{"id":13944,"date":"2016-04-02T04:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T09:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hcstx.org\/?p=13944"},"modified":"2016-04-02T04:00:48","modified_gmt":"2016-04-02T09:00:48","slug":"military-history-from-private-to-four-star-famous-generals-that-rose-from-the-ranks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/02\/military-history-from-private-to-four-star-famous-generals-that-rose-from-the-ranks\/","title":{"rendered":"Military History: From Private to Four-Star, Famous Generals That Rose From the Ranks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nap\"<\/h3>\n

\u201cAwarding of battlefield commissions to NCOs for leadership under fire is common in\u00a0wartime, rare is the commanding general, admiral or field marshal who began his military career among the rank-and-file.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

THE U.S. MILITARY CALLS THEM<\/strong> \u201cmustangs<\/a>\u201d \u2013 ordinary soldiers who\u2019ve risen from the ranks of the enlisted to join the officer corps. Seen as something of a left-handed complement, the very term suggests that unlike those born and bred for positions of leadership, grunts that come up from the barracks hall somehow lack the poise and pedigree of typical officers \u2014 they\u2019re rough around the edges, kind of like wild horses. And while the awarding of battlefield commissions to NCOs for exceptional leadership under fire is commonplace in\u00a0wartime, rare is the commanding general, admiral or field marshal who began his military career among the rank-and-file. Yet some of the most famous figures in military history did just that. Consider these:<\/p>\n

The \u2018Grand Old Man of the Army\u2019<\/h2>\n

\"WS\"<\/p>\n

Winfield Scott<\/a><\/strong> was America\u2019s highest-ranking general and the commander of all federal troops at the outbreak of the Civil War. Known as \u201cOld Fuss and Feathers\u201d by subordinates, the portly 74-year-old hero of the Mexican War<\/a> and one-time Whig party<\/a>presidential hopeful started out at 21 as a corporal in his state\u2019s militia way back in 1807. Yet, within seven years of joining up, Scott rose to brigadier and led troops against the British in the final year of the War of 1812<\/a>. Elderly, infirm and unable to even mount a horse in 1861, Scott recognized his unfitness for the job and stepped down, but not before offering command of Union army to fellow Virginian Robert E. Lee<\/a>. The noted West Pointer politely refused the promotion and returned home to fight for the rebellion.<\/div>\n

America\u2019s \u2018Boy General\u2019<\/h2>\n

\"Galusha_Pennypacker\"
\nThe Devil Forrest\u00a0Galusha Pennypacker<\/a><\/strong> shot up through the ranks even faster than Winfield Scott. In fact, the Valley Forge-native still holds the record for being the youngest general in the history of the U.S. Army. After joining the 9th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment<\/a>in 1861, the 16-year-old quartermaster\u2019s clerk earned a captain\u2019s commission for his organizational acumen. He later fought as a 19-year old major at Cold Harbor<\/a> and then as a colonel at the Siege of Petersburg<\/a>. After being wounded while leading an assault at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher<\/a> in early 1865, Pennypacker, 20, was awarded the Medal of Honor<\/a> and raised to brigadier general \u2013 an unheard of achievement that made him a national sensation. He retired from the military in 1883 and died in Philadelphia in 1916 at the age of 72.<\/p>\n

The Devil Forrest<\/h2>\n

\"Nathan_Bedford_Forrest-e1427064704744-292x300\"<\/p>\n

The upwardly mobile were hardly limited to the Union army during the Civil War \u2013 some Confederate generals also began their careers in the ranks. Case in point: The controversial Rebel general Nathan Bedford Forrest<\/a> <\/strong>began his military career as a 40-year-old Tennessee cavalry volunteer and private. Shortly after enlisting, Forrest used the proceeds from his own sizable slave-trade fortune to outfit his own elite regiment<\/a> of which he was given command as a lieutenant colonel. He ended the war as a three-star general and was instrumental in the formation of the Klu Klux Klan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The South\u2019s Fighting Irishman<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"cleburne_web\"<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not forget Confederate general Patrick Cleburne<\/a><\/strong>. A native of County Cork<\/a> and a Trinity College<\/a> med school washout, he joined British army in 1846 at the age of 18. After leaving the 41st<\/sup>Regiment of Foot<\/a> as a lance corporal, Cleburne moved to the United States and settled in Arkansas where he became a pharmacist and newspaper magnate. When war broke out between North and South, the prosperous 33-year-old volunteered as a private for a local regiment. He was promptly elected captain by his comrades and from there advanced to major general. Cleburne was killed in action at the Battle of Franklin<\/a> on Nov. 30, 1864.<\/p>\n

Read the Remainder at Military History Now<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAwarding of battlefield commissions to NCOs for leadership under fire is common in\u00a0wartime, rare is the commanding general, admiral or field marshal who began his military career among the rank-and-file.\u201d THE U.S. MILITARY CALLS THEM \u201cmustangs\u201d \u2013 ordinary soldiers who\u2019ve risen from the ranks of the enlisted to join the officer corps. Seen as something…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[475],"tags":[10797,10798,10799,763,3823,10800,10801,10802,10803],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}