# List of United States Military Academy top-ranking graduates

The United States Military Academy (USMA) is an undergraduate college in West Point, New York that educates and commissions officers for the United States Army. This article lists those alumni of the Military Academy who graduated top, or first, in their class.
All USMA cadets are rated each year; and get a final rating when they graduate. The cadet with the highest class rank is the one that has the best combination of score, academic standing, additional merits and demerits. The United States Military Academy opened in 1802; the initial class having just two cadets. The academy started the practice of ranking its graduates in 1818.

## Top-ranking graduates

| Year | Name | Highest Rank | Notability | Sources |
| 1802 | Joseph Gardner Swift | Colonel Bvt. Brigadier General | First graduate ever, Superintendent of the Military Academy (1812–1814) and Chief of Engineers; resigned 1818, surveyor of the port of New York, government civil engineer. | |
| 1803 | Walker Keith Armistead | Colonel Bvt. Brigadier General | Chief of Engineers 1818-1821; colonel 3rd U.S. Artillery | [a] [b] |
| 1804 | Samuel Gates | Second Lieutenant | Resigned 1805; merchant. | [a] [b] |
| 1805 | George Bomford | Colonel | Chief of Ordnance; Inspector of Arsenals, inventor and designer of weapons and defensive installations. | [a] [b] |
| 1806 | William Gates | Colonel Bvt. Brigadier General | Given active assignment at age 75 in 1863. | [a] [b] |
| 1807 | Justus Post | Colonel | Quartermaster General 1814-1815; disbanded 1815, becoming farmer, judge,engineer and Missouri state senator. | [a] [b] |
| 1808 | Daniel A. A. Buck | Captain | Disbanded 1815; lawyer, representative and speaker Vermont House of Representatives, U.S. Congressman; clerk, War Department, Treasury Department | [a] [b] |
| 1809 | Christopher Van Deventer | Major | Chief Clerk in the War Department 1817-1827; resigned due to financial scandal. | [b] [3] |
| 1810 | | | No one graduated this year | |
| 1811 | Alexander J. Williams | Captain | Son of Jonathan Williams, first superintendent of West Point. Killed in action at Fort Erie 1814. | [a] [b] |
| 1812 | Joseph M. Wilcox | First Lieutenant | Killed in action and scalped by Creek fighters 1814 | [a] [b] |
| 1813 | George Trescott | First Lieutenant | Only graduate 1813; resigned 1819, becoming a civil engineer and rice planter. | [a] [b] |
| 1814 | George Gardiner | Captain | Killed in action against hostile Seminoles 1835 | [a] [b] |
| 1815 | Henry Middleton | Second Lieutenant | Resigned 1816; graduated from law school 1822, never practiced; author. | [a] [b] |
| 1816 | | | No one graduated this year | |
| 1817 | Augustus Roumfort | Second Lieutenant, USMC | Resigned 1818; military storekeeper, Ordnance Department 1834-41; mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1863-1866 | [a] [b] |
| 1818 | Richard Delafield | Brigadier General Bvt. Major General | 7th, 11th, and 13th Superintendent of the Military Academy (1838–1845, 1856–1861 and 1861), Chief of Engineers (1864–1866) | |
| 1819 | William A. Eliason | Captain | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died in New York at age 39. | |
| 1820 | Stephen Tuttle | 1st Lieutenant | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died in Florida at age 37. | |
| 1821 | Edward H. Courtenay | 2nd Lieutenant | Second Lieutenant, resigned 1829; professor at West Point 1829-1834; then college professor and civil engineer. | [a] [b] |
| 1822 | George Dutton | Major | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died in Philadelphia at age 54. | |
| 1823 | Alfred Mordecai | Major | Served in the Ordnance Dept., Asst. Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy & Asst. Professor of Engineering at the Military Academy, observer in the Crimean War 1855‑57; resigned 1861. | |
| 1824 | Dennis Hart Mahan | 2nd Lieutenant | Military theorist that heavily influenced Civil War tactics; taught Engineering at the Military Academy for over 40 years. | |
| 1825 | Alexander D. Bache | 2nd Lieutenant | Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, served as Vice President of the U.S. Sanitary Commission during Civil War | |
