James Tyrus Seidule (born 1962), known as Ty Seidule, is a retired
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
, the former head of the history department at the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
, the first professor emeritus of history at West Point, and the inaugural Joshua Chamberlain Fellow at
Hamilton College.
Seidule is also the Presidential Advisor to
The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and a fellow at
New America.
In February 2021, Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin appointed Seidule as one of four representatives of the US Department of Defense to
The Naming Commission
The Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America, more commonly referred to as The Naming Commissio ...
, including
US Army installations named for Confederate soldiers.
Early life and later career
Ty Seidule was born in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, on July 3, 1962. He was raised just blocks away from the home of
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
commander
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
, a fact that would later play a prominent role in his academic career. He also attended Robert E. Lee Elementary School (which was later became the Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center, named after a prominent African-American resident, after the school was closed in 1978 and the property transferred to the city parks department) in Alexandria, and later earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexingto ...
in 1984.
He later obtained a MA in 1994 and PhD in 1997 in history from
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. While still teaching at the military academy, Seidule continued to work on his doctoral degree in Ohio State graduate program under the direction of professor
Allan R. Millett.
Upon completion of the college
ROTC
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
Overview
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
program at Washington and Lee University in 1984,
Seidule became an officer in the United States Army.
Seidule served for 36 years, starting as a tank platoon leader in Germany. His commands include a cavalry unit in the
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
during the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, as well as 3rd Battalion,
81st Armor Regiment. His staff positions included crisis planning for NATO in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.
After receiving his master's degree in history from Ohio State University in 1994, Seidule was appointed an assistant professor of history at the United States Military Academy while remaining on active duty in the army.
Seidule retired from the military academy and the US Army as a
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in 2020.
In 2020, Seidule was appointed the Chamberlain Fellow and visiting professor of history at
Hamilton College. He is also a fellow in the International Security program at
New America. He is a professor emeritus of history at the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point, where he taught and was the head of the history department for two decades during his time as an officer in the US Army.
In May 2021, Seidule awarded an honorary doctorate and was the commencement speaker at Hamilton College.
Publications
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The West Point History of Warfare', editors Clifford J. Rogers and Ty Seidule, four volumes, 71-chapter enhanced e-book (New York: Rowan Technology Solutions, 2015).
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seidule, Ty
1962 births
Living people
Military personnel from Alexandria, Virginia
Writers from Alexandria, Virginia
United States Army generals
United States Army personnel of the Gulf War
United States Military Academy faculty
Hamilton College (New York) faculty
Washington and Lee University alumni
Ohio State University alumni
21st-century American historians
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
Historians of the American Civil War
American military historians
21st-century American male writers
Historians from Virginia