Michael Rudolph (1758–1795) was an American military officer who served as actingAdjutant General and actingInspector General of the U.S. Army in 1793.

Rudolph was born inElkton, Maryland of parents of German descent, and received no formal education. In April 1778, at around the age of twenty, he enlisted inLee's Legion, where he served for the duration of theAmerican Revolutionary War. He was commissioned alieutenant in July 1779, and in September 1779 wasbrevetted acaptain for his actions in theBattle of Paulus Hook. He was discharged at the conclusion of the war and returned to civilian life.

He returned to the Army in June 1790, as a captain in the 1st U.S. Infantry He was promoted tomajor commanding the Squadron of Light Dragoons in March 1792. In February 1793, he was made acting Adjutant General and acting Inspector General of the U.S. Army. Shortly afterward, he was given command ofFort Hamilton, Ohio. There, he refused to postpone the execution of several soldiers fordesertion even though he knew an appeal of their case was pending. Moments after the execution was carried out, a messenger arrived with orders reprieving some of the executed men. The execution infuriated Rudolph's commander, GeneralAnthony Wayne, who ordered Rudolph's resignation in July 1793. Accounts say he returned home to find his wife had been unfaithful, and went to sea to seek his fortune, where he was captured and killed by pirates.

A legend which circulated in the mid-19th century had Rudolph making his way to France, where he became the military commanderMichel Ney.

• List of Adjutant Generals of the U.S. Army
• List of Inspectors General of the U.S. Army
• The American Revolution Institute
• The Society of the Cincinnati

• Clary, David A.; Whitethorne, Joseph W. A. (1987).The Inspectors General of the United States Army, 1777-1903.Washington, D.C.: U. S. Army Center of Military History. p. 427.
• Heitman, Francis B. (1903).Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, Volume 1.Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office. pp. 37–38, 850.
• Garden, Alexander (1822).Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America.Charleston, South Carolina: A. E. Miller. pp. 128–129. Retrieved2009-06-05.
• McClung, David Waddle (1892).The centennial anniversary of the city of Hamilton, Ohio, September 17–19, 1891.Hamilton, Ohio: Lawrence Printing and Publishing. p. 158. Retrieved2009-06-05.
• Rodenbough, Theophilus F.; Haskin, William L. (1896).The Army of the United States.New York City: Maynard, Merrill & Co. pp. 5 & 23. Archived fromthe original on 2009-04-26. Retrieved2009-06-05.
• Minor, Benjamin B. (January 1847)."Michael Ney, otherwise Michael Rudolph".Southern Literary Messenger. Vol. XIII.Richmond, Virginia: Macfarlane and Fergusson. pp. 17–23. Retrieved2009-06-05.
• Metcalf, Bryce (1938)Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to theSociety of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 273.

• Dupuy, Eliza Ann (1870).Michael Rudolph: "the Bravest of the Brave".Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson. Retrieved2009-06-05.

• 1758 births
• 1795 deaths
• Adjutants general of the United States Army
• American people of the Northwest Indian War
• Continental Army officers from Maryland
• Inspectors general of the United States Army
• People from Elkton, Maryland
• People killed by pirates
• People lost at sea

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