.S. Vice Presidential Candidate (1856)
• Rufus King, class of 1833. U.S. Minister to the Papal States (1863–1867)
• William Woods Averell, class of 1855. U.S. Consul General to British North America (1866–1869)
• Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, class of 1856, U.S. Minister to Chile, 1866–70, 1881
• Frederick Dent Grant, class of 1871. U.S. Minister to Austro-Hungarian Empire (1890–1893)
• James Maurice Gavin, class of 1929, U.S. Ambassador to France (1961–62)
• John D. Eisenhower, class of 1944. U.S. Ambassador to Belgium (1969–1971)
• David Manker Abshire, class of 1951. U.S. Ambassador to NATO (1983–1987)
• Jim Nicholson, class of 1961. U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican (2001–2005)
• Robert M. Kimmitt, class of 1969. U.S. Ambassador to Germany (1991–1993)
• John Galvin, class of 1954, U.S. Ambassador to Bosnian Peace Negotiations
• William B. Taylor Jr., class of 1969, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (2006–2009) and again (2019 – present)
• Karl Eikenberry, class of 1973, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (2009–2011)

Governors (civil)

Name Class year Notability References Paul Octave Hébert 1840 Captain USA, Brigadier General in Confederate States Army; Mexican–American War; Governor of Louisiana (1853–1856); served at the Siege of Vicksburg and in Texas Simon Bolivar Buckner 1844 Captain USA, Lieutenant General CSA; Mexican–American War; Battle of Fort Donelson, Battle of Perryville, Battle of Chickamauga; Governor of Kentucky (1887–1891) Dabney H. Maury 1846 Lieutenant colonel USA, Major General CSA; son of Naval officer John Minor Maury; Mexican–American War, cavalry officer in Oregon and Texas; Battle of Pea Ridge, Battle of Corinth, Siege of Vicksburg; United States Ambassador to Colombia (1887–1889) Fitzhugh Lee 1856 Second Lieutenant USA, Major General CSA; American Indian Wars; First Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Opequon, led the last charge of the Confederates on 9 April 1865 at Farmville, Virginia; Governor of Virginia (1886–1890) John S. Marmaduke 1857 Second Lieutenant US Army, Major General CSA; Utah War; Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Cape Girardeau, Red River Campaign, mortally wounded fellow Confederate general and West Point graduate Lucius M. Walker in a duel; Governor of Missouri (1885–1887) Guy Vernor Henry 1861 Brigadier General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions repulsing an enemy attack at the Battle of Cold Harbor; son Major General Guy Vernor Henry Jr. is an Academy alumnus, class of 1894; Governor of Puerto Rico (1898–1899) George Washington Goethals 1880 Major General; chief engineer of the Panama Canal; Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (1914–1917) Julian Larcombe Schley 1903 Major General; World War I; topographic and civil engineer; Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (1926–1932); Chief of Engineers (1937–1941)

Robert McLane Simon Bolivar Buckner

• Robert Francis Withers Allston, class of 1821, Governor of South Carolina (1856–58)
• David Wallace, class of 1821. Governor of Indiana (1837–1840)
• Robert Milligan McLane, class of 1837, Governor of Maryland (1884–85)
• Isaac Ingalls Stevens, class of 1839, Governor of Washington Territory (1853–1857)
• George Stoneman, class of 1846. Governor of California (1883–1887)
• George B. McClellan, class of 1846, Governor of New Jersey (1878–81)
• Ambrose Burnside, class of 1847, Governor of Rhode Island (1866–69)
• Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls, class of 1855, Governor of Louisiana (1877–80, 88–92)
• William H. Upham, class of 1866. Governor of Wisconsin (1895–1897)
• Alexander Oswald Brodie, class of 1870, Governor of Arizona Territory (1902–05)
• Charles H. Martin, class of 1887, Governor of Oregon (1935–39)
• Chester Harding, class of 1889, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1917–21)
• Jay Johnson Morrow, class of 1891, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1921–24)
• Meriwether L. Walker, class of 1893, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1924–28)
• Harry Burgess, class of 1895, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1928–32)
• Clarence S. Ridley, class of 1905, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1936–40)
• Glen E. Edgerton, class of 1908, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1940–44)
• Joseph C. Mehaffey, class of 1911, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1944–48)
• Francis K. Newcomer, class of 1913, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1948–52)
• John S. Seybold, class of 1920, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1952–56)
• William E. Potter, class of 1933, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1956–60)
• William A. Carter, class of 1930, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1960–62)
• Robert John Fleming, class of 1928, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1962–67)
• David Stuart Parker, class of 1940, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1971–75)
• Harold Parfitt, class of 1943, Governor of Panama Canal Zone (1975–79)
• Warren E. Hearnes, class of 1946. Governor of Missouri (1965–1973)
• Dave Heineman, class of 1970. Governor of Nebraska (2005-2015)
• John Bel Edwards, class of 1988. Governor of Louisiana (since 2016)

Governors (military)

Name Class year Notability References Thomas H. Ruger 1854 Major General; military engineer and lawyer; veteran of Civil War; military engineer and lawyer; military Governor of Georgia (1868); Superintendent of the Academy (1871–1876) Wesley Merritt 1860 Major General; veteran of the Civil War and Spanish–American War; first Military Governor of the Philippines Adelbert Ames 1861 Major General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his continuing a fierce fight though severely wounded in his right thigh at First Battle of Bull Run; Governor of Mississippi (1868–1870) and (1874–1876); United States Senator from Mississippi (1870–1874) Dwight D. Eisenhower 1915 General of the Army; trained tank crews in Pennsylvania during World War I; World War II; commander of European Theater of Operations and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (1942–1945); 1st Military Governor of American Occupation Zone in Germany (1945); President of Columbia University (1948–1950, 1952–1953); 34th President of the United States (1953–1961); 1st Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952) Paul Caraway 1929 High Commissioner of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (1961–1964)

Adelbert Ames

• Thomas Childs, class of 1814. Military governor of Puebla, Mexico.
• John H. Martindale, class of 1835. Military Governor of Washington, D.C.
• Rufus Saxton, class of 1849. Military governor of the Department of the South.
• Fitzhugh Lee, class of 1856. Military governor of Havana, Cuba.
• Philip Sheridan, class of 1853. Military governor of the Fifth Military District.
• Douglas MacArthur, class of 1903. Military governor of Japan.
• George S. Patton, class of 1909. Military governor of Bavaria.
• Joseph T. McNarney, class of 1915. Military governor of U.S. Occupation Zone, Germany.
• Matthew Ridgway, class of 1917. Military governor of Japan.
• Lucius D. Clay, class of 1918. Military Governor in West Germany noted for Berlin Airlift.

Legislators

Name Class year Notability References Jefferson Davis 1828 Mexican–American War veteran; U.S. Representative from Mississippi (1845–1846); U.S. Senator from Mississippi (1847–1851); United States Secretary of War (1853–1857); president of the Confederate States of America (1861–1865) Humphrey Marshall 1832 Second Lieutenant USA, Brigadier General CSA; Mexican–American War veteran with Kentucky militia; U.S. Representative from Kentucky (1849–1852), (1855–1859); resigned from the Confederate Army in June 1863; member of Second Confederate Congress William Rosecrans 1842 Major General; commander Army of the Cumberland, Battle of Stones River, Tullahoma Campaign, Battle of Chickamauga; U.S. Minister to Mexico (1868–1969); U.S. Representative from California (1881–1885); Register of the Treasury (1885–1893) Samuel B. Maxey 1846 First Lieutenant USA, Major General CSA; Mexican–American War; Battle of Shiloh, Siege of Port Hudson; United States Senator from Texas (1875–1887) George B. McClellan 1846 Major General; developed the McClellan Saddle; organized the Army of the Potomac after the Union forces were defeated at First Battle of Bull Run, Peninsula Campaign, Battle of Antietam; son George B. McClellan Jr. served as United States Representative from New York (1895–1903) and as Mayor of New York City (1904–1909) Adelbert Ames 1861 Major General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his continuing a fierce fight though severely wounded in his right thigh at First Battle of Bull Run; Governor of Mississippi (1868–1870) and (1874–1876); United States Senator from Mississippi (1870–1874) Henry A. du Pont 1861 Lieutenant Colonel; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions repulsing an enemy attack at the Battle of Cedar Creek; United States Senator from Delaware (1906–1917)

