Book Description

Troy H. Middleton (1889-1976) was the youngest colonel in the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. Later, he served as commander of the Army’s 45th Division and then the VIII Corps. During World War II, Middleton spent more time in combat than any other general officer. General Middleton made key tactical decisions in the largest and most complex military action in which the U.S. Army has ever been involved—the Battle of the Bulge. In 1951, Louisiana State University’s board of supervisors appointed Middleton president of the university. He had previously served at the school as commandant of cadets, professor of military science, dean, and vice president. While president of LSU, Middleton oversaw a sustained period of growth and academic achievement. Like many other university presidents in the Jim Crow era, throughout his tenure at LSU, he also staunchly upheld his institution’s deeply-racist segregationist policies. In this thoroughly researched biography, Frank James Price tells Middleton’s life story from his boyhood plantation days in Copiah County, Mississippi, to his public service achievements after his retirement as president of Louisiana State University in 1962. In much of the book, the author, through taped interviews, allows Middleton to tell his own story. In researching the book, Price interviewed and/or corresponded with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Omar Bradley, and other personal acquaintances of General Middleton.