James Irvin "Bud" Robertson Jr. (July 18, 1930 – November 2, 2019) was an American historian on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and professor at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

Early life and academic career

Robertson was born on July 18, 1930, and raised in Danville,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He earned his bachelor's degree at Randolph–Macon College in 1955, and his master's degree and PhD. at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1956 and 1959, respectively. He earned his Litt.D. at Randolph-Macon in 1980.

Virginia Tech

Known as an excellent public speaker, Robertson made his career teaching thousands of college students in his Civil War and

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

course at the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, in Blacksburg, Virginia, as the Alumni Distinguished Professor in History from 1967 to 2011."Popular Civil War Professor prepares for retirement,"
Virginia Tech website, accessed May 6, 2011

/ref>

Civil War achievements

Robertson was the founding executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies research and education center. He was considered the preeminent scholar on Confederate

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Robertson was the Chief Historical Consultant in the 2003 Warner Brothers film '' Gods and Generals'', which prominently features Stonewall Jackson. Robertson was also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of the Confederacy in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Robertson authored 18 books including award-winners ''General A.P. Hill'', ''Soldiers Blue and Gray'', and ''Civil War! America Becomes One Nation''. His biography ''Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend'', won eight national awards including the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

's Best Book for Young Readers Award. Robertson also edited an additional 18 books on the Civil War. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy nominated Robertson to serve as the executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission, a federal committee that was foundering under the pressures of regional differences and the emerging civil rights movement, unable to organize a dignified commemoration of the war era. Robertson worked effectively with 34 state and 100 local centennial committees to create a successful result. Fifty years later, he was named a charter member of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. In 1963 he worked with David Mearns, director of the Library of Congress, to assist in the planning of Kennedy's funeral by researching the funeral of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, after which Kennedy's was patterned. Robertson and Mearns referenced '' Frank Leslie's Weekly'' and ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'' for details of the 1865 funeral that were used to transform the East Room of the White House. In 2011, Robertson wrote and hosted, with William C. "Jack" Davis, the 3-hour documentary "Virginia in the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance". In 2016, Robertson received The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement.

Robertson Award

Since 2000, Robertson also sponsored an award in his name honoring scholarship in the field of Confederate history.

Athletics

Along with his academic career, he spent several years as a faculty representative from Virginia Tech to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. Robertson's work as Faculty Chairman of Athletics and President of the Virginia Tech Athletic Association from 1979–91 helped Virginia Tech join the Big East athletic conference. Robertson was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. His main other contribution to college athletics was by being an Atlantic Coast Conference football referee for 16 years.

Selected works

Notable among Robertson's list of more than 20 publications are:

As author

*''The Stonewall Brigade'' (1963) *''General A.P. Hill'' (1987) *''Soldiers, Blue and Gray'' (1988) *''Civil War! America Becomes One Nation'' (1992), for ages 10-14 *''Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend'' (1997) *''Robert E. Lee: Virginian Soldier, American Citizen (2005)

As editor

*''The Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War'' (1990–92; Reprint of '' The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion'' (1870–88)) *'' Civil War Echoes: Voices from Virginia, 1860–1891'' (2016,

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

)

Death

Robertson died on November 2, 2019, from complications from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, in

References

External links

Virginia Tech bio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, James I, 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the Southern United States Emory University alumni 2019 deaths Randolph–Macon College alumni Stonewall Brigade Virginia Tech faculty People from Danville, Virginia 1930 births 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians from Virginia