Henry Slocum Jack Reed Geoff Davis

• Daniel Azro Ashley Buck, class of 1808, U.S. Representative (1823–1825,1827–1829), Vermont
• Daniel Tunern, class of 1814, U.S. Representative, North Carolina (1827–1829)
• James Monroe, class of 1815, U.S. Representative (1839–1841), New York
• George Wurtz Hughes, class of 1827, U.S. Representative (1859–1861), Maryland
• Jefferson Davis, class of 1828. U.S. Representative (1845–1846) and Senator (1847–1853, elected but not seated 1875), Mississippi
• Alexander C.M. Pennington, class of 1828, represented New Jersey's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1853–1857.
• Joseph E. Johnston, class of 1829, U.S. Representative, Virginia
• Henry Bell Van Rensselaer, class of 1831, U.S. Representative, New York
• Robert Milligan McLane, class of 1837, U.S. Representative, Maryland
• John B. S. Todd, class of 1837. U.S. Congressman, Dakota Territory (1861–1863,1864–1865)
• James Madison Leach, class of 1838, U.S. Representative, North Carolina
• Isaac Ingalls Stevens, class of 1839, U.S. Representative, Washington Territory
• Egbert Ludoricus Viele, class of 1847, U.S. Representative, New York
• Ambrose Burnside, class of 1847. U.S. Senator, Rhode Island (1875–1881)
• Henry Warner Slocum, class of 1852. U.S. Representative, New York (1869–1873, 1883–1884)
• Henry A. du Pont, class of 1861. U.S. Senator, Delaware (1895–1896,1906–1917)
• Joseph Wheeler, class of 1859. U.S. Representative, Alabama (1881–1882, 1883, 1885–1900)
• Frank Obadiah Briggs, class of 1872, U.S. Senator, New Jersey
• Jesse Matlack Baker, class of 1873, Pennsylvania State Representative (1889-1892) and State Senator (1893-1897)
• Lawrence D. Tyson, class of 1883. U.S. Senator, Tennessee (1925–1929)
• Bertram Tracy Clayton, class of 1886. U.S. Representative, New York (1899–1901)
• Charles Henry Martin, class of 1887, U.S. Representative, Oregon
• Butler Ames, class of 1894, U.S. Representative, Massachusetts
• Frank Kowalski, class of 1930, U.S. Representative from Connecticut.
• Nile Soik, class of 1945, member of the Wisconsin State Legislature
• Howard Hollis Callaway, class of 1949, U.S. Representative, Georgia
• John Michael Murphy, class of 1950, U.S. Representative, New York
• Adam Benjamin Jr., class of 1958, U.S. Representative, Indiana (1977–82)
• Jack Reed, class of 1971. U.S. Representative (1991–1997), U.S. Senator (1997- ), Rhode Island
• John Shimkus, class of 1980. U.S. Representative, Illinois (1997- )
• Geoff Davis, class of 1981. U.S. Representative, Kentucky (2004- )
• Michael Pompeo, class of 1986. U.S. Representative, Kansas (2011-2017)
• Mark E. Green, class of 1986. U.S. Representative, Tennessee (2019-)
• Brett Guthrie, class of 1987. U.S. Representative, Kentucky (2009-)
• Warren Davidson, class of 1995. U.S. Representative, Ohio (2016-)

Mayors

Name Class year Notability References Luis R. Esteves 1915 Major General; second Hispanic graduate of the Academy; Pancho Villa Expedition; mayor and judge of Polvo, Mexico; commander of the 23rd Battalion, which was composed of Puerto Ricans and stationed in Panama during World War I; commander of 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team during World War II; founder of the Puerto Rico National Guard

• William Lewis Cabell, class of 1850. Mayor of Dallas, Texas (1874–76, 1877–79, 1883–85)
• Frank Fischl, class of 1951. Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania (1978–1982)
• Robert M. Isaac, class of 1951. Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado (1979–1997)
• Matthew Collier, class of 1979. Mayor of Flint, Michigan (1988–1992)
• Maria Vedder Lowe, class of 1998. Mayor of St. Pete Beach, Florida (2014-2016)

Jurists

• Rhesa H. Barksdale, class of 1966. U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1990- )
• Montgomery Blair, class of 1835, Attorney for Dred Scott in landmark 1857 Supreme Court Case Dred Scott v. Sandford. President Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet (1861–1864)
• Malcolm Jones Howard, class of 1962. Judge, United States District Court Eastern District of North Carolina (1987- )
• Mike Bowers, class of 1963. Georgia's longest serving Attorney General (1981–1997)
• Richard D. Cudahy, class of 1948. Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• The Honorable Bruce E. Kasold, class of 1973, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (2010–15); Judge (2003-2016)
• Roy Moore, class of 1969. Chief Justice Alabama Supreme Court (2001–2003, 2013–2017)
• The Honorable Eugene R. Sullivan, class of 1964, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (AF) (1986–2002)
• Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls, class of 1855, Chief Justice Louisiana Supreme Court (1892–1911)
• Joe Delano Walcker III, Government, Assistant Attorney General II (2017)
• Richard Whitehead Young, class of 1882. Philippines Supreme Court Justice (1899–1901)
• Mark Eugene Johnson, Judge, California Superior Court, Riverside County (2009- )
• Leonard G. Brown, III, class of 1991. Judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 2nd Judicial District (2012- )
• Steve Descano, class of 2002, Fairfax County (VA) Commonwealth's Attorney (2020- )

Law enforcement and intelligence figures

• Fitz John Porter, class of 1845, New York City Police Commissioner
• William Farrar Smith, class of 1845, New York City Police Commissioner
• Frederick Dent Grant, class of 1871, New York City Police Commissioner
• Douglas I. McKay, class of 1905, New York City Police Commissioner
• Norman Schwarzkopf Sr., class of April 1917
• Alva Revista Fitch, class of 1930
• Barry McCaffrey class of 1964, Drug Czar during Clinton Administration
• Donald B. Smith class of 1969, New York State Sheriff Association President, Putnam County Sheriff 2002–2018
• Keith B. Alexander class of 1974, Head of the National Security Agency, General – Commander of Cyber Command
• Lon Horiuchi, class of 1976

Literary figures and actors

Name Class year Notability References John Gregory Bourke 1869 Captain at time of retirement, Private at the time of the Medal of Honor action; recipient of the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action at the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee; prolific diarist and author focusing on the Old West

• Henry Martyn Robert, class of 1857. Author of Robert's Rules of Order
• John Wilson Ruckman, class of 1883. First Editor, Journal of U.S. Artillery. Author of numerous technical articles on gunnery.
• Cornelis DeWitt Willcox, class of 1885.
• Hal Moore, class of 1945. Author of We Were Soldiers Once...And Young
• James Salter, class of 1945, prolific US author. Selected to The Academy of Arts and Letters.
• Bill McWilliams, class of 1955. Author of A Return To Glory.
• Gus Lee, Ex-class of 1966 and an Honorary Member of the class of 1970. Author of China Boy, Chasing Hepburn, etc.
• Lucian Truscott IV, class of 1969. Journalist and author of Dress Grey.
• Brian Haig, class of 1975. Novelist
• James Carafano, class of 1977. Author of Winning the Long War, etc.
• Mark Valley, class of 1987. TV and movie actor.
• Matt Gulbranson, class of 1987. TV and movie actor.
• Col. Gregory D. Gadson, class of 1989. Movie Actor.
• Col. Mark M. Boatner III, class of June 1943, Author of "Civil War Dictionary" & "Encyclopedia of the American Revolution".
• Paula Broadwell, class of 1995, author.

Military figures

Medal of Honor recipients

Main article: List of Medal of Honor recipients trained at the United States Military Academy

