George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) - His classmates would have laughed at the idea that Custer would be a general two years after graduating from West Point. He almost didn't graduate, but the Civil War had begun and junior officers were in short supply. His reckless daring soon caught the eye of the generals, and, in a cavalry shakeup, he was made a brigadier general. At the end of the Civil War, Custer was the Union army's youngest major general, but he was a lieutenant colonel when he was given command of the new Seventh Cavalry. Read more HERE.