| 1826 | William H. C. Bartlett | 2nd Lieutenant | taught Natural and Experimental Philosophy at the Military Academy for 37 years | |
| 1827 | Ebenezer S. Sibley | Lieutenant Colonel | served in the Artillery and in the Quartermaster Department | |
| 1828 | Albert E. Church | 1st Lieutenant | taught Mathematics at the Military Academy for 46 years | |
| 1829 | Charles Mason | Bvt. 2nd Lieutenant | Asst. Professor of Engineering at the Military Academy. Highest graduating score in USMA history, and famous for graduating one slot ahead of Robert E. Lee, who had the second highest score in USMA history. | |
| 1830 | Alexander J. Swift | Captain | served in the Corps of Engineers, died after he became sick during the Siege of Veracruz 1847 | |
| 1831 | Roswell Park | 2nd Lieutenant | Served in the Corps of Engineers; resigned in 1836, becoming a scholar, a clergyman and an author. | |
| 1832 | George W. Ward | 1st Lieutenant | Served in the Artillery; resigned in 1836, becoming a merchant at Matagorda Bay, Texas. | |
| 1833 | Frederic A. Smith | Captain | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died 1852 at the age of 40. | |
| 1834 | William D. Fraser | Captain Bvt. Major | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died at Key West at the age of 42. | |
| 1835 | George W. Morell | 2nd Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General (USV) Major General (USV) (unconfirmed) | Served in the Corps of Engineers; resigned 1837, becoming a lawyer and a judge in New York State, also colonel of NY militia; commanded an infantry division in the American Civil War. | |
| 1836 | George L. Welcker | Captain | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died 1848 at age 36. | |
| 1837 | Henry W. Benham | Colonel (USA) Bvt. Major General (USA) Brigadier General (USV) | Commanded the Engineer Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. | |
| 1838 | William H. Wright | 1st Lieutenant | Served in the Corps of Engineers; died in 1845 at age 31. | |
| 1839 | Isaac I. Stevens | 1st Lieutenant (USA) Bvt. Major (USA) Major General (USV) | Served in the Corps of Engineers; commanded an infantry division when he was killed at the Battle of Chantilly 1862. | |
| 1840 | Paul O. Hébert | Lieutenant Colonel (USA) Bvt. Colonel (USA) Brigadier General (CSA) | Governor of Louisiana, 1853-1856. During the Civil War he participated in the Confederate Defense of Vicksburg and the Battle of Milliken's Bend. | [a] [4] |
| 1841 | Zealous B. Tower | Colonel (USA) Bvt. Major General (USA) Brigadier General (USV) | Served in the Corps of Engineers, Superintendent of the Military Academy (1864–1866) | |
| 1842 | Henry L. Eustis | 2nd Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General (USV) | Served in the Corps of Engineers; resigned in 1849, becoming professor of engineering at Harvard University; commanded an infantry brigade during the American Civil War. | |
| 1843 | William B. Franklin | Colonel (USA) Bvt. Major General (USA) Major General (USV) | Served in the Corps of Topographical Engineers; commanded an infantry corps during the American Civil War. | |
| 1844 | William G. Peck | 1st Lieutenant | Served in the Corps of Topographical Engineers; resigned in 1855, becoming professor of mathematics and astronomy at Columbia University. | |
| 1845 | William H.C. Whiting | Captain (USA) Major General (CSA) | Died as a POW in New York in 1865. | [a] [5] |
| 1846 | Charles Seaforth Stewart | Colonel Brigadier General, Retired | Served in the Corps of Engineers | [a] [b] |
| 1847 | John C. Symmes | Captain | Served in the Ordnance Department; retired 1861 due to disability from disease and exposure in the line of duty. | |
| 1848 | William P. Trowbridge | 1st Lieutenant | Served in the Corps of Engineers; resigned in 1856, becoming an assistant to the superintendent of the United States Coast Survey; served as a civilian engineer during the American Civil, in charge of supplying engineering materials for the field armies; after the war, professor at Columbia and Yale. | |
