Lawrence Tyson

Lawrence Tyson
Official portrait,c. 1905
United States Senator fromTennessee
In office March 4, 1925 – August 24, 1929
Preceded by	John K. Shields
Succeeded by	William E. Brock
Speakerof theTennessee House of Representatives
In office 1903–1905
Preceded by	Edgar B. Wilson
Succeeded by	William K. Abernathy
Personal details
Born	Lawrence Davis Tyson (1861-07-04)July 4, 1861 Pitt County, North Carolina,U.S.
Died	August 24, 1929(1929-08-24)(aged 68) Strafford, Pennsylvania,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Bettie Humes McGhee
Children	Charles McGhee Tyson Isabella Tyson (Gilpin)
Alma mater	U.S. Military Academy West Point, New York,USA
Occupation	Soldier, politician, lawyer, businessman
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	U.S. Army Tennessee National Guard
Years of service	1883–1896, 1898–1899, 1900–1906, 1917–1919
Rank	Brigadier general
Commands	6th Regiment U.S. Volunteer Infantry (1898–1899),59th Brigade, 30th Infantry Division(1917–1919)
Battles/wars	Apache Wars,Spanish–American War,World War I

Lawrence Davis Tyson(July 4, 1861 – August 24, 1929) was an American brigadier general, politician, lawyer and textile manufacturer, who operated primarily out ofKnoxville, Tennesseeduring the late 19th and early 20th centuries. DuringWorld War I,Tyson commanded the 59th Brigade of the30th Infantry Division,then served as aDemocraticUnited States SenatorfromTennesseefrom 1925 until his death.

A graduate ofWest Point,Tyson first saw military action during theApache Warsin the 1880s. He moved to Knoxville in 1891 to teach military science at theUniversity of Tennessee,became a lawyer and also led the 6th Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry during theSpanish–American War.Tyson helped organize the Knoxville Cotton Mills in the early 20th century and served as president of the secondAppalachian Expositionin 1911. From 1902 to 1908, Tyson served in theTennessee House of Representatives,and was Speaker of the Tennessee House from 1903 to 1905. During theHundred Days Offensiveof World War I, the 59th Brigade, under Tyson's leadership, became one of the first Allied brigades to break through theHindenburg Line.

Early life and education

Tyson was born on the farm of his parents, Richard Lawrence Tyson and Margaret Turnage, nearGreenvilleinPitt County, North Carolinanear theTar Riverin theTidewaterregion.After graduating from the private Greenville Academy, Tyson initially worked as a clerk inSalisbury.

In 1878, he scored the highest in his region on a competitive entrance exam for theUnited States Military Academy(USMA) atWest Point, New York,and was admitted the following year. Upon graduation in 1883, Tyson was commissioned as asecond lieutenant.Several of his classmates would go on to becomegeneral officersin their careers, such asCharles W. Kennedy,George H. Cameron,Harry C. Hale,George W. Read,John W. Heard,Ira A. Haynes,Samson L. Faison,William C. Langfitt,Robert D. Walsh,Omar Bundy,Charles G. Morton,Tyree R. Rivers,John W. Ruckman,Isaac LittellandClarence R. Edwards.Tyson later took part in theApache Warsagainst aGeronimo-led faction ofApachesin theWest.

Personal life

In 1886, Tyson married Bettie Humes McGhee, the daughter of wealthy Knoxville railroad baronCharles McClung McGhee(1828–1907).They had a son and a daughter. The son, military aviator Charles McGhee Tyson, died on October 11, 1917 (duringWorld War I) in the north Atlantic ocean aged 29.In July 2007,Drew Gilpin Faust,a professor of history, college administrator and a great-granddaughter of Lawrence D. and Bettie Tyson, becameHarvard University's 28th president. Her paternal grandmother was Isabella (Tyson) Gilpin, Lawrence and Bettie's daughter.Her parents were McGhee Tyson and Catherine (Mellick) Gilpin, born to a wealthy New Jersey family. Tyson is also a great-grandfather of actorJack Gilpinand a great-great-grandfather of Jack's daughter, actressBetty Gilpin.

