List of United States Military Academy alumni
Name Class year Notability
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 )
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.