A Promise Delivered - by Ty Seidule & Connor Williams (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The inspiring story behind the ten Americans newly chosen to represent United States military bases previously named for Confederate soldiers, told by two members of the Naming Commission that selected them.

In 2020, the United States Congress, in an unprecedented and bipartisan piece of legislation, created the Naming Commission. It was tasked with a monumental mission: Rename nine of the US military's most prominent army bases-all of which were named for Confederate leaders who waged war against America in the name of maintaining a slave republic.

Over the course of twenty months, the commission completed their mission, carefully combing through years of American history and hearing from tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life. The commission ultimately chose ten Americans whose individual heroics reflect the collective best of all that America is and could be. With their firsthand knowledge of the selection process, vice-chair Ty Seidule and lead historian Connor Williams recount the lives of each of these American heroes, from former President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Civil War doctor Mary Walker to Cold War General Richard Cavazos. The individual histories nestled within each chapter prove why these men and women are true representatives of our country and how, by looking to them, America can aspire toward a better future.

A collection of stirring tales of heroism, A Promise Delivered is the powerful account of how ten worthy Americans and one bipartisan commission joined the ongoing fight to reclaim our nation's history.

Review Quotes

"What a timely and inspiring history. The word 'hero' is bandied about so often that it begins to lack real meaning. How fortunate that Seidule and Williams have helped restore full value to the real actions that define heroism, sacrifice, virtue, and honor." --Ken Burns, award-winning documentarian and filmmaker

"Exhilarating and fascinating..... awe-inspiring and inspirational... This is a book that should be read by anyone interested in U.S. military history-or history period." --Max Boot, New York Times bestselling author of Reagan: His Life and Legend and The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam

"Brilliantly argued with conviction and passion... moving... a beacon of inspiration to a new generation of Americans." --James Carville, New York Times bestselling author of We're Still Right, They're Still Wrong

"The promise of human equality that Seidule and Williams refer to is almost two hundred and fifty years old. They tell the story of why and how the American military finally decided to keep it, by removing the names of the Confederate soldiers and replacing them with true heroes on our military bases, thereby making the Lost Cause live up to its name." --Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian and New York Times bestselling author of The Cause

"A compelling, behind-the-scenes account of how U.S. military bases came to be named for treasonous Confederate leaders until the Naming Commission, created by Congress, righted this historical wrong. Not least, A Promise Delivered reveals how far this country has come in honoring those worthy of honor." --Rick Atkinson, New York Times bestselling author of The British are Coming

"These thrilling stories of true heroes, their names now enshrined at U.S. military bases, should be required reading by every student, every soldier, every American as inspiring lessons for our time and the future.... invaluable and illuminating." --Sidney Blumenthal, author of All the Powers of Earth: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln

"Well-crafted ... A sharp-edged argument for de-commemorating traitors." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Brigadier General TY SEIDULE, U.S. Army (Retired), is Professor Emeritus of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the army for more than 35 years. He is the author of Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of Lost Cause and served as Vice Chair for the Naming Commission tasked by Congress to rename Department of Defense assets that honor Confederates. He teaches at Hamilton College.

CONNOR WILLIAMS was Lead Historian for the United States Congress' Naming Commission. He has taught for Yale University, Middlebury College, the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition, and has worked as a public historian and consultant on several other major renaming and reconciliation projects.