# Has anyone ever risen from the lowest possible military rank to the highest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946 "2017-12-20T20:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/41 "2017-12-21T23:32:28Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Actually, better yet, he ended up as a lieutenant general. He’s the only man in either the U.S. or C.S. Army to do that in the Civil War. Although, you will note from that article that he was commissioned as a Lt. Col. 3-4 months after his enlistment as a private. It was not uncommon at the time for wealthy or upper class men to obtain a military commission as an officer with very little prior training. How it happened in his case: > [@](#): > > After the Civil War broke out, Forrest returned to Tennessee from his Mississippi ventures, enlisted in the Confederate States Army (CSA), and trained at Fort Wright in Randolph, Tennessee.[15] He joined Captain Josiah White’s Company, the “Tennessee Mounted Rifles”, as a private along with his youngest brother and 15-year-old son on July 14, 1861. Upon seeing how badly equipped the CSA was, Forrest offered to buy horses and equipment with his own money for a regiment of Tennessee volunteer soldiers.[16][17] > > His superior officers and Governor of Tennessee Isham G. Harris were surprised that someone of Forrest’s wealth and prominence had enlisted as a soldier, especially since major planters were exempted from service. They commissioned him as a lieutenant colonel and authorized him to recruit and train a battalion of Confederate mounted rangers. In October 1861, Forrest was given command of a regiment, the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry. Though Forrest had no prior formal military training or experience, he had exhibited leadership and soon proved he had a gift for successful tactics. ---
**Author:** ![GinoC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@GinoC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GinoC)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/42 "2017-12-22T05:44:40Z")
OTOH, Edward VIII was the only man in history to go from Admiral of the Fleet to Third Mate on an American tramp. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/43 "2017-12-22T12:45:19Z")
IIRC, Jimmy Stewart enlisted as a private and worked his way up to general. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/44 "2017-12-22T14:53:24Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > IIRC, Jimmy Stewart enlisted as a private and worked his way up to general. Right you are: [James Stewart - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart#Military_service) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/45 "2017-12-22T15:56:52Z")
> [@GinoC](#): > > OTOH, Edward VIII was the only man in history to go from Admiral of the Fleet to Third Mate on an American tramp. 😉 For another real-life backward career move, T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) retired from the British Army as a full colonel, and shortly afterwards enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman (under a false name). ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/46 "2017-12-22T17:32:07Z")
Admiral Yi of Korea did it multiple times, thanks to being a kickass commander, but having powerful rivals constantly bringing him down. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/47 "2017-12-23T16:00:23Z")
> [@GinoC](#): > > OTOH, Edward VIII was the only man in history to go from Admiral of the Fleet to Third Mate on an American tramp. 😉 🙂 Did you just make that up? ---
**Author:** ![GinoC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@GinoC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GinoC)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/48 "2017-12-23T17:42:17Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 🙂 > > Did you just make that up? Would love to claim credit, but I heard it years ago. ---
**Author:** ![BuckChongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@BuckChongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckChongo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/49 "2017-12-24T00:49:24Z")
Sam Houston enlisted as a Private for the War of 1812 and ended up as Commander In Chief of the Texas army during the Revolution, then served as President of the Republic of Texas. He was also Gov. of Texas and a US Senator and, except for the fact he seems to have been bat s crazy would have had a good chance of winning the US Presidency in 1856. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/50 "2017-12-24T03:43:36Z")
He actually ran for the Know Nothing nomination in 1856 but didn’t get it. He was on the right side of history when Texas seceded, however: [Sam Houston - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston#Governor_of_Texas) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/51 "2018-03-20T02:33:20Z")
Bumped. Just learned that Nathanael Greene went from private in the Rhode Island militia to major general in the Continental Army. By the end of the American Revolution, he was one of Washington’s most capable and trusted generals: [Nathanael Greene - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanael_Greene) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/52 "2018-03-20T18:10:23Z")
General Idi Amin Dada started as a cook in the Ugandan army and ended up President for Life… One factoid I read about him mentioned that he was the first native African head of State that was not a British-educated graduate. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/53 "2018-03-20T18:11:33Z")
I think Hitler was a private in the World War I, and Supreme Leader in the 2nd. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/54 "2018-03-20T19:52:20Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I think Hitler was a private in the World War I, and Supreme Leader in the 2nd. He didn’t exactly get the latter job by rising through the ranks of the German Army, though. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/55 "2018-03-20T20:00:38Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > He didn’t exactly get the latter job by rising through the ranks of the German Army, though. As already mentioned upthread. **md2000** ’s suggestion of Idi Amin seems to be spot-on, though. He really does seem to have started at the lowest enlisted rank and worked his way up through promotions, then a commission, then more promotions to the commander of the entire armed forces. And all this before he seized political power in a military coup. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/56 "2018-03-20T22:34:28Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > would by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Actually, that piece isn’t accurate. The Joint Chiefs do hold the highest ranks available in the officer corps. Others also hold that rank. If you are talking about senior by duty position they are “outranked” by the Combatant Commanders. The Combatant Commanders work directly for the National Command Authority(NCA), which is the combination of the President and Secretary of Defense. POTUS and SECDEF both can issue legal orders to Combatant Commanders. The Joint Chiefs advise NCA. They legally do not have executive authority over the Combatant Commanders. They haven’t since 1953. It’s an important point because there’s a pretty high profile name that went from enlisted to Combatant Command that hasn’t been mentioned yet. That is John Kelly, current Chief of Staff in the Trump administration. He first enlisted in 1970. In 2016 he retired after leading Southern Command. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/57 "2018-03-21T02:59:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [Toyotomi Hideyoshi - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi) I see you and raise - [Basil I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_I). His life was a soap opera. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/58 "2018-03-21T03:31:08Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > A formerly-enlisted officer is known as a Mustang Officer, and there are a lot of them. Some have achieved top positions in the flag officer ranks. > > … Word back in the day is that [this guy](http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gbrenton.htm) was the first Mustang to make full Commander. It was well deserved if true. I would have taken a bullet in a non-vital organ for the man. For his replacement, I’d keep my head down. Papa George was the best boss I ever had. I raise one in his memory. Fair winds and following seas, wherever you are, Sir. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946.md?page=2)