CLASS FILES. Class files are maintained for each graduated class. Any information of a general nature researched by the AOG staff or provided by members of the class or any other individual or organization are placed in this file. As classes request, this file can become the official archives for the class. Class cecretaries and other officers are enjoined to provide copies of class meeting minutes and other pertinent information that relates to the class for inclusion in this file. Items of an individual nature of any member of the class also are placed in this file along with inclusion in the graduate’s Cullum file (see next item).

CULLUM FILES. Each graduate of the United States Military Academy is assigned a reference and identification number known as the Cullum Number. In 1850, Brevet Major General George W. Cullum, USMA, Class of 1833, began the monumental work of chronicling the biographies of every graduate. He assigned Number 1 to the first West Point graduate, Joseph G. Swift, and then numbered all successive graduates in sequence. Before his death in 1892, General Cullum completed the first three volumes of a work that eventually comprised 10 volumes, entitled General Cullum’s Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, covering USMA classes from 1802 through 1950. The current Register of Graduates is a direct descendant of General Cullum’s seminal work.

From 1802 through the Class of 1977, graduates were listed by General Order of Merit. Beginning with the Class of 1978, graduates were listed alphabetically, and then by date of graduation. Currently, seven graduates have an “A” suffix after their Cullum Number. For various reasons, these graduates were omitted from the original class roster, and a suffix letter was added to avoid renumbering the entire class and subsequent classes.

A Cullum File is maintained for each graduate. This file contains information relating to the graduate. The initial information in the file includes the documents relating to appointment to USMA. Subsequent information is obtained from any available source (e.g., newspaper or magazine articles, the internet, items provided by family members). Each graduate is encouraged to provide information relating to his/her military career and all other aspects of life for inclusion in the file. Personal documents also may be submitted to help make the file a complete repository of information relating to the life of the graduate. This file may be accessed only by the graduate during his/her lifetime. After death, information can and will be provided, upon request, to family members, historians, etc. Information for inclusion in the Cullum File can be sent to:

CULLUM FILE
Office of Information Systems
Association of Graduates
698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607

For further information, call 800-232-4723, ext. 1545 or e-mail Marilee.Meyer@usma.edu