Civil War

Name Class year Notability References John Cleveland Robinson 1839 ex Left the Academy after three years but joined the Army one year later; Major General in the American Civil War; awarded the MOH for valor in action in 1864 near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia; Lieutenant Governor of New York (1873–1874); served two terms as the president of the Grand Army of the Republic John Porter Hatch 1845 Major General; fought in the Mexican War where he was breveted twice for bravery in battle; awarded the MOH for bravery at the Battle of South Mountain during the Maryland Campaign where he was wounded and had two mounts shot from underneath him; later served on the western frontier; retired to New York City and was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1893 Orlando B. Willcox 1847 Major General; awarded the MOH in 1895 for gallantry at the First Battle of Bull Run where he was captured; later released as part of a prisoner exchange and served in the Virginia and North Carolina theaters at the end of the war Absalom Baird 1849 Major General; attended Washington & Jefferson College before graduating from West Point; earned fame for actions at the Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Jonesborough; received the MOH in 1896 for his actions at Jonesborough; later received the French Légion d'honneur Rufus Saxton 1849 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for his defense at the Battle of Harpers Ferry; participated in the Pacific Railroad surveys in 1853; early abolitionist Eugene Asa Carr 1850 Major General; recipient of the MOH for his defensive though wounded several times at the Battle of Pea Ridge Charles Henry Tompkins 1851 ex Dropped out of the Academy after two years for unspecified reasons; Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for twice charging through the enemy's lines on 1 July 1861 near Fairfax, Virginia, making him the first Union officer of the Civil War to receive the Medal of Honor David S. Stanley 1852 Major General; recipient of the MOH for his actions organizing a counterattack at the Second Battle of Franklin, commander of the IV Corps John Schofield 1853 Lieutenant General; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions leading an attack at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Atlanta Campaign, Battle of Franklin, Battle of Nashville, Battle of Wyse Fork; commander of the Army of the Frontier, division commander in the XIV Corps; United States Secretary of War (1868–1869); Superintendent of the Academy (1876–1881); Commanding General of the United States Army (1888–1895); Military Governor of Virginia Oliver Duff Greene 1853 Major; recipient of the MOH for his actions at the Battle of Antietam Zenas Bliss 1854 Major General; recipient of the MOH for his actions at the Battle of Fredericksburg; formed the first unit of Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts Oliver Otis Howard 1854 Major General; recipient of the MOH for his actions leading an attack at the Battle of Seven Pines despite wound which resulted in the loss of his right arm; led the campaign against Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe; founder of Howard University; Superintendent of the Academy (1881–1882) Alexander S. Webb 1855 Major General; recipient of the MOH for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg for personal bravery and leadership repulsing Pickett's Charge; president of the City College of New York (1869–1902) Abraham Arnold 1859 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for leading a cavalry charge against superior forces Horace Porter 1860 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for his actions at the Battle of Chickamauga; United States Ambassador to France (1897–1905) John Moulder Wilson 1860 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for his actions at the Battle of Malvern Hill despite acute illness; Superintendent of the Academy (1889–1893); Chief of Engineers (1897–1901) Adelbert Ames 1861 (May) Major General; recipient of the MOH for his continuing a fierce fight though severely wounded in his right thigh at First Battle of Bull Run; Governor of Mississippi (1868–1870) and (1874–1876); United States Senator from Mississippi (1870–1874) Eugene B. Beaumont 1861 (May) Lieutenant Colonel; recipient of the MOH for two separate actions at the Harpeth River in Tennessee and the Battle of Selma in Alabama Samuel Nicholl Benjamin 1861 (May) Major; recipient of the MOH for actions as an artillery officer Henry A. du Pont 1861 (May) Lieutenant Colonel; recipient of the MOH for actions repulsing an enemy attack at the Battle of Cedar Creek; United States Senator from Delaware (1906–1917) Guy Vernor Henry 1861 (May) Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for actions repulsing an enemy attack at the Battle of Cold Harbor; son Major General Guy Vernor Henry Jr. is an Academy alumnus, class of 1894; Governor of Puerto Rico (1898–1899) Alonzo Cushing 1861 (June) First Lieutenant; posthumous recipient of the MOH for actions at Cemetery Ridge during the Battle of Gettysburg; his medal was not awarded until over 150 years after his death. George Lewis Gillespie Jr. 1862 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for carrying dispatches under withering fire at the Battle of Cold Harbor; Chief of Engineers (1901–1904) William Sully Beebe 1863 Major; recipient of the MOH for actions during an assault on a fortified position William Henry Harrison Benyaurd 1863 Lieutenant Colonel; recipient of the MOH for actions during reconnaissance and rallying his troops John Gregory Bourke 1869 Captain at time of retirement, Private at the time of the Medal of Honor action; recipient of the MOH for gallantry in action at the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee; prolific diarist and author focusing on the Old West

Absalom Baird Charles Henry Tompkins Oliver Howard Alexander Webb Adelbert Ames John Bourke

Indian Wars

Name Class year Notability References Edward Settle Godfrey 1867 Brigadier General; a Private during the Civil War before attending West Point; received the MOH for leading his men against Chief Joseph despite being severely wounded; led two platoons of Medal of Honor men at the burial of the Unknown Soldier from World War I William Preble Hall 1868 Brigadier General; received the MOH for leading a small group to rescue an officer surrounded by 35 enemy; distinguished marksman with rifle and revolver Robert Goldthwaite Carter 1870 First Lieutenant; an enlisted soldier during the Civil War before attending West Point; received the MOH for repulsing the charge of a large hostile Indian force near the Brazos River in 1871 John Brown Kerr 1870 Brigadier General; received the MOH for actions against Brule Sioux along the White River, South Dakota Edward John McClernand 1870 Brigadier General; received the MOH for actions at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana in 1877 against Chief Joseph's tribe Charles Varnum 1872 Colonel; commander of the scouts for George Armstrong Custer in the Little Bighorn Campaign during the Black Hills War; recipient of the MOH for his actions in a conflict following the Battle of Wounded Knee Frank West 1872 Colonel; recipient of the MOH for rallying his men against a fortified position at the Battle of Big Dry Wash, Arizona, for which three other men also received the Medal of Honor: Thomas Cruse, George H. Morgan, and Charles Taylor William Harding Carter 1873 Major General; recipient of the MOH for rescuing two soldiers under heavy fire during the Comanche Campaign Marion Perry Maus 1874 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for actions while commander of Apache scouts in the capture of Geronimo Ernest Albert Garlington 1876 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for gallantry at the Battle of Wounded Knee John Chowning Gresham 1876 Colonel; recipient of the MOH for gallantry at the Battle of Wounded Knee Oscar Fitzalan Long 1876 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for leadership under heavy fire at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana Matthias W. Day 1877 Colonel; recipient of the MOH for rescuing a wounded soldier under heavy fire after being ordered to retreat; member of the 9th Cavalry Regiment of the Buffalo Soldiers Robert Temple Emmet 1877 Colonel; recipient of the MOH for holding off 200 enemies with only himself and five men despite being surrounded; member of the 9th Cavalry Regiment of the Buffalo Soldiers Wilber Elliott Wilder 1877 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for rescuing a wounded soldier under heavy fire; key figure in negotiating the surrender of the Apache chief Geronimo Lloyd Milton Brett 1879 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for fearless exposure in cutting off the enemy's pony herd at O'Fallon's Creek, Montana, which greatly crippled their ability to fight Thomas Cruse 1879 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for holding off the enemy, which enabled the rescue of wounded soldier at the Battle of Big Dry Wash, Arizona, for which three other men also received the Medal of Honor: Frank West, George H. Morgan, and Charles Taylor George Ritter Burnett 1880 First Lieutenant; recipient of the MOH for rescuing stranded men under heavy enemy fire; one of his men, Augustus Walley, also received the Medal of Honor for this action, both members of the 9th Cavalry Regiment of the Buffalo Soldiers George Horace Morgan 1880 Colonel; recipient of the MOH for steadfastly holding his line against the enemy at the Battle of Big Dry Wash, Arizona, for which three other men also received the Medal of Honor: Thomas Cruse, Frank West, and Charles Taylor Powhatan Henry Clarke 1884 First Lieutenant; recipient of the MOH for saving a wounded man under heavy fire; later drowned while rescuing another man Robert Lee Howze 1888 Major General; recipient of the MOH for bravery in action; once threatened to dismiss an entire class of plebes (freshmen) from the Academy for hazing; presided over the court-martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell

William Carter Oscar Long Matthias Day Powhatan Clarke wearing his Medal of Honor Robert Howze

Spanish–American War

Name Class year Notability References Albert Leopold Mills 1879 Major General; recipient of the MOH for continuing to lead his men at the Battle of San Juan Hill despite being shot in the head and temporarily blinded; Superintendent of the Academy (1898–1906) John William Heard 1883 Major General; recipient of the MOH for repulsing an attack by a larger force while his unit was unloading supplies from a river boat Charles DuVal Roberts 1897 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for assisting a wounded man under heavy fire Ira Clinton Welborn 1898 Colonel; recipient of the MOH for assisting a wounded man under heavy fire

Albert Mills

Philippine–American War

Name Class year Notability References William Edward Birkhimer 1870 Brigadier General; awarded the MOH for taking control of a bridge by charging and routing 300 of the enemy with 12 men James Parker 1876 Major General; awarded the MOH for leadership of his men by repulsing a nighttime attack by a much larger enemy force James Franklin Bell 1878 Major General; began his career with the 9th Cavalry Regiment, a black unit; awarded the MOH for attacking seven enemy soldiers alone John Alexander Logan Jr. 1887 ex Major; awarded the MOH for actions while leading his small unit in an attack against a much larger enemy force Hugh J. McGrath 1880 Captain; awarded the MOH for actions against the enemy at a cave William Hampden Sage 1882 Captain; awarded the MOH for swimming the San Juan River in the face of the enemy's fire and drove him from his entrenchment Louis Joseph Van Schaick 1900 ex Colonel; awarded the MOH for cavalry actions against hostile forces in a canyon Arthur Harrison Wilson 1904 Colonel; awarded the MOH for actions against hostile Moros John Thomas Kennedy 1908 Brigadier General; awarded the MOH for actions against the enemy at a cave

James Franklin Bell

Boxer Rebellion

Name Class year Notability References Louis Bowem Lawton 1893 Major; recipient of the MOH for actions in combat despite being wounded three times Calvin Pearl Titus 1905 Lieutenant Colonel at time of retirement, Corporal at the time of the Medal of Honor action; admitted to the Academy because of his Medal of Honor during the Boxer Rebellion; became a Chaplain's assistant

Mexican Campaign (Veracruz)

Name Class year Notability References Eli Thompson Fryer 1901 ex Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for actions as a Marine company commander during the occupation of Veracruz

Eli T. Fryer

World War I

Name Class year Notability References Emory Jenison Pike 1901 Lieutenant Colonel; recipient of the MOH for actions in combat organizing and leading units during heavy shelling despite being mortally wounded

