Lawrence Tyson

Lawrence Davis Tyson (July 4, 1861 – August 24, 1929) was an American brigadier general, politician, lawyer and textile manufacturer, who operated primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During World War I, Tyson commanded the 59th Brigade of the 30th Infantry Division, then served as a Democratic United States senator from Tennessee from 1925 until his death.

A graduate of West Point, Tyson first saw military action during the Apache Wars in the 1880s. He moved to Knoxville in 1891 to teach military science at the University of Tennessee, became a lawyer and also led the 6th Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish–American War. Tyson helped organize the Knoxville Cotton Mills in the early 20th century and served as president of the second Appalachian Exposition in 1911. From 1902 to 1908, Tyson served in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and was Speaker of the Tennessee House from 1903 to 1905. During the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I, the 59th Brigade, under Tyson's leadership, became one of the first Allied brigades to break through the Hindenburg Line.

Tyson was born on the farm of his parents, Richard Lawrence Tyson and Margaret Turnage, near Greenville in Pitt County, North Carolina near the Tar River in the Tidewater region. After graduating from the private Greenville Academy, Tyson initially worked as a clerk in Salisbury.

In 1878, he scored the highest in his region on a competitive entrance exam for the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and was admitted the following year. Upon graduation in 1883, Tyson was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Several of his classmates would go on to become general officers in their careers, such as Charles 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 Littell and Clarence R. Edwards. Tyson later took part in the Apache Wars against a Geronimo-led faction of Apaches in the West.

In 1886, Tyson married Bettie Humes McGhee, the daughter of wealthy Knoxville railroad baron Charles McClung McGhee (1828–1907). They had a son and a daughter. The son, military aviator Charles McGhee Tyson, died on October 11, 1917 (during World 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, became Harvard 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 actor Jack Gilpin and a great-great-grandfather of Jack's daughter, actress Betty Gilpin.

With his father-in-law's help, Tyson was appointed professor of military science at the University of Tennessee in 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 of Edward Terry Sanford (1865–1930), future Supreme Court justice.

Upon the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Tyson returned to active military duty. Appointed a colonel by President William 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 to Puerto Rico, where they garrisoned the Arecibo area on the northern half of the island. As the war wound down in February 1899, Tyson's unit was ordered to Savannah, Georgia, where they were mustered out a month later. Tyson entered the National Guard reserve units.