| 1849 | Quincy A. Gilmore | Colonel (USA) Bvt. Major General (USA) Major General (USV) | Served in the Corps of Engineers, commanded an infantry corps during the American Civil War | |
| 1850 | Frederick E. Prime | Major Bvt. Colonel | Served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1851 | George L. Andrews | 2nd Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General (USV) Bvt. Major General (USV) | served in the Corps of Engineers, was an infantry and staff officer during the American Civil War, became Professor of French at the Military Academy | |
| 1852 | Thomas L. Casey | Brigadier General | Chief of Engineers | |
| 1853 | James B. McPherson | Brigadier General (USA) Major General (USV) | served in the Corps of Engineers, killed at the Battle of Atlanta 1864 while commanding the Army of the Tennessee | |
| 1854 | Custis Lee | 1st Lieutenant (USA) Major General (CSA) | Eldest son of Robert E. Lee, served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. | [a] [6] |
| 1855 | Cyrus B. Comstock | Brigadier General (USA) Bvt. Major General (USA) | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1856 | George W. Snyder | 1st Lieutenant (USA) Bvt. Major (USA) | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1857 | John C. Palfrey | Captain (USA) Bvt. Brigadier General (USA) Lieutenant Colonel (USV) | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1858 | William C. Paine | Captain | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1859 | William E. Merrill | Lieutenant Colonel (USA) Bvt. Colonel (USA) Colonel (USV) | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1860 | Walter McFarland | Lieutenant Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1861 (May) | Henry A. du Pont | Captain Bvt. Lieutenant Colonel | served in the Artillery | |
| 1861 (June) | Patrick O'Rorke | 1st Lieutenant (USA) Bvt. Colonel (USA) Colonel (USV) | killed at the Battle of Gettysburg 1863 while in command of the 140th New York Infantry regiment | |
| 1862 | Ranald S. Mackenzie | Brigadier General (USA) Bvt. Major General (USA) | served in the Corps of Engineers as well as in the Artillery, Infantry and Cavalry | |
| 1863 | John R. Meigs | 1st Lieutenant (USA) Bvt. Major (USA) | served in the Corps of Engineers, was killed during the American Civil War in 1864 | |
| 1864 | Garrett J. Lydecker | Brigadier General | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1865 | Charles W. Raymond | Brigadier General | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1866 | Henry M. Adams | Brigadier General | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1867 | Ernest H. Ruffner | Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1868 | Albert H. Payson | Captain | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1869 | Eric Bergland | Major | Served in the Corps of Engineers; was a 1st Lieutenant of 57th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War | [a] [7] |
| 1870 | Francis V. Greene | Captain (USA) Major General (USV) | served in the Corps of Engineers, participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) with the Russian Army, commanded infantry during the Spanish–American War | |
| 1871 | James R. Wasson | Colour Sergeant (USV) Major (USA) Colonel (Japanese Army) | enlisted during the Civil War and the Philippine–American War, left the U.S. Army four times (mustered out twice, resigned once and dismissed once), also served in the Imperial Japanese Army | |
| 1872 | Rogers Birnie | Colonel | served in the Ordnance Department, was a civil army consultant during World War I | |
| 1873 | William H. Bixby | Brigadier General | Chief of Engineers | |
| 1874 | Thomas W. Symons | Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1875 | Smith S. Leach | Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1876 | John R. Williams | Colonel | served in the Coastal Artillery, Asst. Professor of French (1878–1883) | |
| 1877 | William M. Black | Major General | Chief of Engineers | |
| 1878 | George M. Derby | Lieutenant Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1879 | Frederic Vaughan Abbot | Brigadier General | Commandant of Engineer School 1917–18, Acting Chief of Engineers 1919–20 | |