World War II

Name Class year Notability References Douglas MacArthur 1903 General of the Army, Field Marshal in the Philippine Army; United States occupation of Veracruz; Second Battle of the Marne, Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I; commander of the 42nd Infantry Division; Superintendent of the United States Military Academy (1919–1922); brigade commander in the Philippine Division; commander of the Philippine Department; Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1930–1935); recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Bataan, commander of the South West Pacific Area during World War II; Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers during the Occupation of Japan; Korean War; grandson of Wisconsin Governor Arthur MacArthur Sr.; son of lieutenant general and Medal of Honor recipient Arthur MacArthur Jr. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV 1906 General; recipient of the MOH for defense of te Bataan and Corregidor; also noted for leadership while a prisoner of war (POW); present on board USS Missouri (BB-63) for the surrender of Japan; returned to the Philippines to accept surrender of the local Japanese commander; his father, Robert Powell Page Wainwright, was member of the Academy class of 1875 William H. Wilbur 1912 Brigadier General; recipient of the MOH for actions during the Allied landings in North Africa while attempting to negotiate a cease fire and leading combat actions against hostile forces Junius Wallace Jones 1913 Major General; Air Inspector for the Army Air Forces, and later, the first Inspector General of the Air Force. Demas T. Craw 1924 Colonel, United States Army Air Forces; posthumous recipient of the MOH for ground actions during the Allied landings in North Africa while attempting to negotiate a cease fire Leon William Johnson 1926 General, United States Army Air Corps and United States Air Force; recipient of the MOH for actions in aerial combat during the raid on the Ploesti, Romania oilfields Frederick Walker Castle 1930 Brigadier General, United States Army Air Forces; posthumous recipient of the MOH for actions in aerial combat while leading a bombing mission over Belgium Robert G. Cole 1939 Lieutenant Colonel; 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division; recipient of the MOH for leading his battalion in a bayonet charge at Carentan, France during the Battle of Normandy; later killed in Best, Netherlands Leon Vance 1939 Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army Air Corps; recipient of the MOH for actions in saving his bomber crew though he was severely wounded; Vance Air Force Base in his hometown of Enid, Oklahoma, is named in his honor Alexander R. Nininger 1941 Second Lieutenant; recipient of the MOH for actions in Bataan, Philippines while a member of the Philippine Scouts, continued an attack even though wounded three times; first Army soldier awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II; First Division of Cadet Barracks at West Point is named in his honor Michael J. Daly 1945 ex Captain; dropped out of the Academy after one year to enlist so he could fight in World War II; received a battlefield commission; awarded the MOH for assaulting several enemy positions

Two Medal of Honor recipients and friends, MacArthur (l) and Wainwright (r), greet at the end of the war. Wainwright was just released from POW camp Leon Johnson, at his Medal of Honor ceremony with the medal around his neck

Korea

Name Class year Notability References Samuel S. Coursen 1949 First Lieutenant; recipient of the MOH for actions while helping rescue a wounded man and eliminating an enemy roadblock Richard Thomas Shea 1952 First Lieutenant; recipient of the MOH for actions while leading a counterattack against a larger enemy force

Vietnam

Name Class year Notability References William A. Jones III 1945 Colonel, United States Air Force; recipient of the MOH for actions while helping rescue a downed pilot Andre Lucas 1954 Lieutenant Colonel; recipient of the MOH for repulsing a much larger force over a 23-day period Roger Donlon 1959 ex Dropped out of the Academy for personal reasons; Captain, later Colonel; recipient of the MOH for repulsing a much larger force Humbert Roque Versace 1959 Captain; recipient of the MOH for his resistance to Viet Cong indoctrination efforts while a prisoner of war (POW); his struggle was chronicled in length by fellow POW Nick Rowe in the book Five Years to Freedom. James A. Gardner 1965 ex Did not graduate; First Lieutenant; recipient of the MOH for actions leading his platoon in the relief of a company that was engaged with a larger enemy force Frank S. Reasoner 1962 First Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps; recipient of the MOH for actions leading reconnaissance patrol against a larger force and trying to save a wounded man Robert F. Foley 1963 Captain, later Lieutenant General; recipient of the MOH for actions on 11 November 1966 for rallying his unit in the face of superior enemy numbers and personally destroying three enemy strongpoints; West Point Commandant of Cadets (1992–1994); later president of Marion Military Institute; currently the director of the Army Emergency Relief Program Paul William Bucha 1965 Captain; recipient of the MOH for actions leading his unit against a larger enemy for in Bình Dương Province, Vietnam; foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign

Roger Donlon Humbert Versace

Mexican–American War combatants

Name Class year Notability References Joseph Gilbert Totten 1805 Major General; War of 1812, Mexican–American War, American Civil War; military and lighthouse engineer; Chief of Engineers (1838–1864) Samuel Ringgold 1818 Major; Mexican–American War veteran; developed several artillery innovations; first U.S. officer to fall in the Mexican–American War, perishing from wounds inflicted during the Battle of Palo Alto Joseph K. Mansfield 1822 Major General; Mexican–American War and American Civil War; civil engineer; mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam Jefferson Davis 1828 Mexican–American War veteran; U.S. Representative from Mississippi (1845–1846); U.S. Senator from Mississippi (1847–1851); United States Secretary of War (1853–1857); president of the Confederate States of America (1861–1865) John B. Magruder 1830 Major USA, major general CSA, major general in Imperial Mexican Army; Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War veteran; noted for deceptive delaying tactics Charles Smith Hamilton 1843 Major General; Mexican–American War and American Civil War veteran; wounded in the Battle of Molino del Rey; division commander during the Battle of Yorktown

Samuel Ringgold

American Civil War combatants

Confederate States Army generals

Main article: List of Confederate States Army officers trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Samuel Cooper 1815 Colonel USA, Adjutant General, 1852–1861; Adjutant and Inspector General General in the Confederate Army, 1861–1865, Highest-ranking General, CSA Albert Sidney Johnston 1826 Colonel USA, General in the Republic of Texas, General in the Confederate States Army; graduated eighth in his class, commander of US forces in the Utah War, killed at the Battle of Shiloh Robert E. Lee 1829 Colonel USA, General CSA; graduated second in his class without demerits; father of George Washington Custis Lee, class of 1854; Commander, Army of Northern Virginia (1862–1865); General-in-Chief, Confederate States Army (1865); President, Washington and Lee University (1865–1870) John B. Magruder 1830 Major in United States Army, major general in Confederate States Army, major general in Imperial Mexican Army; Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War veteran James Longstreet 1842 Major in United States Army, Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army;Mexican–American War; excelled in several battles during the American Civil War, including the Second Battle of Bull Run and Battle of Antietam; severely wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness Stonewall Jackson 1846 Major in United States Army, Lieutenant General in Confederate States Army; Mexican–American War; professor of natural and experimental philosophy and artillery at Virginia Military Institute (1851–1861); excelled in several battles during the American Civil War, including the First Battle of Bull Run where he received his nickname; accidentally shot by his own troops at the Battle of Chancellorsville and died of complications eight days later George Pickett 1846 Captain USA, Major General in the Confederate States Army; graduated last in his class, leader of Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg John Bell Hood 1853 Second Lieutenant USA, General CSA; offered a post as instructor at the Academy, but declined due to the impending war; brilliant commander in the field but less effective as a general J.E.B. Stuart 1854 Captain in United States Army, Major General in Confederate States Army; American Indian Wars; excelled in several battles during the American Civil War, including the Peninsula Campaign and Maryland Campaign

Robert E. Lee Stonewall Jackson John Bell Hood

Union Army generals

Main article: List of Union Army officers trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Joseph K. Mansfield 1822 Major General; Mexican–American War; civil engineer; mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam; Fort Mansfield, a coastal artillery installation in Westerly, Rhode Island named in his honor George Meade 1835 Major General; civil and lighthouse engineer; Second Seminole War, Mexican–American War; Battle of Antietam, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Appomattox Campaign, defeated Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, commander Army of the Potomac (1863–1865); Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, home of the National Security Agency named in his honor William Tecumseh Sherman 1840 Major General; treated the demerit system at West Point with disdain, which lowered his class standing from fourth to sixth; Battle of Shiloh, Vicksburg Campaign, Chattanooga Campaign, Atlanta Campaign, Carolinas Campaign, led the brutal Savannah Campaign (March to the Sea) from Atlanta to Savannah that demoralized the South; Commanding General of the United States Army (1869–1883) Ulysses S. Grant 1843 General of the Army of the United States; Mexican–American War; Siege of Vicksburg, Battle of Chattanooga, Siege of Petersburg, accepted Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House; 18th President of the United States (1869–1877) Winfield Scott Hancock 1844 Major General; Mexican–American War; Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, led the Army of the Potomac; Democratic Party nominee for President (1880) George B. McClellan 1846 Major General; developed the McClellan Saddle; organized the Army of the Potomac after the Union forces were defeated at First Battle of Bull Run, Peninsula Campaign, Battle of Antietam; son George B. McClellan Jr. served as United States Representative from New York (1895–1903) and as Mayor of New York City (1904–1909) Philip Sheridan 1853 General; Battle of Chattanooga, Overland Campaign, Valley Campaigns of 1864, used scorched earth tactics in the Shenandoah Valley and forced Lee's surrender in the Appomattox Campaign; American Indian Wars George Armstrong Custer 1861 Major General; Battle of Antietam, Battle of Chancellorsville, leader of a charge at the Battle of Gettysburg that broke the back of the Confederate resistance; Battle of the Wilderness, Siege of Petersburg; Battle of the Washita, died at Battle of the Little Bighorn