Professor and lawyer

With his father-in-law's help, Tyson was appointed professor ofmilitary scienceat theUniversity of Tennesseein 1891.

Tyson also enrolled in the university's law school, from which he graduated in 1894. After his admission to the Tennessee Bar, he resigned his military commission and began practicing law.At one point, Tyson worked for the law firm ofEdward Terry Sanford(1865–1930), futureSupreme Courtjustice.

Spanish–American War and business ventures

Upon the outbreak of theSpanish–American Warin 1898, Tyson returned to active military duty. Appointed acolonelby PresidentWilliam McKinley,he organized and trained the 6th Regiment U.S. Volunteer Infantry in the Summer of 1898.In October, he and his unit were shipped toPuerto Rico,where they garrisoned theAreciboarea on the northern half of the island.As the war wound down in February 1899, Tyson's unit was ordered toSavannah, Georgia,where they were mustered out a month later.Tyson entered the National Guard reserve units.

Back in Knoxville, Tyson returned to private law practice. He organized the Knoxville Cotton Mills,which would grow to become one of Knoxville's major textile companies in the early 20th century. In 1907, he chaired a conference inNashville,which called for reform in child labor practices across the South.In December 1910, several dozen children were still working at a Knoxville Cotton Mills factory, as shown in a photograph byNational Child Labor CommitteephotographerLewis Hine.

State politics

Tyson's first foray into politics came in 1902, when he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. In 1889, the Democrats had gained control of the state legislature and quickly passed four acts which they described as "electoral reform," includingliteracy tests,grandfather clausesandpoll taxes.These resulted in thedisfranchisementof most of the African-American voters in the state, as well as many poor white voters. This sharply reduced competitive politics in the state, leading to Democratic dominance.

From 1903 to 1905, Tyson served as the electedSpeaker of the House.Simultaneously, he served as abrigadier generalandinspector generalof theTennessee National Guard,a position he held from 1902 to 1908. In 1913, he made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, seeking the Democratic nomination from the state legislature.That year, theSeventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitutionwas ratified, providing for popular election of US senators. It generally affected elections for US senators beginning in 1914.

World War I

Brigadier General Lawrence D. Tyson, commanding the 59th Brigade, 30th Division, pictured here with a group of staff officers nearPoperinge,six kilometers fromYpres,Belgium,September 1, 1918.

Upon theAmerican entry into World War I,in April 1917, Tyson applied to return to active military duty, and was appointed brigadier general over all Tennessee National Guard troops by GovernorTom C. Rye.This commission was subsequently federalized by PresidentWoodrow Wilson.Tyson was assigned to the command of the 59th Brigade in succession to Brigadier GeneralWilliam S. Scott,part of the30th "Old Hickory" Division,and helped train the brigade (composed of the117thand118th Infantry Regimentsand the 114th Machine Gun Battalion) at Camp Sevier nearGreenville, South Carolina.Tyson temporarily commanded the entire division three times during his service with the 30th: from December 22−28, 1917, from March 30 to April 7, 1918, and from January 12−15, 1919.After several more months of training, Tyson's brigade, together with rest of the division, embarked for service overseas on theWestern Frontin May 1918, and were among the first American troops to enterBelgiumin July of that year.

Major GeneralGeorge W. Read,commandingU.S. II Corps,Major General Edward M. Lewis, commanding the 30th Division, and Brigadier General Lawrence Tyson, spectators at II Corps Field Meet boxing matches. Pictured here atCorbie,Somme,France, November 4, 1918.

In September 1918, the 30th Division, now commanded by Major GeneralEdward M. Lewisand serving with theBritish Expeditionary Force(BEF), was ordered to theSommearea in northern France, and positioned opposite the heavily fortified Cambrai-Saint Quentin Canal section of theHindenburg Line.On the morning of September 29, the 30th attacked German fortifications along this section of the line. Marching in dense fog, the troops pushed across a 3-mile (4.8 km) stretch of "wire entanglements and trench defenses" before crossing the canal and securing the area.According to some reports, the 59th was the firstAlliedbrigade to break through the Hindenburg Line.