| 1880 | Oberlin M. Carter | Captain | Dismissed 29 September 1899, and sentenced to pay a fine of $5,000 and be confined five years in a penitentiary, by order of a general court martial. | [a] [9] |
| 1881 | John Millis | Colonel | Department Engineer, Southeast Department during World War I | [a] [10] |
| 1882 | Edward Burr | Brigadier General | Commanded 62nd Field Artillery Brigade on Western Front in World War I | |
| 1883 | George A. Zinn | Colonel | Son of Union Army colonel Henry I. Zinn; Division Engineer, North Pacific Division during World War I | [a] [11] |
| 1884 | Irving Hale | Brigadier General | | |
| 1885 | Joseph E. Kuhn | Major General | Commanded 79th Division on Western Front in World War I | |
| 1886 | Henry C. Newcomer | Brigadier General | Assistant Director of Chemical Warfare Service | |
| 1887 | Francis R. Shunk | Colonel | Grandson of Pennsylvania governor Francis R. Shunk; Department Engineer, Northeastern Department during World War I | [a] [12] |
| 1888 | Henry Jervey | Major General | Served as Director, Operations Division, General Staff during World War I | |
| 1890 | Edgar Jadwin | Lieutenant General | Director of Division of Light Railways and Roads, AEF | |
| 1891 | Spencer Cosby | Colonel | Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia 1908–09; Commanded 5th, 605th, 209th Engineers | |
| 1892 | James B. Cavanaugh | Colonel | Cavanaugh House (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District Commander's residence), at the Chittenden Locks, in Ballard, Seattle, are named after him. | [a] [13] |
| 1893 | George P. Howell | Colonel | | |
| 1894 | William B. Ladue | Colonel | Commanded 314th, 603rd, 211th, 1st, 11th Engineers; Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia 1927–30 | [a] [14][15] |
| 1895 | Edward H. Schulz | Colonel (National Army) Lieutenant Colonel (Regular Army) | Served in the Engineers, as regimental and district commander. | [a] [16] |
| 1896 | Edwin R. Stuart | Lieutenant Colonel | | |
| 1897 | William D. Connor | Major General | Chief of Staff SOS AEF 1918–19; Commanding General SOS AEF 1919; Commandant, Army War College 1927–1932; Superintendent and Commandant, United States Military Academy 1932–38 | |
| 1898 | Frank C. Boggs Jr. | Colonel | | |
| 1899 | James A. Woodruff | Major General | Commandant, Engineer School 1921–24; Director Command and General Staff School, 1928–31; Commanded Hawaiian Division 1938–39 | |
| 1900 | George B. Pillsbury | Brigadier General | Commanded 115th Engineers, 40th Division and 102nd Engineers, 27th Division in France; Assistant to Chief of Engineers 1930–37 | |
| 1901 | Edward N. Johnston | Colonel | | |
| 1902 | William A. Mitchell | Brigadier General | Officer in World War I receiving the Distinguished Service Medal and the Croix de Guerre and was an officer of the Legion of Honor. After the war he became a professor of engineering at West Point and while there revised many of the textbooks for his department. | |
| 1903 | Douglas MacArthur | General of the Army (USA) Field Marshal (Philippine Army) | Corps of Engineers; Chief of Staff, Brigade Commander, and Commander of the 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division during World War I; Superintendent of the Military Academy (1919–22); Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; commanded the U.S. Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II; Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in charge of Occupied Japan; commanded the United Nations Command during the Korean War; awarded the Medal of Honor, Grand-croix of the French Légion d'honneur, Congressional Gold Medal, 3 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 7 Silver Stars | |
| 1904 | Charles R. Pettis | Colonel | | |
| 1905 | Dewitt C. Jones | Colonel | | |
| 1906 | Harold S. Hetrick | Colonel | | |
| 1907 | James G. Steese | Colonel | | |
| 1908 | Glen E. Edgerton | Major General | Governor of Panama Canal Zone 1940–44 | |
| 1909 | Stuart C. Godfrey | Brigadier General | Chief Air Engineer, CBI 1943–45 | |
| 1910 | Frederick S. Strong Jr. | Brigadier General | Command North West Service Command 1944; UK Base 1945 | |