William Tecumseh Sherman (1840) Ulysses S. Grant (1843) Philip Sheridan (1853)

Indian Wars combatants & Buffalo Soldiers

Name Class year Notability References Hunter Liggett 1879 Lieutenant General; Indian Wars; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; in 1914 predicted that an invasion of the Philippines would occur through the Lingayen Gulf, which occurred twice in World War II; division and corps commander in World War I

Henry Ossian Flipper, class of 1877, first African American graduate

• John Hanks Alexander, class of 1887
• Walker Keith Armistead, class of 1803
• John W. Barlow, class of 1861
• Robert C. Buchanan, class of 1830
• Edward Canby, class of 1839
• Philip St. George Cooke, class of 1827
• George Crook, class of 1852
• George Armstrong Custer, class of 1861
• John Wynn Davidson, class of 1845
• Henry Ossian Flipper, class of 1877
• James W. Forsyth, class of 1856
• Robert S. Garnett, class of 1841
• John Gibbon, class of 1847
• Oliver O. Howard, class of 1854
• Robert Lee Howze, class of 1888
• Charles King, class of 1866
• Gustavus Loomis, class of 1811
• Ranald S. Mackenzie, class of 1862
• Randolph B. Marcy, class of 1832
• Wesley Merritt, class of 1860
• George H. Morgan, class of 1880
• Edward Ord, class of 1839
• John J. Pershing, class of 1886
• John Pope (military officer), class of 1842
• Marcus Reno, class of 1857
• William Tecumseh Sherman, class of 1840
• Philip Sheridan, class of 1853
• Samuel D. Sturgis, class of 1846
• George Wright, class of 1822
• Charles Young, class of 1889

Spanish–American War and Philippine Insurrection combatants

Name Class year Notability References Tasker H. Bliss 1875 General; Spanish–American War; division commander in Philippine–American War; Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1917–1918); American representative Supreme War Council Hunter Liggett 1879 Lieutenant General; Indian Wars; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; in 1914 predicted that an invasion of the Philippines would occur through the Lingayen Gulf, which occurred twice in World War II; division and corps commander in World War I John J. Pershing 1886 General of the Armies; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; Moro Rebellion; commander of 8th Regiment in the Pancho Villa Expedition; led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I John L. Hines 1891 Major General; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; Pancho Villa Expedition; brigade and division commander in World War I; Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1924–1926)

• Stanley Dunbar Embick, class of 1899
• Frederick Dent Grant, class of 1871
• William G. Haan, class of 1889
• Hamilton S. Hawkins, class of 1855
• Guy Henry, class of 1898
• Lucius Roy Holbrook, class of 1896
• Willard Ames Holbrook, class of 1885
• Robert Lee Howze, class of 1888
• Richard L. Hoxie, class of 1868
• Jacob Ford Kent, class of 1861
• Charles King, class of 1866
• Fitzhugh Lee, class of 1856
• Manus MacCloskey, class of 1898
• Wesley Merritt, class of 1860
• Eben Swift, class of 1876
• Charles Symmonds, class of 1888
• Joseph Wheeler, class of 1859
• James H. Wilson, class of 1860
• John Moulder Wilson, class of 1860

Pancho Villa Expedition combatants

Name Class year Notability References Eben Swift 1876 Major General; Spanish–American War, World War I; Director of the United States Army War College; commander of Camp Gordon; commander of the 82nd Division; commander of U.S. Forces in Italy; father of Major General Innis P. Swift; father-in-law of Brigadier General Evan Harris Humphrey; son-in-law of Brigadier General Innis N. Palmer; Camp Swift, Texas is named for him John J. Pershing 1886 General of the Armies; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; Moro Rebellion; commander of 8th Regiment in the Pancho Villa Expedition; led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I John L. Hines 1891 Major General; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; Pancho Villa Expedition; brigade and division commander in World War I; Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1924–1926) Hugh S. Johnson 1903 Brigadier General; lawyer in Judge Advocate General's Corps; instrumental in implementing the Selective Service Act of 1917; Deputy Provost Marshal General (1971–1918); Director of the Purchase and Supply Branch of the General Staff (1918); commander of 15th Infantry Brigade; Director of the National Recovery Administration; named Time Person of the Year in 1933 George S. Patton 1909 General; 1912 Summer Olympics, modern pentathlon, 5th place; Pancho Villa Expedition; World War II; Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne Offensive; commander of the 1st Tank Brigade/304th Tank Brigade; commander of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment; commander of the 2nd Armored Division; commander of the II Corps; commander of the Seventh United States Army, Third United States Army, and Fifteenth United States Army during World War II; descendant of Brigadier General Hugh Mercer; father of Major General George Patton IV; Patton series of tanks were named for him Carl Andrew Spaatz 1914 General; Pancho Villa Expedition; flight instructor and fighter pilot in World War I; Eighth Air Force commander in World War II; first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1947–1948) Luis R. Esteves 1915 Major General; second Hispanic graduate of the Academy; Pancho Villa Expedition; mayor and judge of Polvo, Mexico; commander of the 23rd Battalion, which was composed of Puerto Ricans and stationed in Panama during World War I; commander of 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team during World War II; founder of the Puerto Rico National Guard Dwight Johns 1916 Brigadier General; World War I, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War II; recipients of the Army Distinguished Service Medal

World War I combatants

Main article: List of World War I military personnel trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Tasker H. Bliss 1875 General; Spanish–American War; division commander in Philippine–American War; Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1917–1918); American representative Supreme War Council Hunter Liggett 1879 Lieutenant General; Indian Wars; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; in 1914 predicted that an invasion of the Philippines would occur through the Lingayen Gulf, which occurred twice in World War II; division and corps commander in World War I Mason Patrick 1886 Major General; commander of 1st Engineers in France (1917-1918); Chief of U.S. Air Service (1918); Chief of U.S. Air Corps (1926-1927) John J. Pershing 1886 General of the Armies; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; Moro Rebellion; commander of 8th Regiment in the Pancho Villa Expedition; led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I John L. Hines 1891 Major General; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War; Pancho Villa Expedition; brigade and division commander in World War I; Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1924–1926) Luis R. Esteves 1915 Major General; second Hispanic graduate of the Academy; Pancho Villa Expedition; mayor and judge of Polvo, Mexico; commander of the 23rd Battalion, which was composed of Puerto Ricans and stationed in Panama during World War I; commander of 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team during World War II; founder of the Puerto Rico National Guard

John Pershing (1886) John Hines (1891) Cadet Luis R. Esteves (1915)

World War II combatants

Main article: List of World War II military personnel trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Henry H. "Hap" Arnold 1907 General of the Army, General of the Air Force; Second rated pilot in the United States Army Air Corps; executive officer of the aviation section at Army headquarters in Washington D.C. during World War I; World War II; commander of the United States Army Command and General Staff College; commander of March Field; commander of the United States Army Air Forces; founder of the RAND Corporation; Arnold Air Force Base, Arnold Engineering Development Center, and Arnold Air Society are named for him George S. Patton 1909 General; 1912 Summer Olympics, modern pentathlon, 5th place; Pancho Villa Expedition; World War II; Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne Offensive; commander of the 1st Tank Brigade/304th Tank Brigade; commander of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment; commander of the 2nd Armored Division; commander of the II Corps; commander of the Seventh United States Army, Third United States Army, and Fifteenth United States Army during World War II; descendant of Brigadier General Hugh Mercer; great-grandson of U.S. Representative John M. Patton; relative of Confederate States Brigadier General Hugh W. Mercer; grandson of California State Senator Benjamin Davis Wilson; father of Major General George Patton IV; father-in-law of General John K. Waters; cousin of U.S. Representative Larry McDonald; Patton Army Air Field is named for him; the Patton series of tanks were named for him; the General George Patton Museum at Fort Knox is named for him Carl Andrew Spaatz 1914 General; Pancho Villa Expedition; flight instructor and fighter pilot in World War I; Eighth Air Force commander in World War II; first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1947–1948) Dwight D. Eisenhower 1915 General of the Army; World War II; commander of European Theater of Operations and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (1942–1945); 1st Military Governor of American Occupation Zone in Germany (1945); President of Columbia University (1948–1950, 1952–1953); 1st Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952); 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) Luis R. Esteves 1915 Major General; second Hispanic graduate of the Academy; Pancho Villa Expedition; mayor and judge of Polvo, Mexico; commander of the 23rd Battalion, which was composed of Puerto Ricans and stationed in Panama during World War I; commander of 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team during World War II; founder of the Puerto Rico National Guard Hugh John Casey 1918 Major General; instructor and engineer company commander during World War I; Chief Engineer for General of the Army Douglas MacArthur for the South West Pacific theatre of World War II; initial designer of The Pentagon; father of Major Hugh Boyd Casey; father-in-law of Major General Frank Butner Clay

Douglas MacArthur George S. Patton Dwight D. Eisenhower Omar Bradley

Korean War combatants

Fidel V. Ramos

• Creighton Abrams, class of 1936. Corps Chief of Staff, Korean War
• Arnold W. Braswell, class of 1948
• Mark Wayne Clark, class of 1917
• J. Lawton Collins, class of 1917
• Lawrence Russell Dewey, class of 1924
• James Van Fleet, class of 1915
• Alexander Haig, class of 1947
• William M. Hoge, class of 1916
• Lyman Lemnitzer, class of 1920
• Douglas MacArthur, class of 1903
• Andrew P. O'Meara, class of 1930
• Ralph Puckett, class of 1949. Commander of 8th Army Ranger Company
• Fidel V. Ramos, class of 1950. Platoon leader of the 20th Battalion Combat Team, Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea
• Matthew Ridgway, class of 1917
• Davis C. Rohr, class of 1952
• Edward Rowny, class of 1941
• Maxwell D. Taylor, class of 1922
• Thomas J. H. Trapnell, class of 1927
• William H. Tunner, class of 1928
• Sam S. Walker, class of 1946
• Walton Walker, class of 1912
• Roderick Wetherill, class of 1940. Later major general in the Vietnam War.