In subsequent weeks, the 59th captured the northern French villages ofPrémont,Brancourt,andBusigny,and fought its last action on October 20. In the course of the war, 1,879 of the 59th's 8,000 troops were killed or wounded.The brigade received nineMedals of Honor,the most of any single brigade of the U.S. Army during World War I,while Tyson himself was awarded theArmy Distinguished Service Medal.The citation for the medal reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized byAct of Congress,July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Lawrence Davis Tyson, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. General Tyson Commanded with distinction the 59th Infantry Brigade, 30th Division, throughout its training period and during its active operations against the enemy. His determination and skill as a military leader were reflected in the successes of his brigade in the attack and capture of Brancourt and Premont, where a large number of prisoners and much material fell into our hands. He rendered services of great worth to the American Expeditionary Forces.

In October 1918, Tyson's son, Charles McGhee Tyson (1889–1918), a pilot in theUnited States Navy,was lost over the North Sea while scouting for mines. AfterGermany's surrender,Tyson left the front to help search for his son off the coast of Scotland.He located his son's body, and shipped it back to Knoxville for burial.Tyson left active duty for the final time in 1919.

Senate career

Senator Tyson, photographed in his office in December 1925

In 1920, Tyson made an unsuccessful effort to gain thevice presidentialnomination at theDemocratic National Convention.In 1923, he purchased a newspaper, theKnoxville Sentinel.When he won the popular election to the U.S. Senate the following year, he sold the newspaper toScripps-Howard.In 1926, Scripps-Howard merged theSentinelwith theKnoxville Newsto form theKnoxville News Sentinel.

In the early 1920s, the Democratic Party had grown frustrated with SenatorJohn Knight Shields,who had opposed PresidentWoodrow Wilson'sLeague of Nations,and had stalled a number of the Executive Branch's political appointments.Sensing Shields' vulnerability, Tyson ran against and defeated Shields in the Senate Democratic primary in 1924.He defeatedRepublicancandidate,Hugh B. Lindsay,in the general election later that year. He was sworn in as a Senator on March 4, 1925.

Tyson's first major piece of legislation was the Tyson-Fitzgerald Act of 1925, which authorized federal compensation for disabled World War I officers.After PresidentCalvin Coolidgevetoed the bill, Tyson rallied enough opposition in the Senate to override the president's veto.In 1926, Tyson sponsored legislation authorizing the creation of theGreat Smoky Mountains National Park.

Death and legacy

Tyson died, at the age of 68, in 1929 at a sanitarium inStrafford, Pennsylvania.He is buried inOld Gray Cemeteryin Knoxville.Theobeliskmarking the Tyson family plot is among the tallest monuments in the cemetery. Many of his papers are now held by the University of North Carolina's library.

In 1927, Lawrence and Bettie Tyson donated the land for what is now Tyson Park, as well as land for an airstrip (originally in West Knoxville), to the City of Knoxville, asking in return that the city name the airstrip for their son, Charles McGhee Tyson.McGhee Tyson Airporthas since been moved to Blount County.

• Tyson Junior High School, which operated in Knoxville from 1935 until 1986, was named in Lawrence Tyson's honor.
• Camp Tyson, theWorld War IIU.S. Army training post nearParis, Tennesseewas named for him.
• Tyson's home on Volunteer Boulevard, which was remodeled by noted architectGeorge Franklin Barberin 1907, is now used as the University of Tennessee's Tyson Alumni House.In 2012, the house was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesas the General Lawrence D. Tyson House.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

External links

• Lawrence D. Tyson: Philanthropist
• United States Congress."Lawrence Tyson (id: T000456)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.Retrieved on 2008-03-20