| 1911 | Philip B. Fleming | Major General | Federal Works Administrator 1941–49; Ambassador to Costa Rica 1951–53 | |
| 1912 | Howard S. Bennion | Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers during World War I | |
| 1913 | Francis K. Newcomer | Brigadier General | Governor of Panama Canal Zone 1944–49 | |
| 1914 | William H. Holcombe | Brigadier General | Commander Ramgarh Training Area | |
| 1915 | William E.R. Covell | Major General | served in the Corps of Engineers and the Quartermaster Department | |
| 1916 | John Howard Wills | Major | awarded Distinguished Service Cross for actions on 21 July 1918; killed in action on 29 July 1918 | |
| 1917 (April) | Harris Jones | Brigadier General | awarded Distinguished Service Cross for actions in World War I; Professor of Mathematics, USMA 1931–47; Dean of Academic Board, USMA 1947–56 | |
| 1917 (August) | Herman H. Pohl | Colonel | | |
| 1918 (June) | John Paul Dean | Major | | |
| 1918 (November) | David W. Griffiths | Colonel | | |
| 1919 | Louis George Horowitz | Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers, his son James Salter also graduated in 1945 | |
| 1920 | James B. Cullum | Colonel | | |
| 1921 | Morris H. Marcus | Colonel | | |
| 1922 | Charles J. Bartlett | Colonel | CG 84th Infantry Division | |
| 1922 (June) | Frank L. Beadle | Colonel | | |
| 1923 | Frank R. Johnson | First Lieutenant | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 1924 | Wallace H. Hastings | Colonel | | |
| 1925 | Charles H. Barth Jr. | Brigadier General | Killed in air crash in Iceland that also killed Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews on 5 May 1943 | |
| 1926 | William C. Baker Jr. | Major General | | |
| 1927 | Hans W. Holmer | Colonel | Served as Assistant Professor of Mechanics at West Point. During World War II he was Engineer, Army Ground Forces, at Headquarters, Army Ground Forces. After the war he served as Director of the Transport Office of the Allied Military Government in Germany. | [a] [20] |
| 1928 | Luke W. Finlay | Brigadier General | Resigned as Second Lieutenant of Engineers to study law at Yale, becoming a lawyer in 1934 and counsel for Standard Oil Company in 1938. He returned to the army during the war, serving as executive officer to the general commanding the Transportation Corps. After the war he was several times recalled to service, in 1952 serving in Europe with the diplomatic rank of minister. | [a] [21] |
| 1929 | Horace F. Sykes Jr. | Colonel | | |
| 1930 | Paul F. Yount | Major General | In charge of military railways in Iraq, Iran and Burma during World War II. Chief of Transportation, Department of the Army (1953 to 1958). | [a] [22] |
| 1931 | Kenneth A. McCrimmon | Brigadier General | Commanding General, First Logistical Command. Legion of Merit 1961. | [a] [23] |
| 1932 | Rush B. Lincoln Jr. | Major General | Chief of Transportation (1962–1963) | |
| 1933 | Kenneth E. Fields | Brigadier General | Awarded the Silver Star as commander of 1159th Engineer Combat Group at the Battle of Remagen in 1945. Received the Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1955 for his contributions to the development of thermonuclear weapons. | [a] [25][26] |
| 1934 | Charles F. Tank | Brigadier General | Participated in the invasion of North Africa as a staff officer, and in the Battle of Anzio as CO of a combat engineer battalion. Transferred from the Engineers to the Transportation Corps in 1950, he served as commanding general of several transportation commands. During his career he was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Legion of Merit. | [a] [27] |
| 1935 | John D. Bristor | Colonel | District Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, 1950-1953. | [a] [28] |
| 1936 | Oliver G. Haywood Jr. | Brigadier General, USAF | Doctor of Science and Chief of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. | |
| 1937 | Arthur W. Oberbeck | Lieutenant General | CG 1st Infantry Division, Joint Task Force Eight | |
| 1938 | John R. Jannarone | Brigadier General | Professor of Physics and Chemistry at West Point; Dean of the Academic Board, 1965-1973. | |