Vietnam War combatants

• Creighton Abrams, class of 1936. Commanded the U.S. Army Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (1968 to 1972)
• Anderson W. Atkinson, class of 1946
• Peter J. Boylan, class of 1961
• Wesley Clark, class of 1966
• Harry Griffith Cramer Jr., class of 1946
• Allen Ross Culpepper, class of 1966
• Eugene Peyton Deatrick, class of 1946
• Jack K. Farris, class of 1957
• Alexander Haig, class of 1947
• Paul D. Harkins, class of 1929
• Harold Keith Johnson, class of 1933
• Nicholas S. H. Krawciw. class of 1959
• Barry McCaffrey, class of 1964
• Montgomery Meigs, class of 1967
• Hal Moore, class of 1945. Commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Ia Drang Valley (1965)
• Joseph J. Nazzaro, class of 1936
• Robin Olds, class of 1943
• George Patton IV, class of 1946
• Ralph Puckett, class of 1949. Commander 2d Battalion, 502d Infantry (Airborne), 101st Airborne Division
• Fidel V. Ramos, class of 1950. Chief of Staff of the Philippine Military Contingent and Civil Action Group to Vietnam (1965–1968)
• Davis C. Rohr, class of 1952
• Hoyt S. Vandenberg Jr., class of 1951
• Sam S. Walker, class of 1946
• William Westmoreland
• Vesa Alakulppi, class of 1963

Gulf War combatants

Name Class year Notability References Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. 1956 General; Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command; father Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. is a 1917 Academy alumnus Frederick M. Franks Jr. 1959 General; commander, VII Corps and the "Left Hook" maneuver against fourteen Iraqi divisions Barry McCaffrey 1964 General; commander of 24th Infantry Division Montgomery Meigs 1967 General; Vietnam War, Gulf War, and Operation Joint Endeavor; commander 3rd Infantry Division (1995–1996); commander NATO SFOR (1998–1999); professor of strategy and military operations; Major General Montgomery C. Meigs, class of 1836, is his ancestor H. R. McMaster 1984 Major general; captain in 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of 73 Easting; military history professor at West Point (1994–1996); Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a thesis criticizing American strategy in the Vietnam War and detailed in his 1998 book Dereliction of Duty; commander of 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Iraq War

Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. Barry McCaffrey

War on Terror

Participants

Name Class year Notability References Wayne A. Downing 1962 National Director and Deputy National Security Adviser for combating terrorism; chairman of the Combating Terrorism Center at the Academy Stanley A. McChrystal 1976 Lieutenant General; special operations and intelligence officer; served in Iraq and Afghanistan; commander, Joint Special Operations Command (2003–2008)

Afghanistan combatants

Name Class year Notability References Franklin L. Hagenbeck 1971 Lieutenant general; commander, Coalition Joint Task Force Mountain, Operations Enduring Freedom/Anaconda and deputy commanding general, Combined Joint Task Force 180 in Afghanistan; Superintendent of the Academy (2006–2010) Lloyd J. Austin III 1975 General; Commander, 10th Mountain Division (2003-2005) and Combined Joint Task Force-180 (Operation Enduring Freedom) (2003-2004) Robert W. Cone 1979 Major general; commander, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan Robin Fontes 1986 Major general; commander, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan

Iraq combatants

Name Class year Notability References John Abizaid 1973 General; commander, United States Central Command; commander 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team; commander 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment David Petraeus 1974 General; first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq; commander 101st Airborne Division; commander Multi-National Forces – Iraq (2007-) Lloyd J. Austin III 1975 General; Commander, United States Central Command; 33rd Vice Chief of Staff, Army; Commander, United States Forces-Iraq (2010-2011); Commander, XVIIIth Airborne Corps (2006-2008) and Multi-National Corps-Iraq (2008-2009); ADC(M), 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) (2001-2003); Silver Star recipient. William B. Caldwell IV 1976 Lieutenant general; deputy chief of staff for strategic effects and spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq Mark Kimmitt 1976 Brigadier general; chief military spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad (2003–2004); Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs (2008–2009) James H. Coffman Jr. 1978 Colonel; Distinguished Service Cross for action at Mosul, Iraq H. R. McMaster 1984 Major General Walter Bryan Jackson Jr. 2005 Second Lieutenant; Distinguished Service Cross for action at Heet, Iraq; 3rd recipient of the Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms Emily Perez 2005 Second Lieutenant; first member of the "Class of 9/11" to be killed in combat

David Petraeus H. R. McMaster

Supreme Allied Commanders of NATO

• Dwight Eisenhower, class of 1915.
• Lyman Lemnitzer, Class of 1922 by David Larcomb LTC USA Ret.
• Andrew Goodpaster, class of 1939.
• Bernard W. Rogers, class of June 1943.
• Alexander Haig, class of 1947.
• John Galvin, class of 1954
• George Joulwan, class of 1961.
• Wesley Clark, class of 1966.
• Curtis M. Scaparrotti, class of 1978

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

• Omar N. Bradley, class of 1915. CJCS, 1949–1953.
• Nathan F. Twining, class of 1919. CJCS, 1957–1960.
• Lyman L. Lemnitzer, class of 1920. CJCS, 1960–1962.
• Maxwell D. Taylor, class of 1922. CJCS, 1962–1964.
• Earle G. Wheeler, class of 1932. CJCS, 1964–1970.
• George Scratchley Brown, U.S. Air Force, class of 1941. CJCS, 1974–1978.
• Martin E. Dempsey, class of 1974. CJCS, 2011–2015.

Army Chiefs of Staff/Commanders of the Army

• George B. McClellan, class of 1846. Commanding General of the Army (1861–1862)
• Henry Wager Halleck, class of 1839. Commanding General of the Army (1862–1864)
• Ulysses S. Grant, class of 1843. Commanding General of the Army (1864–1869)
• William Tecumseh Sherman, class of 1840. Commanding General of the Army (1869–1883)
• Philip Sheridan, class of 1853. Commanding General of the Army (1883–1888)
• John Schofield, class of 1853. Commanding General of the Army (1888–1895)
• J. Franklin Bell, class of 1878. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1906–1910)
• Hugh L. Scott, class of 1876. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1914–1917)
• Tasker H. Bliss, class of 1875. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1917–1918)
• Peyton C. March, class of 1888. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1918–1921)
• John Pershing, class of 1886. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1921–1924)
• John L. Hines, class of 1891. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1924–1926)
• Charles Pelot Summerall, class of 1892. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1926–1930)
• Douglas MacArthur, class of 1903. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1930–1935)
• Malin Craig, class of 1898. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1935–1939)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, class of 1915. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1945–1948)
• Omar Bradley, class of 1915. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1948–1949)
• J. Lawton Collins, class of 1917. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1949–1953)
• Matthew Ridgway, class of 1917. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1953–1955)
• Maxwell D. Taylor, class of 1922. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1955–1959)
• Lyman Lemnitzer, class of 1920. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1959–1960)
• Earle Wheeler, class of 1932. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1962–1964)
• Harold Keith Johnson, class of 1933. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1964–1968)

William Westmoreland, class of 1936

• William Westmoreland, class of 1936. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1968–1972)
• Bruce Palmer Jr., class of 1936. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1972)
• Creighton Abrams, class of 1936. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1972–1974)
• Bernard W. Rogers, class of 1943. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1976–1979)
• Edward C. Meyer, class of 1951. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1979–1983)
• John Wickham, class of 1950. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1983–1987)
• Carl E. Vuono, class of 1957. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1987–1991)
• Dennis Reimer, class of 1962. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1995–1999)
• Eric Shinseki, class of 1965. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1999–2003)
• Martin E. Dempsey, class of 1974. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (2011)
• Raymond T. Odierno, class of 1976. U.S. Army Chief of Staff (2011–2015)

Air Force Chiefs of Staff

Carl Spaatz, class of 1914

• Carl Spaatz, class of 1914. 1st USAF Chief of Staff (1947–1948)
• Nathan Farragut Twining, class of 1918. 3rd USAF Chief of Staff (1953–1957)
• Thomas D. White, class of 1920. 4th USAF Chief of Staff (1957–1961)
• John P. McConnell, class of 1932. 6th USAF Chief of Staff (1965–1969)
• John Dale Ryan, class of 1938. 7th USAF Chief of Staff (1969–1973)
• George Scratchley Brown, class of 1941, USAF Chief of Staff (1973–1974)
• Lew Allen, class of 1946. 10th USAF Chief of Staff (1978–1982)
• Charles A. Gabriel, class of 1950. 11th USAF Chief of Staff (1982–1986)
• Michael Dugan, class of 1958. 13th USAF Chief of Staff (1990)

Chief of Staff of non-American armed forces

• Douglas MacArthur, class of 1903. Field Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1935–1946)
• Fidel V. Ramos, class of 1950, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1986–1988)

Presidential and Congressional awardees

Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

Wesley Clark, class of 1966.

