Superintendents of the United States Military Academy

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The commanding officer of the United States Military Academy is its Superintendent. This position is roughly equivalent to the president of an American civilian university. The officer appointed is by tradition a graduate of the United States Military Academy who is considered to best exemplify the creed of "Duty, Honor, Country".

Historically, the Superintendency was often a stepping stone to higher prominence within the Army. The list of Superintendents includes future Commanding Generals or Chiefs of Staff John McAllister Schofield, Hugh L. Scott, Douglas MacArthur, Maxwell Davenport Taylor, and William Westmoreland. However, in the modern era, the post is a terminal assignment in the Army; as a condition for detail to the position the officer is required by law to acknowledge that he will be retired at the end of his appointment. This formulation was meant to secure the independence of the Superintendent from undue command influence; however, this lame duck status also restricts his power and influence within the Army. There has been some discussion about reverting to the previous system or recalling a retired officer to fill the post.

The billet carries the rank of lieutenant general, and is not counted against the Army's statutory limit on the number of active-duty officers above the rank of major general. Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster originally retired from active duty as a full general, was recalled to assume the superintendency as a lieutenant general, and reverted to his four-star rank upon his second retirement.

Superintendents

1st Superintendent: 1801-1803: Col. Jonathan Williams (1750-1815) – In June 1803, Lieutenant Colonel Williams vacated (he did not resign) the post of Superintendent. He returned in Superintendency in April 1805.
1803-1805: Maj. William Amherst Barron (1769-1825) - Major Barron resigned his commission on 14 June 1807, just before he was brought to trial by a court martial for "for ...neglect of the Military Academy..."
1805-1812: Col. Jonathan Williams (1750-1815)
1812-1814: Col. Joseph Gardner Swift (1783-1865), Class of 1802
1814-1817: Capt. Alden Partridge (1785-1854), Class of 1806
1817-1833: Col. Sylvanus Thayer (1785–1872), Class of 1808
1833-1838: Maj. Rene DeRussy (1796-1864), Class of 1812
1838-1845; Richard Delafield (1798-1873), Class of 1818
1845-1852: Henry Brewerton (1801-1879), Class of 1819
1852-1855: Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Class of 1829
1855-1856: John Gross Barnard (1815-1882), Class of 1833
1856-1861: Richard Delafield (1798-1873), Class of 1818
January 23-28, 1861; Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard (1818-1893), Class of 1838
January 28-March 1 1861: Richard Delafield (1798-1873), Class of 1818
1861-1864, Alexander Hamilton Bowman (1803-1865), Class of 1825
July to September 1864, Zealous Bates Tower (1819-1900), Class of 1841
1864-1866, George Washington Cullum (1809-1892), Class of 1833
1866-1871, Thomas Gamble Pitcher (1824-1895), Class of 1845
1871-1876, Thomas H. Ruger (1833-1907), Class of 1854
1876-1881: Maj. Gen. John McAllister Schofield (1831-1906), Class of 1853 – Awarded the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861. Later commanding general of the Army.
1881-1882: Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909), Class of 1854
1882-1887: Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt (1834-1910), Class of 1860
1887-1889: Col. John Parke (1827-1900), Class of 1849
1889-1893: Col. John Moulder Wilson (1837-1919), Class of 1860 - Awarded the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Malvern Hill, VA in 1862
1893-1898: Col. Oswald Hurbert Ernst (1842-1926), Class of 1864
1898-1906: [Albert Leopold Mills] (1854-1916), Class of 1879 - Awarded the Medal of Honor as a 1st Lt. at San Juan Hill in Cuba. Appointed Superintendent to West Point by President McKinley, which carried an automatic promotion from 1st Lt. to Col.
1906-1910: Hugh L. Scott (1853-1934), Class of 1876
1911-1912: Thomas Henry Barry (1855-1919), Class of 1877
1913-1917: Clarence Page Townsley, 18??-1926, Class of 1881
1917-1919: Samuel Escue Tillman (1847-1942), Class of 1869
1919-1922: Brig. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Class of 1903 - Awarded the Medal of Honor in 1942 for his leadership to Philippine resistance to the Japanese invasion.
1922-1925: Brig. Gen. Fred Winchester Sladen (1863-1945), Class of 1890
1926-1928: Merch Bradt (M.B.) Stewart (1875-1934), Class of 1896
1928: Edwin Baruch Winans (1869-1947), Class of 1891
1929-1932: William Ruthven Smith (1868-1941), Class of 1892
1932-1938: William Durward Connor (1874-1960), Class of 1897
1938-1940: Jay Leland Benedict (1882-1953), Class Of 1904
1940-1942: Robert L. Eichelberger (1886-1961), Class of 1909
1942-1945: Francis Bowditch Wilby (1883-1965), Class of 1905
1945-1949: Maj. General Maxwell Davenport Taylor, Class of 1922
1949-1951: Bryant Edward Moore (1894-1951), Class of Aug 1917
1951-1954: Maj. General Frederick Augustus Irving (1894-1995), Class of 1917
1954-1956: Blackshear Morrison Bryan (1900-1977), Class of 1922
1956-1960: Gen. Garrison Holt Davidson (1904-1992), Class of 1927
1960-1963: Gen. William Westmoreland (1914-2005), Class of 1936
1963-1966: James Benjamin Lampert (1914-1978), Class of 1936
1966-1969: Lt. Gen. Donald V. Bennett (1915- 2005), Class of 1940
1969-1970: Maj. Gen. Samuel William Koster (1919- ), Class of 1942
1970-1974: William Allen Knowlton (1920- ), Class of Jan. 1943
1974-1977: Sidney Bryan Berry (1926- ), Class of 1948
1977-1981: Lt. Gen. Andrew Jackson Goodpaster (1915-2005), Class of 1939
1981-1986: Gen. Willard Warren Scott, Jr. (1926- ), Class of 1948
1986-1991: Lt. Gen. Dave Richard Palmer (1934- ), Class of 1956
1991-1996: Lt. Gen. Howard Dwayne Graves (1939-2003), Class of 1961
1996-2001: Lt. Gen. Daniel William Christman (1943- ), Class of 1965
2001-2006: Lt. Gen. William James Lennox, Jr. (1949- ), Class of 1971.
2006: Lt. Gen Franklin Lee Hagenbeck (1949- ), Class of 1971 (incumbent).

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