Curated playlist

United States Military Academy alumni

Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe's executor used forged letters to paint him as a drunken madman.
Ed White (astronaut)Ed White floated out of his capsule in 1965 and did not want to come back. He was the first American to walk in space.
Ulysses S. GrantIn 1859, Ulysses S. Grant freed an enslaved man worth at least $1,000 that he desperately needed.
Don Carlos BuellUnion General Don Carlos Buell missed most of the battle that ended his career. At Perryville, weather muffled the guns.
Dwight D. EisenhowerEisenhower wrote a note taking all blame if D-Day failed. He drafted it on the eve of the June 1944 landings.
Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin's first words on the Moon were "Beautiful view." Years later he was selling used cars.
Joseph E. JohnstonJoseph E. Johnston stood bareheaded in the rain at his old enemy's funeral. He died of pneumonia a month later.
Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee privately called secession "nothing but revolution" before he led the army that fought for it.
Joseph HookerA typesetter's dropped dash gave Civil War general Joseph Hooker the nickname "Fighting Joe." Hooker hated it.
Frank BormanA stranger's telegram told Apollo 8's Frank Borman, "You saved 1968." He commanded the first crew to orbit the Moon.
David ScottDavid Scott dropped a hammer and a feather on the Moon. The Apollo 15 commander did it on live television.
George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer, born on the 5th of December 1839, graduated from West Point in 1861 ranked 34th out of 34. In four years at the academy he piled up 726 demerits, one of the worst conduct records in its history. A roommate observed…
Braxton BraggA soldier set off a shell under Braxton Bragg's cot in 1847, and Bragg was untouched.
John Pope (general)Union general John Pope captured Island No. 10 on the Mississippi after his engineers cut a channel around it.
Alfred WordenIn 1971, Alfred Worden orbited the Moon alone, farther from any other person than anyone before.
Michael Collins (astronaut)Michael Collins orbited the Moon thirty times and never set foot on it.
George S. PattonA reporter once heard George S. Patton say that winning in combat took "blood and brains." The reporter began calling him "blood and guts," and the nickname followed Patton for the rest of his life. Soldiers under his command sometimes…
Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur came up with his own field marshal title. Philippine President Quezon conferred it in 1936.
Jefferson DavisWhy was Confederate president Jefferson Davis never tried for treason? Prosecutors feared an acquittal.
William Tecumseh ShermanThe Cincinnati Commercial called Union general William Tecumseh Sherman insane in 1861. He later took Atlanta.
Irvin McDowellIrvin McDowell told politicians his troops weren't ready, and they sent him to fight anyway.
John Bell HoodJohn Bell Hood's amputated leg rode with him in the ambulance. The surgeon assumed they would be buried together.
John SedgwickUnion General John Sedgwick told his men enemy sharpshooters couldn't hit an elephant.
Quincy Adams GillmoreQuincy Adams Gillmore directed a bombardment in which more than 5,000 artillery shells fell on Fort Pulaski from a range of 1,700 yards. The fort's stone walls were breached, and its garrison surrendered. Gillmore lived from 1825 to 1888.…
George B. McClellanGeneral McClellan wrote that he might have made himself Dictator if he had wanted to.
James LongstreetAt Gettysburg, Confederate General James Longstreet could not speak the order for Pickett's Charge and only nodded.
Earl Van DornConfederate general Earl Van Dorn was shot at his own desk by a doctor. The doctor accused him of seducing his wife.
Gordon GrangerGordon Granger read the order in Galveston that told Texas all slaves were free. The date became Juneteenth.
John SchofieldIn 1892, General John Schofield awarded himself the Medal of Honor. He was then Commanding General of the U.S. Army.
Timothy LearyTimothy Leary escaped prison in September 1970 by climbing a telephone wire over the wall.
Philip SheridanUnion general Philip Sheridan rose from captain to major general in six months.
Albert Sidney JohnstonAlbert Sidney Johnston bled to death at Shiloh after sending his own surgeon away.
David HunterIn May 1862, General David Hunter declared all enslaved people in three states free. Lincoln canceled it.
George CrookThe Apache called General George Crook Nantan Lupan, meaning Chief Wolf. He testified for the Ponca tribe in court.
George Henry ThomasGeorge Henry Thomas's sisters sent back his money and declared they had no brother. He stayed in the U.S. Army.
Leonidas PolkLeonidas Polk died with three small books in his pocket, each titled Balm for the Weary and Wounded. Each had been inscribed to a different general, Johnston, Hardee and Hood in turn, “with the compliments of Lieutenant General Leonidas…
William W. AverellCivil War general William W. Averell patented a pavement method in 1878.
Stonewall JacksonStonewall Jackson, born Thomas Jonathan Jackson, came close to losing his teaching post at the Virginia Military Institute. In 1856, a group of alumni tried to have him removed. His students had already nicknamed him Tom Fool. They…
George MeadeGeorge Meade woke to a messenger at his tent and assumed he was being arrested. Instead he got command of the army.
P. G. T. BeauregardBeauregard fired the Civil War's first shots at his own former teacher. Robert Anderson had taught him at West Point.
Ambrose BurnsideAmbrose Burnside turned down command of the Union's main army twice. The third time, he took it to keep Hooker out.
Nathaniel LyonGeneral Nathaniel Lyon ended a four-hour meeting with Missouri's governor by saying his demands meant war.
William Babcock HazenWilliam Babcock Hazen, a United States Army officer who lived from 1830 to 1887, was summed up by the writer Ambrose Bierce as "The best hated man I ever knew." Bierce did not mean it as a compliment, and the record suggests he had…
William RosecransGeneral William Rosecrans lost his command after one badly worded order at Chickamauga.