• Brent Scowcroft, class of 1947. Medal awarded in 1991
• Buzz Aldrin
• Michael Collins
• Omar Bradley
• Wesley Clark
• Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.
• Earl Blaik

Congressional Gold Medal recipients

• Ulysses S. Grant
• John J. Pershing
• Douglas MacArthur
• Matthew Ridgway
• Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.

Congressional Space Medal of Honor recipients

• Frank Borman
• Ed White

Scientists, inventors, and physicians

• Benjamin Alvord, class of 1833. Mathematician.
• Seth Barton, class of 1849 (USA & CSA), chemist.
• George Bomford, class of 1805. Inventor of ordnance and explosives; standardized army usage as Chief of the Ordnance Department.
• John James Abert, class of 1811. Head topographer for the U.S. Army; his officers mapped the American West under his supervision.
• Benjamin Bonneville, class of 1815. Organized expedition that explored the Great Salt Lake, crossed the Sierras, found the headwaters of the Yellowstone and discovered the Humboldt River.
• George Washington Whistler, class of 1819. Invented contour lines on maps. Father of James McNeill Whistler, the artist. Husband of "Whistler's Mother"
• Robert Parker Parrott, class of 1824. Invented the Parrott rifle used extensively during the American Civil War.
• Ormsby M. Mitchel, class of 1825. Astronomer.
• Henry du Pont, class of 1833. Improved the production of gunpowder. Chemicals industry pioneer.
• William W. Averell, class of 1855. Inventor of asphalt.
• John Wilson Ruckman, class of 1883. Inventor of artillery devices critical in World War I.
• George O. Squier, class of 1887. Developer of Muzak. Early radio engineer.
• Leslie Groves, class of 1918. Chief engineer for the Manhattan Project and the Pentagon
• Edward A. Murphy Jr., class of 1940. Credited with the invention of Murphy's Law.
• Peter Huybers, class of 1996. MacArthur Foundation Grant awardee ("Genius Grant"). Planetary and Climate scientist and currently a professor at Harvard.
• John T. Thompson, class of 1882. Inventor of the Thompson submachine gun.
• Edward S. Holden, class of 1870. Astronomer, Librarian at West Point, 5th president of the University of California, Founder, Lick observatory
• Isaac Newton Lewis, class of 1884. Inventor of the Lewis gun.

Sportspeople

Main article: List of sportspeople trained at the United States Military Academy

Name Class year Notability References Charles Dudley Daly 1905 "Godfather of West Point Football"; early promoter of American football Doc Blanchard 1947 United States Air Force fighter pilot; combat veteran of Vietnam War; football player known as "Mr. Inside" who won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and James E. Sullivan Award, all in 1945 Glenn Woodward Davis 1947 Football player known as "Mr. Outside" who won the Maxwell Award (1944) and Heisman Trophy (1946) Pete Dawkins 1959 Brigadier General; Heisman Trophy; Maxwell Award winner (1958); Rhodes Scholar; Ph.D. from Princeton University; paratrooper; recipient of two Bronze Stars during the Vietnam War; only cadet in history to simultaneously be Brigade Commander, President of his Class, captain of the football team, and a "Star Man" in the top five percent of his class academically Anita Allen 2000 Modern pentathlon 2004 Summer Olympics, placed 18th Boyd Melson 2003 boxer, 2004 World Military Boxing Championships, gold medal (69-kg. weight class)

Felix "Doc" Blanchard Boyd Melson

Television and movie figures

• James Salter. class of 1945. Screenwriter
• Rod Lurie, class of 1984. Director, screenwriter
• Mark Valley, class of 1987. Actor.
• Kelly Perdew, class of 1989. Reality show winner, The Apprentice (2004)
• Greg Plitt, class of 2000. American fitness supermodel and actor.

Ambrose Burnside, class of 1847

Eponyms

• Ambrose Burnside — Sideburns
• Edward A. Murphy Jr. — Murphy's Law
• Henry Martyn Robert— Robert's Rules of Order

Graduates depicted on currency

• James B. McPherson $2 Bill 1890's
• Pierre Gustave Toutant de Beauregard, $20 1863 State of Louisiana, Shreveport
• Joseph K. Mansfield, $500 1873, 1875, 1878, 1880 United States (legal tender) notes
• George Henry Thomas, $5 1890, 1891 Treasury or coin notes
• Jefferson Davis, on Confederate notes
• George Meade, $1,000 1890, 1891 Treasury notes
• Robert E. Lee, on U.S. coins, the 1937 Battle of Antietam Half Dollar Commemorative, and 1925 Stone Mountain Commemorative
• George McClellan, on 1937 Battle of Antietam Half Dollar Commemorative,10¢ 1863 Searsport Bank, Maine, $1 1862 Chicopee Bank, Mass., $2 1861 Merchants Bank, N.J., $20 1862 Rutland County Bank, Vt.
• Stonewall Jackson, on U.S. coin, the 1925 Stone Mountain Commemorative, $500 17 Feb. 1864, Confederate note
• William T. Sherman, 15¢ fractional currency (proof notes), fourth issue, never circulated
• Winfield Scott Hancock, $2 Silver Certificates 1880s-90s
• Ulysses S. Grant, class of 1843. On 1922 Grant Memorial Half Dollar and current U.S. $50 bill.
• Philip Sheridan, $5 1896 silver certificate (back), $10 1890, 1891 Treasury or coin notes
• Douglas MacArthur, 2500 piso gold, 1980, Philippines
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, $1 Coin from 1971–78, and 1990 Eisenhower Centennial Dollar
• Fidel V. Ramos, 2000 piso gold, 1996, Philippines

• 

  $1 Coin. Dwight D. Eisenhower class of 1915 on obverse; The reverse is based on the Apollo 11 mission patch designed by Michael Collins class of 1952

• 

  $50 bill. U.S. Grant, class of 1846

• 

  $5 silver certificate with U.S. Grant and Phillip Sheridan

• 

  U.S. Grant on a gold certificate

Graduates depicted on postage stamps

• Alden Partridge, class of 1806. Appears on 11¢ Great Americans series stamp (1985)
• Sylvanus Thayer, class of 1808. Appears on 9¢ Great Americans series stamp (1985)
• Jefferson Davis, class of 1828. Appears on 6¢ Stone Mountain Memorial commemorative stamp (1970), 32¢ Civil War commemorative stamp (1995) and eight Confederate stamps.
• Joseph E. Johnston, class of 1829. Appears on 32¢ Civil War commemorative stamp (1995)
• Robert E. Lee, class of 1829. Appears on 4¢ Army commemorative stamp (1937), 30¢ Liberty series stamp (1955 and 1957), 6¢ Stone Mountain Memorial stamp (1970), and 32¢ Civil War commemorative stamp (1995)
• Montgomery Blair, class of 1835. Appears on 15¢ airmail stamp (1963) and on one Belgian stamp.
• William Tecumseh Sherman, class of 1840. Appears on 8¢ stamps (1893 and 1895), 3¢ Army commemorative stamp (1937), 32¢ Civil War commemorative stamp (1995), and on stamps from Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.
• Ulysses S. Grant, class of 1843. Appears on 5¢ stamps (1890, 1895, 1898), 4¢ stamp (1903), 8¢ stamp (1922), 3¢ Army commemorative stamp (1937), 18¢ Presidential series stamp (1938), 32¢ Civil War commemorative stamp (1995)
• Winfield Scott Hancock, class of 1844. Appears on 32¢ Civil War commemorative stamp (1995)
• Stonewall Jackson, class of 1846. Appears on 4¢ Army commemorative stamp (1937) and 6¢ Stone Mountain Memorial stamp (1970)
• Phillip Sheridan, class of 1853. Appears on 3¢ Army commemorative stamp (1937)
• George Washington Goethals, class of 1880. Appears on 3¢ Panama Canal commemorative stamp (1939) and on stamps issued for the Panama Canal Zone.
• John J. Pershing, class of 1886. Appears on 8¢ Liberty series stamp (1961) and on French stamps.
• John L. Hines, class of 1891. Appears on 33¢ Distinguished Soldiers commemorative stamp (2000)
• Douglas MacArthur, class of 1903. Appears on 6¢ commemorative stamp (1971) and on stamps from Korea and the Philippines.
• Joseph Stilwell, class of 1904. Appears on 10¢ Distinguished Americans series stamp (2000)
• Henry H. Arnold, class of 1907. Appears on 65¢ Great Americans series stamp (1988)
• George S. Patton Jr., class of 1909. Appears on 3¢ commemorative stamp (1953) and on stamps from Belgium and Luxembourg.
• Omar Bradley, class of 1915. Appears on 33¢ Distinguished Soldiers commemorative stamp (2000)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, class of 1915. Appears on 6¢ commemorative stamp (1969), 6¢ (1970) and 8¢ (1971) Prominent Americans series stamps, and on stamps of other countries.
• Frank Borman, class of 1950. Appears on ten stamps of Haiti, Hungary, and Senegal.
• Fidel V. Ramos, class of 1950. Appears on numerous Philippine Stamps since the 1990s
• Buzz Aldrin, class of 1951. Appears on foreign stamps.