| 1939 | Stanley W. Dziuban Sr. | Colonel | | |
| 1940 | Harold C. Brown | Colonel | Served with the Corps of Engineers in New Guinea and the Philippines in WWII. Received a Master of Nuclear Science at the University of Chicago in 1948. Served as District Engineer for USACE in Galveston, Texas. Retired from the Army to the Seattle area in 1966 and worked for Boeing until his final retirement. | |
| 1941 | Alfred J. F. Moody | Brigadier General | Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War. | |
| 1942 | James Hart Hottenroth | Colonel | Army Corps of Engineers. Served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam where he Commanded 159 Engineer Group in 1965. | |
| 1943 (January) | Dimitri A. Kellogg | Colonel | | |
| 1943 (June) | Thomas K. Oliver | Lt. Colonel | | |
| 1944 | James F. Scoggin Jr. | Colonel | | |
| 1945 | Dwight A. Riley Jr. | First Lieutenant | | |
| 1946 | Wesley Posvar | Brigadier General | Rhodes Scholar; Taught at the Air Force Academy | |
| 1947 | Robert M. Montague Jr. | Brigadier General | Son of Lieutenant General Robert Miller Montague. Vietnam War strategist who later served as executive director of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and the Special Olympics. | |
| 1948 | Joseph M. Kiernan Jr. | Lieutenant Colonel | Killed in a helicopter crash while on a combat reconnaissance flight near Bien Hoa, South Vietnam on 3 June 1967 | |
| 1949 | Richard T. Carvolth III | Captain | Rhodes Scholar; killed in a plane crash while making a night instrument take-off at Oxnard Air Force Base, California, on 10 July 1954 | |
| 1950 | William B. DeGraf | Colonel | served as an enlisted soldier during World War II and received a battlefield promotion to 2nd Lieutenant in 1945, later served in Korea and Vietnam | |
| 1951 | Gordon E. Danforth | Colonel | served as Air Force pilot | |
| 1952 | Harry L. Van Trees | First Lieutenant | Sc.D.EE, M.I.T. Professor of Electrical Engineering, M.I.T. M.I.T loaned him to DoD where he was Chief Scientist of the Defense Communications Agency, Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force, Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3I. Received IEEE Kilby Gold Medal in signal processing, elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2015. |
| 1953 | Ed D. Davis | Colonel | Earned his pilot's wings in the Air Force before serving in logistics and training posts, retired in 1981 | |
| 1954 | Marion F. Meador | Lieutenant Colonel | Resigned in 1974 | |
| 1955 | Lee D. Olvey | Brigadier general | Rhodes Scholar; Retired in 1989 | |
| 1956 | Robert A. Stewart | Colonel | USAF; MIA 12 May 1967, later declared dead | |
| 1957 | John H. Vickers | Colonel | Retired in 1980 | |
| 1958 | George W. P. Walker | Second Lieutenant | Died in a civilian small plane crash, 31 January 1959 | |
| 1959 | James L. Abrahamson | Colonel | Professor of History at USMA, Army War College and Campbell University. Author of several books. Died 12 October 2020 | |
| 1960 | Charles P. Otstott | Lieutenant General | Commanded 25th Infantry Division. Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1990 to 1992 | |
| 1961 | John L. Kammerdiener | Major | | |
| 1962 | John H. Fagan Jr. | Second lieutenant | Retired with disability 1963 | |
| 1963 | Homer J. Holland | Major | Resigned in 1972 | |
| 1964 | Jere M. Richardson | Captain | Resigned in 1968 | |
| 1965 | Daniel W. Christman | Lieutenant General | Superintendent of the Military Academy (1996–2001), retired in 2001 | |
| 1966 | Wesley K. Clark | General | Rhodes Scholar, Commander of SHAPE during the Kosovo War, retired in 2000 | |
| 1967 | Ernest C. Heimberg Jr. | Captain | | |
| 1968 | Lamar C. Ratcliffe Jr. | Colonel | | |
| 1969 | Howard J. Von Kaenel | Major General | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 1970 | Jack Carl Zoeller | Captain | Rhodes Scholar. Founder, Purefy. Has been a CEO in the financial services industry for over 30 years, including at EF Hutton Indemnity. He served as a US Army Ranger and infantry commander in the 82nd Airborne, and holds degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and Oxford University. | |
| 1971 | John William Murray Moore MD, MPH | LTC Army Medical Corps | Physician Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, Walter Reed AMC (1986-1991); Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, Rady Children’s Hospital and UC San Diego Medical School (2006-2021) | |
| 1972 | Timothy T. Lupfer | Lieutenant Colonel | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 1973 | Jay C. Willis | Major | | |
| 1974 | Ralph H. Graves | Colonel | served in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 1975 | John M. McMurray | Lieutenant Colonel | | |
| 1976 | Danny Mac Davis | Colonel | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 1977 | Greg A. Bowers | Captain | | |
| 1978 | Jeffrey W. Long | Major | Olmsted Scholar | |
| 1979 | Bert Mizusawa | Major General | | |
| 1980 | Chris C. Casciato | Captain | | |
| 1981 | Kenneth P. Fleischer | Captain | | |
| 1982 | Peter R. Mansoor | Colonel | General Raymond Mason Chair of Military History, Ohio State University | |
| 1983 | Mark S. Martins | Brigadier General | Rhodes Scholar; Served as Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions from 2009 to 2021 | |
| 1984 | Patrick M. Wray | Captain | | |
| 1985 | Lawrence M. Young | Captain | served as infantry officer, resigned in 1990, later graduated from Yale | |
| 1986 | Mike Pompeo | Captain | resigned in 1991, formerly served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Formerly served as United States Secretary of State. | |
| 1987 | Michael F. Garceau | Captain | | |
| 1988 | Doug Fraley | Captain | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 1989 | Patrick A. Brown | | Marshall Scholar; oncology and pediatrics faculty at Johns Hopkins University | |
| 1990 | Edward P. Hoyt | | Marshall Scholar | |
| 1991 | Richard O. Burney | Colonel | Marshall Scholar; Surgeon | |
| 1992 | John R. Sadler Jr. | Captain | | |
| 1993 | Marc Wehmeyer | Lieutenant Colonel | | |
| 1994 | Todd Morgenfeld | | Pinterest CFO | |
| 1995 | Rebecca E. Marier (McGuigan) | Lieutenant Colonel | First female valedictorian; Harvard Medical School Graduate, General Surgeon | |
| 1996 | John R. Hughes | | | |
| 1997 | Adam K. Ake | Brigadier General | Rhodes Scholar, Assistant U.S. Attorney | |
| 1998 | W. Patrick Connelly | Captain | | |
| 1999 | Walter R. Cooper III | Lieutenant Colonel | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 2000 | William W.F. Parsons | Colonel | | |
| 2001 | Seth A. Bodnar | Lieutenant Colonel | Rhodes Scholar, President of University of Montana | |
| 2002 | Brian Clymer | Captain | | |
| 2003 | Brodie Hoyer | Lieutenant Colonel | | |
| 2004 | Daniel G. Kang | Captain | | |
| 2005 | Michael D. April | Lieutenant Colonel | Rhodes Scholar. Harvard Medical School Graduate. | |
| 2006 | Jonathan Bate | Lieutenant Colonel | on active duty, formerly an Economics Instructor at United States Military Academy | |
| 2007 | Gregory J. Stevens | Major | | |
| 2008 | Scott Y. Yang | Captain | | |
| 2009 | Brady Dearden | Captain | on active duty | |
| 2010 | Elizabeth Betterbed | Major | Second female valedictorian; Rhodes Scholar, on active duty, currently serves in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 2011 | Marc Beaudoin | Major | | |
| 2012 | Alexander George Pagoulatos | Captain | | |
| 2013 | Adam Leemans | Captain | USAR, currently serves in the Corps of Engineers | |
| 2014 | Louis S. Tobergte | Captain | Rotary Scholar (University of Leeds), Defense Ventures Fellow (Cohort 12) | |
| 2015 | Courtland R. Adams | Captain | | |
| 2016 | Joshua D. Allyn | Captain | | |
| 2017 | Hugh P. McConnell | Captain | | |
| 2018 | Joy E. Bledsoe (née Schaeffer) | Captain | Third female valedictorian. Marshall Scholar. Currently on active duty. | |
| 2019 | David Bindon | 1st Lieutenant | | |
| 2020 | Lynne D. Mooradian | 1st Lieutenant | Fourth female valedictorian | |
| 2021 | Justin Michael Gittemeier | 2nd Lieutenant | | |
| 2022 | Holland F. Pratt | | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 2023 | Kai L. Youngren | | Rhodes Scholar | |
| 2024 | Skyler J. Chauff | 2nd Lieutenant | Medical Service Corps Officer | |