Graduates selected as Time Magazines Person of the Year

• Hugh S. Johnson, class of 1903. Man of the Year – 1933
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, class of 1915. (twice) Man of the Year – 1944, 1959
• General William Westmoreland, class of 1936. Man of the Year – 1965
• Col. Frank Borman, Apollo 8. Men of the Year – 1968 (Shared honor with U.S. Naval Academy graduates James Lovell and Col. William Anders)

Other

• Maj. Gen.Samuel Ringgold, class of 1818; the "Father of Modern Artillery"
• Maj.David Moniac, class of 1822
• Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, class of 1826
• Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, class of 1827
• Gen. Jefferson Davis, class of 1828
• Gen. Robert E. Lee, class of 1829
• Maj. Gen. Whitfield Jack, class of 1928
• Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, class of 1829
• Maj. Gen. Francis Henney Smith, class of 1835
• Gen. George Meade, class of 1835
• Maj. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, class of 1836
• Gen. Braxton Bragg, class of 1837
• Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, class of 1837
• Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, class of 1837
• Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard, class of 1838
• Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, class of 1839
• Maj. Gen. Henry Wager Halleck, class of 1839
• Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, class of 1840
• Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, class of 1840
• Col. Abner Doubleday, class of 1842
• Gen. James Longstreet, class of 1842
• Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans, class of 1842
• Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, class of 1843
• Lt. Gen. and Gov. Simon Bolivar Buckner, class of 1844
• Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, class of 1844
• Gen. Stonewall Jackson, class of 1846
• Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, class of 1846
• Maj. Gen. George Pickett, class of 1846; graduated last in the class
• Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, class of 1847
• 2LT Tynon Cleveland, Class of 2019
• Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill, class of 1847
• Maj. Gen. John Buford, class of 1848
• Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II, class of 1848
• Brig. Gen. Eugene Asa Carr, class of 1850
• Maj. Gen. Alvan Cullem Gillem, class of 1851
• Maj. Gen. George Crook, class of 1852
• Gen. John Bell Hood, class of 1853
• Lt. Gen John Schofield, class of 1853
• Gen. Philip Sheridan, class of 1853
• Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, class of 1854
• Gen. Jeb Stuart, class of 1854
• Gen. George Armstrong Custer, class of June 1861; graduated last in class
• Brig. Gen. William Louis Marshall, class of 1868
• Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, class of 1875
• Brig. Gen. Willard Young class of 1875; first Mormon graduate and son of Brigham Young
• Maj. Gen. Hugh L. Scott, class of 1876
• Henry O. Flipper, class of 1877; first black American graduate
• Maj. Gen. J. Franklin Bell, class of 1878
• Lt. Gen. Hunter Liggett, class of 1879

George Washington Goethals, class of 1880

• George Washington Goethals, class of 1880
• Maj. Gen. John Wilson Ruckman, class of 1883
• General of the Armies John J. Pershing, class of 1886
• General Peyton C. March, class of 1888
• General John L. Hines, class of 1891
• General Charles Pelot Summerall, class of 1892
• Maj. Gen. Fox Conner, class of 1898
• Robert E. Wood, class of 1900
• Thomas Selfridge, class of 1903; the first person to die in a crash of a powered airplane
• Gen. Lesley J. McNair, class of 1904
• Gen. Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, class of 1904
• Gen. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV, class of 1906

Hap Arnold, class of 1907

• General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold, class of 1907
• Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., class of 1908
• Gen. Jacob L. Devers, class of 1909
• Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger, class of 1909
• Gen. George S. Patton, class of 1909
• Lt. Gen. William Hood Simpson, class of 1909
• Gen. Wade H. Haislip, class of 1912
• Lt. Gen. Walton Walker, class of 1912
• Gen. Alexander Patch, class of 1913
• Maj. Gen Junius Wallace Jones, class of 1913
• Brig. Gen. Vicente Lim, class of 1914
• Gen. Brehon B. Somervell, class of 1914
• Gen. Carl Andrew Spaatz, class of 1914
• General of the Army Omar Bradley, class of 1915
• General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, class of 1915
• Gen. Hubert Harmon, class of 1915
• Gen. Joseph T. McNarney, class of 1915
• Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, class of 1915
• Gen. James Van Fleet, class of 1915
• Gen. Robert Neyland, class of 1916
• Gen. Mark W. Clark, class of 1917
• Gen. J. Lawton Collins, class of 1917
• Maj. Gen. Norman Cota, class of 1917
• Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon, class of 1917
• Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, class of 1917
• Maj. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Sr., class of 1917
• Gen. Lucius D. Clay, class of June 1918
• Lt. Gen Leslie Groves, class of November 1918
• Gen. Alfred Gruenther, class of 1919
• Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, class of 1919
• Gen. Williston B. Palmer, class of 1919
• Earl Blaik, class of 1920
• Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, class of 1922
• Col. Mickey Marcus, class of 1924
• Gen. James Edward Moore, class of 1924
• Lt. Gen. James M. Gavin, class of 1929
• Gen. Harold K. Johnson, class of 1933
• Lt. Gen. Leighton I. Davis, class of 1935
• Gen. Creighton Abrams, class of 1936
• Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., class of 1936
• Gen. William Westmoreland, class of 1936
• Gen. Rafael Ileto, class of 1943
• Gen. Bernard W. Rogers, class of 1943
• Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, class of 1946
• Col. Thomas L. Gatch Jr., class of 1946
• Gov. Warren E. Hearnes, class of 1946
• Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, class of 1947
• Gen. Alexander Haig, class of 1947
• Col. Frank Borman, class of 1950
• Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, class of 1950
• Col. Buzz Aldrin, class of 1951
• Gen. Roscoe Robinson Jr., class of 1951
• Michael Collins, class of 1952
• Lt. Col. Ed White, class of 1952
• Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., class of 1956
• John Block, class of 1957
• Brig. Gen. Pete Dawkins, class of 1959
• Col. Jim Nicholson, class of 1961
• Maj. James Kimsey, class of 1962
• Gen. Barry McCaffrey, class of 1964
• Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, class of 1965
• Gen. Wesley Clark, class of 1966
• Brig. Gen. Thomas E. White, class of 1967
• Capt. Mike Krzyzewski, class of 1969
• Capt. Roy Moore, class of 1969
• Brig. Gen. Patrick Finnegan, class of 1971
• Capt. Jack Reed, class of 1971
• Col. William S. McArthur, class of 1973
• Col. Frank E. Weiss, class of 1973
• Gen. Keith B. Alexander, class of 1974
• Gen. Martin Dempsey, class of 1974
• Gen. David Petraeus, class of 1974
• Gen Walter L. Sharp, class of 1974
• Capt. Louis Caldera, class of 1978
• José María Figueres, class of 1979
• Capt. Geoff Davis, class of 1981
• Maj. Gen. Nadja West, class of 1982, the first black Army Surgeon General, the first black female active duty major general, and the first black female major general in Army Medicine.
• Maj. Gen. Diana M. Holland, class of 1990; the first female commandant of cadets at West Point; first female deputy commanding general of a light infantry division; first woman promoted to Maj. Gen. in the active component of the Army’s engineer branch.
• Brig. Gen. Hun Manet, class of 1999; son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
• Lt. Dan Choi, class of 2003; founding member and spokesperson of Knights Out, an organization of West Point alumni who support the rights of LGBT soldiers to serve openly
• Lt. Josh McNary, class of 2011; American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League

Non-graduates

Main article: List of United States Military Academy non-graduate alumni

As these alumni did not graduate, their class year represents the year they would have graduated if they had completed their education at the Academy.

Name Class year Notability References Jacob Zeilin ex 1826 First United States Marine Corps general officer, Commandant of the Marine Corps (1864–1876); part of Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan; discharged due to academics Edgar Allan Poe ex 1834 Served as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army 1827–1829; author who excelled in language who was expelled for neglecting duties. James Abbott McNeill Whistler ex 1855 Artist; discharged for academic and disciplinary problems after three years Timothy Leary ex 1943 Counterculture icon, LSD proponent; dropped out (and later coined phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out") Adam Vinatieri ex 1995 National Football League (NFL) placekicker New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts; left the Academy after two weeks

Edgar Allan Poe

References

General references

^ a: Special Collections: Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy. West Point, NY: United States Military Academy Library. 1950.
^ b: "Civil War Generals from West Point". University of Tennessee – Knoxville. 2003. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2009.

Inline citations

External links

• Notable alumni from the United States Military Academy
• Famous graduates
• West Pointers on stamps
• History of the Army Olympians
• Mexican War and After from American Military History a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History
• West Point in the Making of America
• West Point Fact Sheet
• List of Commanders of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters